"The Softie" deserves more respect

[KOBE_PAUER]

Number 16 obviously. The Media, some fans or our own coach basically blame this guy unfairly. He is statiscally our most consistent player. He is the best passing big man by far, and one of the top rebounders this season.(he is rebounding better than ever so far) He is doing more monster games than upsets this season. Number #2 seed in the West has been owned several times this season by Gasol. This game wasnt the first. I remember 21-19-8-5 against Utah when Kobe was out. I remember 26-22 against the Hornets and he was insulted once again "Gasoft". Sometimes we dont realize what a hell of a player we have.

[laduane1]

I agree, we have not seen all we could out of Pau. I think he is limited at times to what he is allowed to do with Phil and his triangle. Gasol gives the #1 spot to Kobe. He plays a little out of position with Bynum out there at the same time. I guess the same can be said for Lamar. As long as these players come together and play as 1, it will be very hard to beat the Lakers over 5 or 7 game series.

[dockingsched]

i don't think pau has been getting the appreciation he deserves this season. i've been guilty of being overly critical, and ultimately it comes down to this for me: it takes a very special star player to co-exist with kobe in a positive way. i think we've all seen kobe long enough to realize that its not easy to play with him at times. i appreciate that we have someone good enough to be a #1 option but defers to kobe just enough to keep mamba happy.

[Optms]

Bottom line is his production is irreplaceable. He's had his bad games this season, but who hasn't? Come playoff time, he'll be alright. And we know he'll deliver. Regular season shouldn't matter much, and you guys shouldn't forget that.

[tkb]

I always thought that soft label was kind of ridiculous in the first place. Pau is a hell of a player and deserves tons of credit.

I love how he has improved on his rebounding btw.

[TruSkool]

i never doubted his toughness in the first place...i actually think hes a pretty good defender.

theres only one thing that really bugs me about pau---> when he has the ball at the wing and takes 8 seconds off the shot clock with his jab steps...other than that (minor irritation) theres not a single player in the nba who can give us what he does...

thank you pau gasol for giving us 2 western conference titles, 1 championship, and the security of kobe bryant staying in los angeles. YOU are a gift to basketball

[Kobe24MVP]

Gasol is one of the best European players as we saw in the olympics. I got into a friendly argument with my buddy whos a mavs fan. We were going back and fourth about whos better between Gasol and Dirk. Iadmit Dirk is a much better shooter and scorer for sure but my friend didnt agree that pau is smarter and an overall better big man.

Im always reading the forum but i never usually write. Everyones always worried about LA falling apart or whatever they wanna say. Fact is, we are 1st in west, 2nd overall and havent played excellent ball at really any point of this season. If they start to heat up in the playoffs and get going....No one can stop us in 7 games

BTW im loving this rotation with Lamar

[Anklebreaker702]

You guys & Pau Gasol Respect is earned not give. If you are going to call his toughness into question then he has to shed that label for that type of respect. No one questions his production but if you guys pay attention the word is out on him, rough him up & he'll fade. The rugged teams are going to pull this all playoffs long mark my word.

To me if Pau had a shred of consistent toughness there wouldn't be an issue with him bad games or not. Questioning a 10 time NBA title toting coach is asinine though if you ask me. Yeah Phil can be hard on players but with Pau it seems most would rather pat him on the back & lather him up in the shower before excepting the criticism that is warranted for his lack of toughness.

[KOBE_PAUER]

You guys & Pau Gasol Respect is earned not give. If you are going to call his toughness into question then he has to shed that label for that type of respect. No one questions his production but if you guys pay attention the word is out on him, rough him up & he'll fade. The rugged teams are going to pull this all playoffs long mark my word.

To me if Pau had a shred of consistent toughness there wouldn't be an issue with him bad games or not. Questioning a 10 time NBA title toting coach is asinine though if you ask me. Yeah Phil can be hard on players but with Pau it seems most would rather pat him on the back & lather him up in the shower before excepting the criticism that is warranted for his lack of toughness.

I agree with you, our rivals will try rough him up, thats the chance for them to beat LA. Dirty game on Gasol. But the most important thing is he doesnt lack confidence. IMO, Gasol's problem isnt his toughness, it is his mentality. Example: Nowadays, Gasol is far better than Garnett, but he use to play bad every single game against him. Why?? Because he respects KG too much, same for Shaq, however, he use to play big against Howard who is the best and most powerful center in the game, same for Yao when he was playing, why? Because he has confidence against them. Gasol is a mismatch for every single big man in the NBA, when he's on, he's unstoppable. We'll see in the finals, he needs to grow some balls against Shaq, because Shaq cant stop him. And I said finals, because I cant see any other big man dominating Gasol in the West....

[rhp1990]

Whatever pau is.. Ever since he's been a laker hes been a winner..it's okay to criticize but everytime we lose everyone bashs pau. If anyones a softie on the team it's bynum and Walton for not being on the court period. I would like to see bynum play the 4 and see how'd he play..pau is playing out of position and is still putting up his number. Without pau we wouldn't of reached the NBA finals or win it. Appreciate what he does.

[Kilroy]

Love Pau.... Fully understand everything he brings to the Lakers.

That said, Pau plays super small at times.

No disrespect, just how I see it. Call it soft or whatever, but there have been lots of times when we needed him to match the intensity of other bigs and he just doesn't do it.

Same with Bynum. Luckily it's been in different games from Pau.

But whatever it is... I don't think we want to shove a square peg in a round hole... Pau isn't the guy we want wasting his skill shoving the other teams bruiser around if he's bigger than Pau. We want Pau doing what he does best.

We have Pau, Odom, Bynum, and Powell. All essentially offensive, skilled, finesse bigs. Bynum seems to be evolving at times but lets just call it... He's too fragile to be a bruiser.

No point in talking about it this year but I think next season at least one of those guys have to go for a 6.9+ 260lber that isn't afraid to lay it on guys and clean the glass.

My honest opinion... Everyone but Pau should be available to get the right combo in the paint and at PG.

I'd hate to give up Odom or Bynum but to get the right combo of players here, I think it may need to happen. Move Bynum first though.

[daddyfivestar]

Respect is not earned it is given without expecting anything in return.
Happy Easter.

[Anklebreaker702]

Whatever pau is.. Ever since he's been a laker hes been a winner..it's okay to criticize but everytime we lose everyone bashs pau. If anyones a softie on the team it's bynum and Walton for not being on the court period. I would like to see bynum play the 4 and see how'd he play..pau is playing out of position and is still putting up his number. Without pau we wouldn't of reached the NBA finals or win it. Appreciate what he does.

You hit the nail on the head, SINCE HE'S BEEN A LAKER. When was the 1st option on the Grizz they were 1 & done if they made the playoffs. He's been a winner here because of his supporting cast which includes the best player in the game. If Pau would gain tgis mental toughness he needs we would blow through everybody including whoever makes it to the Finals

[KOBE_PAUER]

Whatever pau is.. Ever since he's been a laker hes been a winner..it's okay to criticize but everytime we lose everyone bashs pau. If anyones a softie on the team it's bynum and Walton for not being on the court period. I would like to see bynum play the 4 and see how'd he play..pau is playing out of position and is still putting up his number. Without pau we wouldn't of reached the NBA finals or win it. Appreciate what he does.

You hit the nail on the head, SINCE HE'S BEEN A LAKER. When was the 1st option on the Grizz they were 1 & done if they made the playoffs. He's been a winner here because of his supporting cast which includes the best player in the game. If Pau would gain tgis mental toughness he needs we would blow through everybody including whoever makes it to the Finals

How Kobe would say.....Your thoughts are Bipolar.....Kobe didnt win a single play off round being the main man and it was because he had an horrible supporting cast, Gasol didnt win a single play off game for the same reason. Gasol with a good supporting cast could dominate all superstars worldwide in 2 Olympics in a row and World Championships. I cant see Kobe winning a single game in the playoffs playing for the Memphis Grizzlies, and Kobe is the best player in the game. It was exposed this when Kobe got injured and Gasol did monster games, I can see Gasol winning play off rounds as the main man in this lakers team without Bryant.

[kobeaki]

i don't think pau has been getting the appreciation he deserves this season. i've been guilty of being overly critical, and ultimately it comes down to this for me: it takes a very special star player to co-exist with kobe in a positive way. i think we've all seen kobe long enough to realize that its not easy to play with him at times. i appreciate that we have someone good enough to be a #1 option but defers to kobe just enough to keep mamba happy.

i come in peace, really, but werent you , dcash, one the ones on the gasoft is a pussy station wagon? i dont know, not flaming just curious if i am wrong or if yr mind was changed somewhere along the line.

btw, shall i dust off my pau / cap comparisons?

[KOBE_PAUER]

i don't think pau has been getting the appreciation he deserves this season. i've been guilty of being overly critical, and ultimately it comes down to this for me: it takes a very special star player to co-exist with kobe in a positive way. i think we've all seen kobe long enough to realize that its not easy to play with him at times. i appreciate that we have someone good enough to be a #1 option but defers to kobe just enough to keep mamba happy.

i come in peace, really, but werent you , dcash, one the ones on the gasoft is a pussy station wagon? i dont know, not flaming just curious if i am wrong or if yr mind was changed somewhere along the line.

btw, shall i dust off my pau / cap comparisons?

We all Lakers fans are bandwagon supporters. Today, Pau is the most complete big man in the game, Lamar is amazing and key, Fisher is useful because he is a threat in the perimeter, and we will blow the competition....

[kobeaki]

You guys & Pau Gasol Respect is earned not give. If you are going to call his toughness into question then he has to shed that label for that type of respect. No one questions his production but if you guys pay attention the word is out on him, rough him up & he'll fade. The rugged teams are going to pull this all playoffs long mark my word.

To me if Pau had a shred of consistent toughness there wouldn't be an issue with him bad games or not. Questioning a 10 time NBA title toting coach is asinine though if you ask me. Yeah Phil can be hard on players but with Pau it seems most would rather pat him on the back & lather him up in the shower before excepting the criticism that is warranted for his lack of toughness.

i take issue with the bolded part of yr statement, smush questioning phil is one thing, but pau is a proven commodity in this league regardless of our beefs with him.

remember no less an authority on skilled big men than greg popovich, this season in fact, hailed pau as "the most skilled big man in the game". an amazing statement considering he is tim duncans coach. i am aware of gregs ability to politic like phil. i think his praise stands though.

and there isnt a real laker fan on this board, or anywhere else who hasnt questioned phil. pau is a very smart cat, without size and skill, he would be a doctor in madrid or barcelona. intellectually i wouldnt put phil above pau.

i was on an island last the last month around here as the entire roster was sucking lemons, in my defense of pau.

and i am not trying to be smug in my victory lap here, i just want to reiterate that pau is a grade A nba player and the boy will come through for us.

end rant/.

[magic1fan]

to be honest i think our entire team deserves more respect. we all me included seem to get to down on our team for the smallest of things. with that said there is no doubt in anyone's mind that pau has been a great second option. i never really cared about the soft stuff,my only gripe with pau has benn if you are going to call for the ball then you better damn well do something with it when you get it,especially against top teams.

with that said go lakers,and get that repeat!

[what would jack bauer do?]

I think Pau's soft label comes from him not having a legit big man next to him for so many years in Memphis. Pau's done a great job gaining strength and weight, but I think he was at his best at the 4... even though he did give Dwight all he could handle on both ends of the floor last year. Pau often takes blame for basically playing out of position, as much as I complain about him you gotta give him props for always manning up and playing bigger stronger centers. The dude has stepped up time and time again in our big games against Boston and Orlando especially on defense, it's just he shows us what he's capable of and doesn't do it all the time. But that's alright we're a team built for the playoffs anyways.

I think Pau had the better supporting cast in Memphis than Kobe had here in LA. Battier/Posey/Miller/Bonzi/JWill/Watson/Wright/Swift is a lot more mentally tough than Odom/Smush/Walton/Cookie/Kwame/Mihm/George/Vujacic. Kobe was carrying his team and babying young players into some confidence while the Grizzlies were doing it with Hubie's two 5-man suicide squads (those grizzlies were fun to watch). I would've much rather had Hubie's hustle players going all out than what we had when we got bounced in the first round. Kobe definitely wouldn't have gone 0-12 with those grizzlies, in fact the only thing they lacked was a clutch performer as Pau normally choked... and as I recall he was even reduced to deferring to James Posey on offense at the end of games in one of their playoff runs.

[dockingsched]

i don't think pau has been getting the appreciation he deserves this season. i've been guilty of being overly critical, and ultimately it comes down to this for me: it takes a very special star player to co-exist with kobe in a positive way. i think we've all seen kobe long enough to realize that its not easy to play with him at times. i appreciate that we have someone good enough to be a #1 option but defers to kobe just enough to keep mamba happy.

i come in peace, really, but werent you , dcash, one the ones on the gasoft is a pussy station wagon? i dont know, not flaming just curious if i am wrong or if yr mind was changed somewhere along the line.

btw, shall i dust off my pau / cap comparisons?

i guarantee you i have never used the term gasoft or pussy when talking about pau gasol. i find the use of those terms idiotic. also, if you read my first sentence, i already said "i've been guilty of being overly critical".