Orsborn: Lakers Give Gasol Big Responsibility

[duncan228]

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA.052108.SPORTS_LakersGasol.EN.3e99c28.html

Spurs: Lakers give Gasol big responsibility
By Tom Orsborn

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — During his six full seasons with the Grizzlies, Pau Gasol always reserved May for visits to his favorite European seaside resort.

“The difference between then and now is I would have been off for a month already,” Gasol said. “I would have been on the beach for a month getting a tan.”

Postponing his tanning time isn't the only thing that's changed for Gasol. Thanks to Lakers coach Phil Jackson, the 7-foot Spaniard must now become accustomed to something that might make him wish he were on the beach — defending the Spurs' Tim Duncan.

“Oh, yeah, without a doubt,” Jackson said Tuesday when asked if he would match Gasol up with Duncan in the Western Conference finals. “He's going to have to play him.

“(The Spurs) will see what it's like (having Gasol on Duncan). They will test it out early and try to create a foul situation. That's not unusual in that situation. But we will probably do the same thing.”

Jackson didn't rule out having another defender slide over to help Gasol when Duncan sets up on the low block.

“We've tried not to have to double-team Tim in the past, because so much of their offense relies upon 3-point shooting,” Jackson said. “And (Duncan) is a good passer and can really break down the defense. But there's always extenuating circumstances, like if you get into foul trouble and you have to do something to protect players.”

Gasol said he's ready for the challenge of defending Duncan, who is averaging 19.3 points in the playoffs.

“Obviously, you have to be aggressive, but at the same time, you have to be smart with your fouls,” said Gasol, who is averaging 20 points. “Don't reach. Make sure you stay in front of him, and make sure he takes tough shots over the top of you. That's what I try to do most of the time with him.

“The ball runs a lot through his hands, and you have to make sure he doesn't get going. You also have to make sure he doesn't get his teammates involved. That's key.”

Duncan won't be the series' only big man who can thread a needle. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich says Gasol is one of the game's best passing big men.

“He has a really innate feel for the game,” Popovich said. “The guy really understands all the special relationships involved in the triangle. It's perfect for him. It was like he was born for that offense.

“And because he is a threat (to score) in his own right, it makes it very difficult to do things with him, because any mistake anywhere else in the movement or spacing, he will take advantage of it.”

The Lakers acquired Gasol in a February trade that sent Kwame Brown, rookie Javaris Crittenton and two first-round draft picks to Memphis.

Popovich quickly denounced the deal, telling SI.com, “What they did in Memphis is beyond comprehension. There should be a trade committee that can scratch all trades that make no sense. I just wish I had been on a trade committee that oversees NBA trades. I would have voted no to the L.A. trade.”

Lakers guard Kobe Bryant says he got a chuckle out of Popovich's denunciation of the deal.

“Pop is sarcastic as hell,” Bryant said. “So am I, so I can appreciate that kind of humor.”

Reminded of his quotes, Popovich laughed and said, “That was a tremendous, tremendous trade. I voted against it at the time, and I still do, but it was great. Who would not do that?”

[VaSpursFan]

gasol CANNOT guard timmy 1 on 1. good luck LA

[DazedAndConfused]

gasol CANNOT guard timmy 1 on 1. good luck LA

6-19 shooting, 2 blocks against Timmy

Stop the myth.

[Supergirl]

Excellent. I look forward to Timmy punishing Pau in 1:1 match ups.

On the Spurs side, I don't expect Timmy will start off defending Paul. I expect Oberto, Horry, and Thomas will get their chances at him, and whoever does better on any given night will get the minutes.

[ATXSPUR]

According to Barkley gasol is a better defender than chandler. So we're screwed. *sarcasm*

[2slowman]

Since when did the words coming out of Phil's mouth to the press have anything to do with what he was really planning on doing in the game?

[Supreme_Being]

Gasol and defense should not be used in the same sentence.

[nkdlunch]

Since when did the words coming out of Phil's mouth to the press have anything to do with what he was really planning on doing in the game?

well they don't really have another option.

they could go big and have Turiaf in the lineup guarding Duncan. but I don't see this happening much.

[nkdlunch]

Since when did the words coming out of Phil's mouth to the press have anything to do with what he was really planning on doing in the game?

This is Phil Jackson's way of saying "we don't have a fucking choice"

[2slowman]

This is Phil Jackson's way of saying "we don't have a fucking choice"

Yes, but it is classic Phil misdirection, although I don't expect anyone but the media to believe him.

Phil is pointing out the obvious, trying to make the Spurs confident in an area he intends on attacking sharply from a different direction.

The unspoken piece of this answer is on the other side of the court, where Odom and Kobe will drive hard at Timmy to try to get him in foul trouble and off the floor. I expect to spend at least one game screaming about stupid fouls on Timmy as he rides the pine, and rolling my eyes in the post game interviews as Phil lobbies the officials about not getting fouls, about all of the Spurs flopping, about how often Tony palms the ball when he changes directions, and that Manu's European two step is really traveling by NBA rules.

Whether my theory is right or not, Phil is never frank and clear with the media. Every word is meant to give his team an edge.

[ElNono]

I think it's more Phil telling his players: 'Look, now we have somebody to guard Duncan, we're not at a disadvantage anymore'. It's a confidence thing. Not that reality has anything to do with it, but he knows how to play the mind game. Even with his own players.

[Bruno]

Gasol has some length and quickness, he could do a decent job on Duncan.
However, if Duncan is still Duncan, it won't be enough and Duncan will score a lot if Gasol defends him 1 vs 1.

I put an "if" because Duncan wasn't Duncan against Hornets. If he doesn't play better against Lakers, Spurs will be fishing soon and he will be the first to blame for that.

[Ronaldo McDonald]

Bringing up the fact that Gasol did well defensively against Duncan during the season is pretty stupid. Duncan is a different animal in the playoffs. He always has been. Laker fans are delusional if they think that he can stop him. The fact of the matter is, Duncan will eat Gasol's lunch and desert if he's guarding him one-on-one. The same thing can be said on the defensive end.

[DazedAndConfused]

Bringing up the fact that Gasol did well defensively against Duncan during the season is pretty stupid. Duncan is a different animal in the playoffs. He always has been. Laker fans are delusional if they think that he can stop him. The fact of the matter is, Duncan will eat Gasol's lunch and desert if he's guarding him one-on-one. The same thing can be said on the defensive end.

Ever since the Gasol trade I've been hearing from Spur's fans how Duncan will eat Gasol alive. You guys were all talking mad shit about the end-of-season matchup and how we would see Duncan demolish Gasol.

Well, it didn't happen. And of course the excuses came in droves. "Duncan wasn't trying......it's on the regular season...blah, blah, blah". I suspect after Game 1 we'll see even more excuses from you guys, "Duncan had the flu......his tummy hurt.....he had a headache".

[Ronaldo McDonald]

Ever since the Gasol trade I've been hearing from Spur's fans how Duncan will eat Gasol alive. You guys were all talking mad shit about the end-of-season matchup and how we would see Duncan demolish Gasol.

Well, it didn't happen. And of course the excuses came in droves. "Duncan wasn't trying......it's on the regular season...blah, blah, blah". I suspect after Game 1 we'll see even more excuses from you guys, "Duncan had the flu......his tummy hurt.....he had a headache".

If not believing that Duncan will be Duncan at this stage in the playoffs when he's been doing it his whole career isn't delusional then I don't know what is.

You're just kidding yourself, picking a proven winner and unarguably the most accomplished player since MJ (just look at his accolades) to fail against some doofus who's never been out of the first round (except this year) and done nothing significant at all in this league.

Keep kidding yourself.

[Dex]

I will admit that I was surprised by Chandler's ability to move his feet against Tim, and face him one-up. However, I also think that considering Chandler's only two responsibilities were guarding Tim, and throwing down those ridiculous lob passes, he was able to save a lot of energy for just those particular things.

Not only is Pau not as adept as playing man-up, move-your-feet defense (from what I remember of the Memphis' series, Gasol has that European tendency to reach and defend with his hands), but he is also gonna have to keep his eyes on Parker and Ginobili, as well as be an important weapon on the offensive end.

Pau is a much better player than Chandler, to be sure. But that's a lot heavier load to carry against a championship caliber squad, too.

[austinlakepirate]

Duncan is going to have 20 points in the first quarter.

This is a joke right?

This is going to be a 120 - 85 blow out The Lakers are screwed




http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA.052108.SPORTS_LakersGasol.EN.3e99c28.html

Spurs: Lakers give Gasol big responsibility
By Tom Orsborn

...
Reminded of his quotes, Popovich laughed and said, “That was a tremendous, tremendous trade. I voted against it at the time, and I still do, but it was great. Who would not do that?”

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

“The difference between then and now is I would have been off for a month already,” Gasol said. “I would have been on the beach for a month getting a tan.”




If I ever saw Pau Gasol lying on the beach I'd think a dead sasquatch had washed up on shore.

[DazedAndConfused]

25 Pau Gasol 2006-01-14 MEM @ SAS 0 1 1 46:09 11 20 .550 0 0 4 13 .308 2 5 7 5 0 2 5 4 26
26 Tim Duncan 2006-01-14 SAS MEM 1 0 1 38:04 8 16 .500 0 0 3 6 .500 4 9 13 2 2 4 3 2 19
27 Pau Gasol 2006-01-16 MEM SAS 0 1 1 42:25 9 21 .429 0 0 7 8 .875 5 4 9 1 0 1 3 3 25
28 Tim Duncan 2006-01-16 SAS @ MEM 1 0 1 33:04 5 10 .500 0 0 3 4 .750 2 10 12 3 0 1 2 5 13
29 Pau Gasol 2006-02-24 MEM SAS 0 1 1 41:51 8 18 .444 0 0 5 10 .500 2 10 12 1 2 1 4 6 21
30 Tim Duncan 2006-02-24 SAS @ MEM 1 0 1 35:49 7 16 .438 0 0 5 11 .455 4 12 16 1 2 3 3 6 19
31 Pau Gasol 2006-04-09 MEM @ SAS 0 1 1 37:37 5 19 .263 0 0 4 4 1.000 4 1 5 3 1 1 8 3 14
32 Tim Duncan 2006-04-09 SAS MEM 1 0 1 38:06 8 14 .571 0 0 7 12 .583 3 9 12 5 2 3 4 3 23
33 Pau Gasol 2006-12-20 MEM @ SAS 0 1 1 23:38 7 13 .538 0 0 2 2 1.000 1 1 2 3 0 0 1 0 16
34 Tim Duncan 2006-12-20 SAS MEM 1 0 1 39:45 8 8 1.000 0 0 5 10 .500 4 5 9 1 3 3 3 3 21
35 Pau Gasol 2007-01-07 MEM SAS 0 1 1 30:54 9 16 .563 0 0 6 6 1.000 2 4 6 3 1 1 1 3 24
36 Tim Duncan 2007-01-07 SAS @ MEM 1 0 1 32:21 5 13 .385 0 1 .000 0 1 .000 0 9 9 6 1 0 2 2 10
37 Pau Gasol 2007-10-31 MEM SAS 0 1 1 41:09 8 16 .500 1 1 1.000 5 5 1.000 0 3 3 1 0 2 1 3 22
38 Tim Duncan 2007-10-31 SAS @ MEM 1 0 1 36:05 7 15 .467 0 0 3 6 .500 4 5 9 0 1 3 1 2 17
39 Pau Gasol 2007-11-23 MEM @ SAS 0 1 1 32:31 6 14 .429 0 0 0 0 3 3 6 2 1 0 0 3 12
40 Tim Duncan 2007-11-23 SAS MEM 1 0 1 28:14 14 17 .824 0 0 0 1 .000 4 5 9 2 2 1 2 3 28
41 Pau Gasol 2007-12-30 MEM @ SAS 0 1 1 35:36 6 12 .500 1 1 1.000 6 8 .750 0 5 5 4 3 0 1 2 19
42 Tim Duncan 2007-12-30 SAS MEM 1 0 1 33:35 10 20 .500 0 0 4 7 .571 5 12 17 7 1 3 5 4 24
43 Pau Gasol 2008-04-13 LAL SAS 1 0 1 28:20 7 15 .467 0 0 0 0 4 7 11 3 1 2 1 2 14
44 Tim Duncan 2008-04-13 SAS @ LAL 0 1 1 31:51 6 19 .316 0 0 4 7 .571 6 6 12 2 0 0 1 3 16

Keep in mind a lot of Duncan's points also come off of putbacks and from easy dunks caused by MG/TP penetration. These statlines are from 2006 onwards when Pau was on a clearly inferior MEM team. For every good game Duncan had on Pau, Pau had one as well. They are evenly matched in terms of scoring output.

[Allanon]

I will admit that I was surprised by Chandler's ability to move his feet against Tim, and face him one-up. However, I also think that considering Chandler's only two responsibilities were guarding Tim, and throwing down those ridiculous lob passes, he was able to save a lot of energy for just those particular things.

Not only is Pau not as adept as playing man-up, move-your-feet defense (from what I remember of the Memphis' series, Gasol has that European tendency to reach and defend with his hands), but he is also gonna have to keep his eyes on Parker and Ginobili, as well as be an important weapon on the offensive end.

Pau is a much better player than Chandler, to be sure. But that's a lot heavier load to carry against a championship caliber squad, too.

This common perception of Pau being a poor defender is misleading. Pau and Chandler are very different kinds of defenders.

Chandler is an excellent help defender and a decent 1 on 1 defender.

Pau is a poor help defender but an excellent 1 on 1 defender.

Duncan also gives up about 2-3 inches to Pau in height and a couple more inches in wingspan.

The Lakers won't need to double-team Duncan as long as Pau's guarding him. Occasionally, a hard double will be brought to stir things up but for the most part, the open 3 won't be there for the Spurs off double-teams. Pau won't stop Timmy but he will make Duncan grind through his points. And on the offensive side, Pau can give as good as he gets.

[DazedAndConfused]

This common perception of Pau being a poor defender is misleading. Pau and Chandler are very different kinds of defenders.

Chandler is an excellent help defender and a decent 1 on 1 defender.

Pau is a poor help defender but an excellent 1 on 1 defender.

Duncan also gives up about 2-3 inches to Pau in height and a couple more inches in wingspan.

The Lakers won't need to double-team Duncan as long as Pau's guarding him. Occasionally, a hard double will be brought to stir things up but for the most part, the open 3 won't be there for the Spurs off double-teams. Pau won't stop Timmy but he will make Duncan grind through his points. And on the offensive side, Pau can give as good as he gets.

There is no need to argue with them. They have their minds made up that Duncan owns Pau, despite the mountains of evidence that prove otherwise (including the most recent game where Pau pretty much shut Duncan down).

I think maybe one smart Spur fan here actually acknowledged that Duncan and Gasol are a wash. Duncan averaged 15pts on 42% shooting in the NOH series, if the Lakers can hold him anywhere near that statline they'll be fine.

[Johnny RIngo]

PJ's smart. He knows the refs won't call any fouls against the Lakers so he's gonna have Gasol hack Duncan all series long. The League already has the Lakers penciled in for the Finals. Proof:

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/4788/nbaftleadersny4.jpg

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/8819/teamftasbz8.jpg

[Allanon]

Actually, your numbers don't say anything other than the Lakers are the best shooting team in the NBA Playoffs.

a) Kobe has less than 1 more FT per game than LeBron who is gone out of the Playoffs. Dirk and Shaq are also #3 and #4, both are also out.

b) If you looke at that top # of FT's in the Playoffs, you'll see that the top 10 Free throw getters are all fishing except for Kobe. So giving out FTs isn't an indication of anything.

c) Now on your list of best shooting NBA teams, Lakers top that one as well but look at the rest. The top 11 are fishing outside of the Lakers. So how come the other teams who had alot of foul shots aren't still in the Playoffs. Look at the Hawks at #2, did the NBA conspire to get them into the Finals too?

All it really shows is the Lakers are an extremely good shooting team and better than the other "offense" teams because they also play good defense.

[Johnny RIngo]

Actually, your numbers don't say anything other than the Lakers are the best shooting team in the NBA Playoffs.

Actually, the numbers tell me that the Lakers receive more FTAs than any other team in the playoffs. They also tell me that Kobe gets more FTAs than any other player. Want more proof?

The Lakers FTAs went up from 27.7(reg season) to 35.0(playoffs). That's a +7.3 difference. Denver and Utah both led the league in FTAs in the reg season. Come playoff time, their FTAs went down. In fact, LA had the largest increase in FTAs of all playoff teams. Here's the difference in FTAs from the reg season to post season for all PO teams:

LA: +7.3
Phoenix: +6.3
Dallas: +4.7
Washington: 4.7
Atlanta: +4.2
Cleveland: +4.1
Philly: +3.9
Houston: +3.7
SA: 0
NO: -0.5
Toronto: -1.0
Utah: -1.0(Laker opponent)
Denver: -1.7(Laker opponent)
Detroit: -2.2
Boston: -3.2
Orlando: -3.6

Even a moron could see that the Lakers are getting special treatment from the refs.


All it really shows is the Lakers are an extremely good shooting team and better than the other "offense" teams because they also play good defense.

Actually the Lakers rank 11th in Def Eff among all playoff teams. Considering the average defense they've played so far you'd think some of the Laker opponents would be receiving more FTAs.

[DazedAndConfused]

Actually, the numbers tell me that the Lakers receive more FTAs than any other team in the playoffs. They also tell me that Kobe gets more FTAs than any other player. Want more proof?

The Lakers FTAs went up from 27.7(reg season) to 35.0(playoffs). That's a +7.3 difference. Denver and Utah both led the league in FTAs in the reg season. Come playoff time, their FTAs went down. In fact, LA had the largest increase in FTAs of all playoff teams. Here's the difference in FTAs from the reg season to post season for all PO teams:

LA: +7.3
Phoenix: +6.3
Dallas: +4.7
Washington: 4.7
Atlanta: +4.2
Cleveland: +4.1
Philly: +3.9
Houston: +3.7
SA: 0
NO: -0.5
Toronto: -1.0
Utah: -1.0(Laker opponent)
Denver: -1.7(Laker opponent)
Detroit: -2.2
Boston: -3.2
Orlando: -3.6

Even a moron could see that the Lakers are getting special treatment from the refs.



Actually the Lakers rank 11th in Def Eff among all playoff teams. Considering the average defense they've played so far you'd think some of the Laker opponents would be receiving more FTAs.

Mere speculation. What you are saying does not correlate, just because the Lakers are shooting more free-throws than their opponent doesn't prove anything.

To prove conspiracy you're going to have to provide evidence that the Lakers are receiving foul shots on calls that aren't fouls, and vice versa for their opponents. When you do that, I'll start listening.

[Allanon]

Actually, the numbers tell me that the Lakers receive more FTAs than any other team in the playoffs. They also tell me that Kobe gets more FTAs than any other player. Want more proof?

blah...blah

Even a moron could see that the Lakers are getting special treatment from the refs.

LeBron, Shaq and Dirk got the "special treatment" from the refs too, last I heard they're chasing down tuna. Hmm, Phoenix and Dallas are also getting "special treatment" from the refs, wonder how much that's helping them catch the trout :D



Actually the Lakers rank 11th in Def Eff among all playoff teams. Considering the average defense they've played so far you'd think some of the Laker opponents would be receiving more FTAs.

Defensive efficiency is one thing, Field Goal % is another, Lakers are #6 overall in opponent FG%. Defensive efficiency doesn't work when you compare running teams to non-running teams.

Add to that, the Jazz were the #1 fouling team in the regular season. That is heightened by the fact that the Jazz have no defender capable of guarding Kobe so they must foul. Sorry, more FTA's don't correlate to a fix, most of the teams that got a ton of FTAs are fishing...so much for the "special treatment"

[temujin]

Wait for Pau Gasol to score 35 points and get 20 rebounds and shut down Duncan in G7.
And miss that final layup with 2'' left down by one point.

That's pau gasol.

[SpursIndonesia]

Gasol has some length and quickness, he could do a decent job on Duncan.
However, if Duncan is still Duncan, it won't be enough and Duncan will score a lot if Gasol defends him 1 vs 1.

I put an "if" because Duncan wasn't Duncan against Hornets. If he doesn't play better against Lakers, Spurs will be fishing soon and he will be the first to blame for that.

Agreed Bruno, from 3 games that i watched live here in my country, game 1, 4, and 7, it seemed that Tim hasn't been able to truly adjust to NO team defense on him, and looked frustated at times going against a very good man defense by Chandler, really bothered by his length and quick feet.

Now, i do also think that Chandler played above par defensively in that series, and his team defensive scheme helped him a lot, but Tim was just not himself in that series, really underwhelming, especially on the offensive end of the game,even after his supposed Flu sickness has gone away.