I wouldn't say that Diaw is going up against a less fresh Gasol so much as he's just taking them by surprise.
My su ion is that the reason for starting Splitter vs LAL is to help keep Bynum off the glass and to have him (Tiago) run their bigs ragged more than for exclusively defensive purposes although Tiago>Blair. This allows the Spurs to match their size a bit better while also taking advantage of their tiredness throughout the next 3 quarters. Diaw plays an intelligent but completely different style and that seems to throw the Lakers out of sorts once he's in there. For that reason, my preference is to leave Tiago where he is vs the Lakers.
That said, Diaw has been playing fantastic and it wouldn't hurt to start him against LAL either. I definitely want Diaw starting against everybody else though.
Like I've said elsewhere, I have a really good feeling about Splitter. Since he's a rhythm player who needs time to adjust, however, it's in Pop's best interests to play him more but to let him warm up from the bench like he's used to. Shifts similar to the Houston game would be good. Unless TD says otherwise the plan should be to give Splitter another offseason to get more polished and then to start him next year if that's the goal. Even then I think he'll have a few games like these last ones before he settles in.
Diaw has more experience, he's versatile, and he's a great playmaker. If Blair gets dropped out of the rotation and Bonner gets his minutes reduced a touch, I think there's enough minutes for Splitter to get 20+ while the team also starts Diaw. That's the kind of rotation I think they can win with in the post-season tbh.
RE Diaw confident against Gasol: It wouldn't surprise me although it could just be that he knows Pau probably won't block the shot.
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As much as I love Splitter starting the game, Diaw starting the 2nd half seems to have a much greater effect. Someone on here might be right when they said Diaw is great in the 2nd half on a not-so-fresh Gasol, which could have merit. But to ignore the vastly better defense Diaw plays on the Spaniard as compared to Splitter, as well as how much more smooth Diaw looks in the offense (attacking the rim and passing) would be quite foolish. Starting Blair over either player in any half of the PS will make no sense to me, unless the opposing team is from OKC.
