Keller61 wrote:tomacorandom wrote:PMONSTER wrote:
You mean this one....
There it is, but I don't want to give him undeserved publicity for free.Keller61 wrote:I am potentially concerned about Pau Gasol. With him anchoring our defense for 35+ minutes a game, I just don't see how we regain our identity as a tough defensive team that out-works and out-hustles everybody. And I don't see how we win a title without that identity.
This team can play defense when they want. Gasol is protecting the rim well and way better than Boozer. The lack on defense is on Noah in my opinion. He hasn't been last-year Noah, and our guards defense when Butler play at 3, hasn't been good at all.
One of the last concerns should be Pau, and it's even ridicolous when he is earning 7M$.
He protects the rim well when he happens to be in position to contest the shot, but too often he allows uncontested shots because he's just too slow to get there. He's not as bad as Boozer, but he plays a more important role than Boozer as the last line of defense, and he plays more minutes than Boozer (therefore less minutes of Taj). Things surely would be better with a 100% Noah, but I'm not sure we would still be elite unless Noah were back to playing the center position.
Gasol's salary is irrelevant when we're talking about his impact on the court. He is playing 35 minutes a game. If he were playing for free, I'd still be potentially concerned about his impact.
I see your point but it's not like this 100%. He is slow, OK, but he can also contest PG when they are penetrating. Most of his blocks happen in situations like those. The problem is when Thibs uses him 12 minutes in a row. Sometimes he is exhausted out there