Pau Gasol (kind of) wants the ball more. If it’s not too much trouble
On the rare occasion that Kobe Bryant has an off night, you’d expect L.A.’s other All-Star, Pau Gasol, to step up and take advantage of the extra opportunities that would naturally come his way.
But that’s only if he’s actually getting extra opportunities. After last night’s loss to the Sixers, where Kobe only had 11 points while Gasol went for 25 on 9-for-12 shooting from the field and 7-for-9 at the line, Gasol made a little noise to the local media that he’d appreciate more chances to score. From the Riverside Press-Enterprise:
“I’m shooting really well right now, but I wish I could just get a couple more looks even if the percentage goes down a little,” Gasol said. “Obviously they come and they try to double, but let them keep coming. That means somebody else is open and somebody gets a wide-open shot.”
In the Lakers’ previous game, a win over Dallas on Sunday where they nearly blew another second-half lead, Gasol had gone 10-for-10 in the first half before getting only three shots in the second half when the Mavs started playing zone. L.A. Daily News columnist Ramona Shelburne wrote after that game that Gasol needs the ball more, but that he’s not the type to rock the boat by asking for it.
“The furthest the serenely talented Spaniard will ever come to complaining is an acknowledgement of polite frustration …” Melburne wrote. “Then he’ll hint. Politely. Passively, so as not to ruffle any feathers on what has become one of the most harmonious teams in the NBA.”
For the season Gasol is putting up 18.7 points per game on 821 field goal attempts, an average of 12.6 shots a night. That’s barely more than Wilson Chandler (12.4), and less than the likes of Al Thornton (15.3), Richard Jefferson, Jeff Green (14.0) and Ray Felton (12.9). Granted, those numbers don’t take into account how often a player gets to the line. And among true post players who rank in the NBA’s Top-50 scorers, Gasol’s numbers don’t look as bad; he’s behind only Yao, Duncan, David West, Al Jefferson, LaMarcus Aldridge and Chris Bosh in shot attempts per game.
Do you think Gasol needs to get the ball more?
Source: Riverside Press-Enterprise
March 18th, 2009 at 3:42 pm
johnsacrimoni says:
First!
Yes, he’s a legitimate all-star and one of the top 5 big men in basketball.
March 18th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
Rare Air says:
Hell Yeah he needs the ball more, especially when he is feeling it. Pau has to get some fire going inside of him, dude has all the skills. But we all know he doesnt want to bark to loud and rile up the Alpha Omega on that team. Lake Show will be fine, have to stop the shitty loses though. WTF on Boston right now, they are going to ruin the finals rematch I want to see.
March 18th, 2009 at 3:57 pm
Kermit the Washington says:
Yes. Aside from the benefits discussed here, Lamar Odom seems to crash the boards more when Gasol has the ball.
March 18th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
Scott says:
Honestly he should probably get almost as many if not, just as many looks as Shaq would have when he was there. Plus the guy is an amazing passer, he should be killing teams with that triangle offense.
March 18th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
patrick says:
He doesn’t really need more shots. He just needs more touches. The offense will flow better if they have to double team the post more.
March 18th, 2009 at 4:06 pm
POPPI GEE says:
Yea he should get more shots. Take some of stess of Kobe and also puts him in the mode of carrying the team when Kobe may not be on and also stepping up more.
Thing is if he gets the extra he really has to make them count and stop being so timid and go for his legitly.
March 18th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
funkymunky says:
Deme la piedra, Kobe!
March 18th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
George W Kush Sr says:
The shots were spread out pretty evenly last night with Kobe leading with 15, but Pau’s 9-12 shooting is pretty impressive. He definitely should be getting a lot more touches during Kobe’s off games, that means Phil Jackson has to come up with better in-game decisions.
At least this time he didn’t have Kobe shooting 30 shots, but Phil really doesn’t make the right adjustments sometimes. As it was said earlier, if not shots than touches, because when a player is 9-12 the defense will collapse on him and leave open shooters to deal with.
I blame Phil, Gasol should get more touches, its only going to make it easier for Kobe, because on nights where he’s not off he will be draining open jumpers from Gasol. Which in turn will give Gasol more room in the paint with Kobe draining open looks. Give Gasol more touches. I dont even like Gasol, but there’s no denying how much more effective the Lakers’ offense would be going through him a few more possesions per game.
March 18th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
K Dizzle says:
@ patrick
good post. It is just a matter of more touches
Dude was player of the month in the west in feb so he’s been on fire. He’s shootin a ridiculous percentage so he should be gettin the ball, even if he ain’t shootin, but just to make plays
March 18th, 2009 at 5:21 pm
Ian says:
“He definitely should be getting a lot more touches during Kobe’s off games”
kobes fans must be crazy lol so ONLLY when kobe is off gasol should get touches???????? lol goh kobe should be 3-15 in the half the lakers down by 40 then ONLY then gasol should get more touches??? hasnt it crossed your mind that maybe kobe has less off nights if gasol gets more touches and shots because of how he opens up shots for everyone else??
March 18th, 2009 at 6:09 pm
ed says:
its all about FGA’s and d-fish is gonna get his even if it means a loss for the team
March 18th, 2009 at 6:20 pm
calvin brodus says:
that title is too funny. with pau asking so politely for the ball, is any wonder he gets called soft?
March 18th, 2009 at 6:20 pm
haslem says:
yes gasols not a steal if they dont use him enough.
March 18th, 2009 at 6:30 pm
LakeShow84 says:
I think the problem is in the first half the plan works for Gasol to be fed and he produces..
In the second half the other team makes their adjustments and he is played a lot more physical..
Ill call it coaching and say they need to change up the plan after halftime so the defense is caught off guard.. i still think once the game gets physical Gasol disappears.. he hasnt so much this year in big games which is good..
But shit start barking for that ball.. its all about fire in da belly.. if im hitting and im on the court ill cuss out my teammates if they start ignoring me..
March 18th, 2009 at 6:32 pm
LakeShow84 says:
and it aint about being selfish its about being smart.. the hot hand gets the ball.. shit basketball is the true sport in which this applies..
March 18th, 2009 at 7:07 pm
Drink the Haterade (KB24 Chip 09) says:
Kobe Bryant has just been excused from jury duty — but the way it all went down is priceless.
When the Orange County judge questioned Kobe — a candidate for jury service on a vandalism case — TMZ was inside the courtroom and heard the following exchange take place:
Judge: “What do you for a living?”
Kobe: “I play professional basketball for the Los Angeles Lakers”
Judge: “Go Lakers!”
Yes, that conversation actually happened. But there’s more. When the judge asked Kobe why he thought he would be a “good juror,” Kobe replied, “I’m a good listener.”
Kobe was also asked about his relationship with the cops, to which Bryant replied, “My team of security guards are comprised mostly of police officers.”
Though Kobe was among one of the last people to get excused, he was still in good spirits on his way out — even signing an autograph on a shoe for a fan.
March 18th, 2009 at 7:20 pm
George W Kush Sr says:
To Ian :
Dude, I also wrote :
“At least this time he didn’t have Kobe shooting 30 shots, but Phil really doesn’t make the right adjustments sometimes. As it was said earlier, if not shots than touches, because when a player is 9-12 the defense will collapse on him and leave open shooters to deal with.
I blame Phil, Gasol should get more touches, its only going to make it easier for Kobe, because on nights where he’s not off he will be draining open jumpers from Gasol. Which in turn will give Gasol more room in the paint with Kobe draining open looks. Give Gasol more touches. I dont even like Gasol, but there’s no denying how much more effective the Lakers’ offense would be going through him a few more possesions per game.”
I’m not that big a Kobe fan either, I dont dislike him but I’m not like Dougie either. I basically explained that Phil should run the offense through Pau more so that it frees up room for the Lakers’ shooters including Kobe.
I think you just read my shit too quickly man
March 18th, 2009 at 7:48 pm
Ian says:
george no one is like doug with kobe hehehe but nah i was messing i just took the only line that didnt make to much sense to mess around with it
March 18th, 2009 at 8:41 pm
heartbreaker85 says:
pau had to be polite else he’d be shipped out of LA like they did when caron would have his nights, stealing the spotlight off kobe after the shaq trade.
basketball is played more efficiently when run through a quality big, he doesnt have to score a lot, just needs to anchor the offense.
March 18th, 2009 at 8:52 pm
rlf says:
the problem with the team right now is sasha and jordan, they have an agenda about their game, they are not playing well and are looking for their own game not the team game.
phil mentioned that today, it doesn’t matter if pau or kobe are playing with those 2, they move the ball away from pau and kobe and start making HORRIBLE mistakes.
pau’s problem at the end of games, is that he is ‘afraid’ to take the shot, he keeps the ball a long time and doesn’t make a move, then he passes with only a few seconds left on the clock.
overall, the bench has it’s own agenda and are messing the chemistry of the bench and when they play with 1 or 2 starts they are doing the same.
watch a game and see how those 2 don’t like each other, actually they hate each other and even josh powell mentioned that the bench has some issues with some players and they need to worry about how they play as a team.
remember that one bad apple can make them all bad, even the smallest apple. those 2 are the apples right now.
March 18th, 2009 at 11:57 pm
bookkwormmaster says:
The Lakers definitely should get Pau Gasol more touches and more shot attempts. He is one of the few bigs in the league who can score on the inside and can step out and knock down jumpers as well. He is also an excellent passer and is very unselfish.
Kermit the Washington says:
Yes. Aside from the benefits discussed here, Lamar Odom seems to crash the boards more when Gasol has the ball.
In addition to that Odom’s offensive game picks up as well because he makes more cuts to the basket because he knows Gasol will find him and he does. This could benefit the team greatly if they ran the offense more through him and allow Kobe and Odom to play off him. This would not only get the team more into a flow offensively but also allow Kobe to be even more lethal towards the end of games because he would be alot more fresh to fonish teams off. Also he wouldn’t have to dip into his repertoire of moves to free himself from defenders which would in turn make them more effective because they wouldn’t be exposed all game
March 19th, 2009 at 9:17 am
doc says:
If Pau ask for more sahots Kobe gonna smack the shit out of him like them Lil Wayne Baby skits on Youtube.Oohhh,U big now huh?Oooohhh.
March 19th, 2009 at 10:08 am
Dave says:
Definitely
Pau Gasol has needed the ball more since the day he arrived in Los Angeles. That said, the shot attempts are more his own doing (passive play) than his teammates not giving him the ball.
March 19th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
Sccob says:
Of course. On the rare occasion that I use the Lakers in 2k9, I run the offense through Pau. Kobe is gonna get his regardless. It’ll actually free up Kobe for a lot of easy lay-ups and shots because Pau is a terrific passer. The Lakers issues aren’t on the offensive end, they’re on the defensive end. Unless they get tougher there, they’ll have a harder time winning the chip. It’s their’s for the taking….
March 19th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
weng santos says:
YES.
Mom, Kobe not sharing!!!
But really, the coaching staff has to find a way to get him more touches. He’s taking far too few shots for someone with his field goal percentage of late.
March 19th, 2009 at 2:02 pm
MSkittle says:
I dunno, he was weak with it last year against the Celtics in the Finals.
March 20th, 2009 at 4:56 am
Bruce says:
Shoot the damned ball, Kobe!
March 20th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
DTC says:
It’s always good to switch it up, but in many games lately you can see whenever he gets the ball, the other team has this look on their face like: “omg, we can’t guard this guy”. They absolutely need to feed him the ball more in the 4th. Or some off-ball screen action that frees him up for that short jumper – he only shoots about 80% on those