Gasol-driven geometry gives Lakers some space

JordansBulls · Post #1 » by **JordansBulls** » Mon Apr 14, 2008 11:21 am

On the positive side for the Lakers, after weeks of waiting for Andrew Bynum . . . apparently with weeks to go . . . they may be the best in the West as they are.

They're 21-5 with Pau Gasol in the lineup, an .808 winning percentage which, projected over a season, would be better than Boston's NBA-best .800.

With Gasol, they go from erratic fits and starts (see: the last three seasons) to sleek efficiency.

In tandem with Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom's reluctance to shoot always seemed to leave Bryant with the predicament of whether to shoot too much or not enough.

However, in a trio with Gasol, Bryant and Odom are fabulous.

Kirk Moon · Post #2 » by **Kirk Moon** » Mon Apr 14, 2008 12:54 pm

welcome to the bandwagon, JordansBulls.

LAKESHOW · Post #3 » by **LAKESHOW** » Mon Apr 14, 2008 3:51 pm

i would disagree. tim duncan is not going to flame out in a 7 game series. as most of us know, calls go your way. then the next game in the series, you foul out of the game.

tim duncan will get the calls in a 7 gamer. what does that mean? place pau gasol on him consistently, and there will be games where he will become a foul magnet. i.e. we would have to place someone else on duncan.

thats where we need as many live bodies available. and bynums length will provide very useful on the defensive end. he is a much better defensive option in the post than anyone we have.

play phoenix and shaq, and similar things can occur.

play the celtics, and they have plenty of strength on the bench.

play detroit, and they have height and length issues to deal with.

so we need bynum. if we need pau to help carry the load on the offensive side of the court, we need to free him up.

donte124 · Post #4 » by **donte124** » Mon Apr 14, 2008 4:27 pm

hermes · Post #5 » by **hermes** » Mon Apr 14, 2008 4:42 pm

we're good with pau, tell us something we don't know

Dexmor · Post #6 » by **Dexmor** » Mon Apr 14, 2008 5:18 pm

We do need Bynum. They only way we could survive long run would be if we got a really good shotblocking rebounding Center. We would need at least a Samuel Dalembert because honestly playing Center will eventually were on Gasol.

Profanity · Post #7 » by **Profanity** » Mon Apr 14, 2008 5:30 pm

Just a question (maybe it could had it's own thread but I'm not a regular poster on these boards and don't allow myself to open one)

If the lakers win it all this year... how would you rate the Pau signing over the lakerland history? Top 20, Top 10? maybe top 5?

Tommy Trojan · Post #8 » by **Tommy Trojan** » Mon Apr 14, 2008 6:48 pm

+1

MikeyMike · Post #9 » by **MikeyMike** » Mon Apr 14, 2008 6:54 pm

DJ Mbenga, FTW!

LAKESHOW · Post #10 » by **LAKESHOW** » Mon Apr 14, 2008 7:05 pm

Profanity wrote:Just a question (maybe it could had it's own thread but I'm not a regular poster on these boards and don't allow myself to open one)

If the lakers win it all this year... how would you rate the Pau signing over the lakerland history? Top 20, Top 10? maybe top 5?

thats an excellent question. because it comes to history. and some visitors might not be too "hip" on the history of the franchise.

but paus signing would just be another on the list.

if you look at the history of other franchises, you'll see they build on the draft. but not the LAKER organization. our BIG moves for BIG men are usually done through picking them up on the market from another team.

for example, san antonio can trace their history through the luck of drafting #1s tim duncan and david robinson. houston rockets success came through drafting a hall of famer like hakeem.

but predominantly, this franchise has picked up TOP NOTCH bigmen from other teams, trade, free agency etc.

pau gasol, aquired through trade. shaq, signs from another team. kareem, traded. wilt chamberlain brought in.

so weve never drafted that QUALITY big man, rarely do we have an opportunity to get that high. (bynum might be the new exception, but no one is ready to put him on the level of kareem or wilt)

so as far as big move SIGNINGs and BIG MEN are concerned:

KAREEM (5 TITLES)
SHAQ (3 TITLES)
WILT (1 TITLE)
PAU (0 TITLES)

if pau wins one this year, he will still remain in the 4th spot.

(note: george mikan i believe won 5 titles in the 50s, but if memory is correct, i dont believe he was brought in, but rather "drafted" as a LAKER. some can correct me on that if incorrect)

TommyTheCat · Post #11 » by **TommyTheCat** » Mon Apr 14, 2008 7:08 pm

Profanity wrote:Just a question (maybe it could had it's own thread but I'm not a regular poster on these boards and don't allow myself to open one)

If the lakers win it all this year... how would you rate the Pau signing over the lakerland history? Top 20, Top 10? maybe top 5?

probably the #3 trade in their history. the #1 & #2 being the trades for Kareem and Kobe. the trade for wilt might be #3 instead of gasol but the lakers picked up wilt late in his career and i think we've still got lots to come from gasol