Gasol and Yao has the same style of play. They both need to learn how to use their body more to bump defenders off balance to score more easier. Kg is atheletic and lengthy but he looks scrawny.
KG didn't dominate, but he held his own. Pau on the other hand, lived up to his marshmallow rep and disappeared and got outmuscled at times in the Finals.
kg held his own defensively b/c pau is soft. but it wasn't like kg dominated offensively last yr. that matchup was nearly a wash offensively but kg's a more dominant defensive player. but pau is soft. *******, is it that hard to ask a 7' to dunk the damn ball?
the question for the lakers is how badly they're going to let the celtics win the 3rd quarter, because it's going to happen. kobe will start to miss some jumpers, maybe a 1-5 or 2-7 type quarter, the celtics are breaking down their D too much lately, and the lakers will probably fall off a little emotionally. if they only lose by 8 or 9 points and are only down 2 or 3, they'll have a shot. lose something like 30-14 and it's over.
This game is pointing out some important things: - Celtics bench is there biggest weakness - Gasol & Bynum are both overrated - Kobe is still Kobe - Celtics do have a Fab 4 and they are all amazing players - Lakers only have Kobe(they had to keep him with the second unit, he is so valuable) - Both teams are defintely beatable - Cavaliers are IMO playing great ball, such as the Magic - JVG still has love for Houston Lets check out second half!
While he's not Charles Oakley or anything, I don't think Yao is as soft as he appears. I attribute it more to him just being so slow and awkward. Gasol is just flat out soft. And God, Stuart Scott is so annoying.
yao still has the same mentality. pau does the same things yao does: pump fakes so many times around the rim when defenders are near and then lays it up. but yao has a much better post up game. pau can't post up guys as tall as him.
get off it already. one time he was within 3 feet with perkins and kg b/t him and the rim and he didn't dunk it. i think they both have 2 wide open dunks so far. people telling everyone who is anywhere near the rim to "just dunk it" is such a pet peeve of mine. unless you're amare or lebron or shaq, most nba players can't "just dunk it." people always say this to yao, not realizing it takes everything he has just to gather himself most of the time, much less go up for the dunk. it's even more hilarious when they say it to people like scola or hayes. if they could dunk, they would. dunking is easy for most guys on the move when they're open, but underneath the basket, where everything is going 100 mph and you're standing still, it's not that easy. the dunk may take more time and get you blocked. pau gasol is "soft" mostly b/c he's skinny. funny how the huge physical freaks tend to not be soft and the guys who don't weigh near as much are "soft." just like kg's whole career people wondering why he doesn't post up and get physical like duncan. well, b/c duncan has about 30 pounds on him and kg has never been able to just outmuscle everybody. people seem to think everybody is equal and everything is just a player's mentality, but mentality is often a byproduct of physical skills. when you can overpower everybody, it's easier to have the mindset of just taking it at everybody. when everybody overpowers you, you have to adapt. garnett has had to alley-oops and some jumpers, gasol has had 2 dunks and some jumpers and some post-ups. not surprisingly, he can't just dunk it in the post with an even stronger garnett (or a really strong perkins) around the rim.
Thanks for agreeing with and reiterating my stance. Pau being soft is old news. Again he'll excel against weaker PF/C's in the NBA but but sized up against similar talents like Duncan and KG he'll wilt.
and pau is not scrawny? they're both about the same, except kg is much more athletic. i don't know why people would expect kg to not win this matchup. and like i said with yao, if he could use his body any way he wanted, he would. but mostly, if he can make a move without falling down or getting stripped, he's ahead of the game. trying to knock others off balance when they are quicker and can beat you to spots and see your moves coming, is more likely to screw yao up than to hurt his opponents. concentrating on making a nice coordinated move and then using his tremendous height advantage to make a 5 or 6 footer is what yao should do, not try to turn himself into shaq. he'll just pick up offensive fouls and commit turnovers more likely than not.
I always hear this (mostly from non-black guys) and i just don't get it. It's more likely the opposite. He's using his "white voice" because he's at work. We all have to do it.
exactly. yao is so much slower than everyone else, he can't just will himself to do things like some stars can. every possession is a mechanical, almost robotic routine for yao. he has certain moves he can make and certain ones he can't. and he doesn't have tremendous upper body strength. trying to use his weaknesses isn't going to make him better. getting good position, making a strong move, and taking a 5 foot shot is all he should try to do. bulling his way to the basket has almost always worked out poorly for him. shaq could do it because he was way stronger, way more athletic, and always got the calls.
Well you can say all that about Yao not being capable to do it but the probelm is he has shown he can do those things I've mentioned. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwlwdHktFuA
do you really think that was due to Pau "the defensive stopper" Gasol? I don't. Duncan had an off series is more like it.
Give me a break. It was an isolated incident and even then, did you not see how long it took him to gather himself at the end of the move just to go up and dunk it? There also was no help defense around him. He usually gets blocked from the weakside because he's not explosive enough to make the quick power jump right under the hoop.
Isolated? Oh please he has done it to enough players for me to think he can do it. You can come up with excuse after excuse but he's shown that he's capable of doing it.
I had every intention of cheering for the Lakers heading into this game, considering the win streak. But all it took were a couple of Derek Fisher flops to change my mind. I honestly can't think of a more deplorable player to have ever played... it's disgusting. If you even brush the guy, it's like he was hit square with a sniper rifle. It would be funny if the officials weren't stupid enough to let him get away with it.
