SBN: Pau, not Kobe, primarily to blame for Lakers' offensive struggles.

Something most observant Lakers fans would already know, but something still widely overlooked in the mass media, is Pau Gasol's inordinate refusal to just man up and play ball - made even more glaringly obvious now that Andrew Bynum has returned. An interesting piece featuring many pretty charts arguing the point.

over 1 year ago Saurav A. Das 10 comments 1 recs |

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Agreed.

"Phil Jackson seems to enjoy his status as 'NBA grand philosopher' and uses that platform to lob verbal hand grenades into other franchises or the league offices for fun." - Kurt Helin
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by bluexfalcon on Jan 4, 2011 12:22 AM PST reply actions

+1

by Jevon O on Jan 4, 2011 8:16 AM PST up reply actions

SoCalGal linked me to this on another thread

its right on, Pau needs to be more aggressive about wanting the ball at certain times (when Kobe goes into takeover mode/ during offensive droughts) and Phil should be a little more direct about what he wants his players to do rather than muttering it in postgame interviews. I do think overall that Pau is getting his touches, but he just cant get proper positioning even against weaker fowards/ centers so he kicks it back out for someone else to shoot.

"Pluto’s not even a planet no more, which I’m very disturbed about. I grew up when Pluto was a planet. Now, I’m 25, I turn around and Pluto’s no longer a planet. I’m going to elbow that guy in the nose." -Ron Artest

twitter

by shaqfor3 on Jan 4, 2011 12:51 AM PST reply actions

and written by a Kings fan!

but seriously, Ziller is a blogging beast. Decent guy too.

by bluexfalcon on Jan 4, 2011 12:52 AM PST up reply actions

To boot

Pau is getting the ball, but he isn’t doing anything with it.

Kobe is not playing well either. Its just a slump, though.

by Jevon O on Jan 4, 2011 8:16 AM PST reply actions

The difference is that Kobe is trying.

They’re gonna pull out of it, but it’s frustrating as hell to watch the struggle.

"There are no "Kobe Lovers", just people who are right." - Gil Meriken
"2010 was a kick ass year." - Kobe Bryant

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by SoCalGal on Jan 4, 2011 8:23 AM PST up reply actions 2 recs

I recced this

It’s exactly what I posted on the Kobe is killing us thread.

People have a right to be frustrated with Kobe’s game, but he’s trying. I can’t say the same about the rest of the team, really. Drew is trying, but where is everybody else?

For me its the consistent inconsistency that concerns me - PAGFL
It's always AMMO Time, in spirit- DexterFishmore
lebron should just lock himself away and not talk for the rest of forever-LA32

by 99bc99 on Jan 4, 2011 9:01 AM PST up reply actions

I agree

Kobe and Drew definitely. But guys like Pau and Ron need to step up their game. Eventually they will, but like SoCalGal said it’s really frustrating to watch.

"I'll do whatever it takes to win games, whether it's sitting on a bench waving a towel, handing a cup of water to a teammate, or hitting the game-winning shot."- Kobe Bryant

Please come back Andy!

by nyyrocks29 on Jan 4, 2011 6:56 PM PST up reply actions

Oh hell yes

You know I agree, if he would just catch ball and do something with it going towards the hoop instead of catch, hold ball, dont dribble and just pass the rock aka basically killing the 24 sec clock. Pau wake the fuck up my man

"Hardwork beats talent when talent fails to work hard"-Norm Nixon

There are basic Fundamentals that are needed to move forward in this game. Always keep your guard up at all times to avoid being caught in a trap. Overcome the fouls that will be committed against you REBOUND AND PRESS ON. ADJUST to the Limelight: ALL-STAR PLAYERS ARE ALWAYS THE CENTER OF ATTENTION. Know what your role is and play your position. Find a game plan and execute it. REMEMBER YOU ONLY GET OUT OF THE GAME WHAT YOU PUT INTO IT.

by BrittneyM on Jan 4, 2011 2:47 PM PST via mobile reply actions

this isn't what I got from the story

What I got was that they both deserve blame, but Kobe is bearing the lion’s share (probably because of his history and his devil-may-care attitude).

There has always been a chicken-and-egg relationship between Kobe’s overshooting and the rest of the team’s passivity. If you dislike Kobe, you’ll attribute it primarily to Kobe’s overshooting; if you’re a Kobe apologist, you’ll attribute it primarily to the rest of the team passing the ball to Kobe with six on the shot clock and expecting him to save them again. It’s easy to say the truth is somewhere in between (it always is, isn’t it?); what’s not so easy is to figure out how to get themselves out of that rut when it happens.

by Brian Tung on Jan 4, 2011 4:57 PM PST reply actions