Nor did Gasol bite when the assembled media asked in multiple ways if his anemic stats were due to a lack of touches. "Maybe I let that effect me a little bit early on in the game, but I can't afford that," he said. "I've got to be more aggressive. I've got to make myself available, whether the ball is coming or not. I've got to be there, and get myself active and don't get discouraged whatsoever if the ball is not coming. You've got to pursue it sometimes, and in different ways. I had zero offensive rebounds, that's something I don't like at all."
Sports talk radio Monday will have a field day Monday, but Gasol found a great deal of support from Kobe Bryant on Sunday.
"He'll play better the next game," he said.
It wasn't the last time Pau's name came up during Bryant's postgame press conference. Asked whether the Lakers could have gotten more out of Lamar Odom, whose game Sunday was similarly awful, Bryant again took the opportunity to pump up Gasol. "We could have gotten a little bit more out of everybody. But Pau is our guy. He's our guy. He's the next in line. Responsibility and the pressure comes along with that," he said, "and he'll be ready to go next game."
Kudos to Kobe for busting out a modified Uncle Ben, as well for constructively reminding Gasol of the expectations surrounding him and how much the Lakers need him to come through in Wednesday's Game 2.
"Rightfully so. I put pressure on myself. It's one and two, it's me and him. We've got to deal with it. When you get all the praise when things go your way, [you also] get all the blame when things don't. It's part of the seats we sit in," Kobe said of the pressure he's putting on Gasol. "It's just [a matter of] him being aggressive. He's one of the best in the world."
Bryant has, since Gasol arrived, freely heaped praise on his frontcourt wingman, fully understanding the recent additions made to his jewelry collection don't happen if Gasol isn't around. Still, periodically (Sunday included), he'll also poke Gasol's natural inclination towards the communal, his often slavish devotion to making the right play even when it's at the expense of his own game, and the natural differences in their on-court attitudes.
The White Swan/Black Swan moment earlier this season wasn't Kobe delving into film criticism.
"He wants to do the right thing all the time, which is fine," Bryant said Sunday, "but sometimes you've just got to be more aggressive. Say the hell with it."
Here's a more accurate article from people in the loop of things.
http://espn.go.com/blog/los-angeles/lak ... and-quotes
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