Not surprised Gasol dislikes MDA. He was absolutely terrific in the Olympics, and MDA is completely misusing him. I actually feel bad for Gasol. This is a guy who is arguably the main reason the Lakers won back to back championships, and now he is the scapegoat of the team.
If Kobe runs Dwight out of town, what do the Lakers do from there? And perhaps more importantly,how does that impact Kobe's legacy? This is very similar to 2004, which resulted in Shaq getting traded. Only problem is that Kobe's been on the Lakers longer and has an NTC. It's going to be impossible to trade him.
Wellnotnecessarily. Kobe knowshew only has one more year befoee he retires. the problem comes when you have too decide between your future player and your greatest franchise player.
I think maybe you guys are giving him too much credit for the olympics. Even the early part of the season... first 11 games Pau was only averaging 14.5 ppg 9.5 rpg. Last year's playoffs he was 12.5/9.5. Sure new teammates and no Nash, but there is no denying Gasol is on the downside of his career.
As soon as the coaches got submissive with kobe all hell came in. Can you blame them though? No! Kobe calls the shots except when Phil was there. Nash doesn't even look to play make or run because Kobe is waiting for him mid court like a mother waiting for her runaway daughter. How do you fix it? You get a bunch of solid role players like A.Is team. Or back with the lakers. The shutdown defender, the rebounder, the 3 pt specialist. Lamar Odom was better off the bench because he sparked the team and shared the ball. You surround so many allstars with Kobe that show their deficiencies since no ball movement. Or just get Phil back.
Gasol struggles next to Howard because D12 demands the ball in the post on offense, and MDA wants Gasol out on the perimeter. D12 also doesn't want to play his designated role of rebounder, defender, blocker, anchor of the D, and pick-and-roll partner/defender. This role fit Asik's skill set perfectly. Yes the Odom/Gasol combo that won the 2009 ship was a good fit for Gasol. I don't really respect that ship because Garnett got injured and the Lakers went up against the tissue-paper Magic. The Lakers team that won ship against the Celts in 2010 was the best team in the post-Shaq era and Gasol played with Bynum -- who embraced a more defensive role in that run. It's no coincidence that Gasol happened to struggle when Bynum started to assert himself offensively in the 2011 playoffs. Which brings me back to my point that Asik is a great fit alongside Pau in the twin towers system. Asik is an elite defensive center and a pretty poor offensive one. We have ABSOLUTELY ZERO low post presence and below avg outside shooters, which makes us pretty easy to defend. Gasol solves that problem. And Asik can go back to using his energy to be a paint protector. As I mentioned earlier, Gasol is Tim Duncan 2.0. TD, who is a more of a natural Center IMO, has played the 4 with defensive-minded 5's practically his whole career. If you're gonna use the twin tower system, Asik is a good fit at the 5 alongside Gasol.
I see people double teaming Pau because Asik is no threat to shoot away from the rim. Sure Pau could give up the ball to Asik, but would he be able to catch it? I think(maybe I'm wrong?) for twin towers to work both guys have to be a threat @ or away from the rim. Either in the paint or midrange and Asik just doesn't pose the threat.
Good point. Asik does have terrible hands. However I think there's different strategies to counter the double team issue. Using Pau in the high post, Asik setting off-ball screens, etc. And honestly many of the balls Asik mishandles aren't the best quality passes. Pau is an exceptional passer out of a double team.
