Marc and Pau Gasol: Two brothers on opposite sides of the Hill – NBA Feature (Part - 3)
Suddenly, Pau Gasol wasn’t trying that hard. He wasn’t tough enough; he wasn’t strong enough and hungry enough. He was the odd man out in the Los Angeles Lakers side.
All that became painfully clear during the NBA playoffs. The man, who was at the forefront of two NBA World Championships, admittedly after Kobe Bryant, was now seen as someone who could cost them a shot at the third straight.
He wasn’t getting the calls he usually did. He wasn’t getting the shots he usually did. When he did, they didn’t fall. It wasn’t long before he wasn’t even getting his touches.
Pau was not the defensive bruiser the Lakers wanted against the New Orleans Hornets, and when his offence didn’t click to go along with it, he pretty much became an unwanted man.
The coach, and his teammates, rightfully stood behind the troubled big guy, who was now viewed as too soft for that title. But, things still didn’t get better. When Los Angeles came up against Dallas Mavericks, Pau became even
more exposed. No one in the whole league could stop Dirk Nowitzki last season, yet Pau was crucified when comparisons were drawn.
He never was what the Lakers wanted him to be in that series, he never has been good at that end of the floor. What he was good at didn’t seem to be happening for him in face of a shrewd Mavericks defence.
The result was a total breakdown in the relationship between the player and the fans, who even booed him during a home game.
The Lakers defeat wasn’t Gasol’s fault. He isn’t all of a sudden a bad player either. Yet what last season showed was that he can only go one way from here, and that is not up.
Pau Gasol is still a class act, but it’s not clear if he can remain one for long. He has been found out by opposing defences, and his weakness, quite literally his physical weakness for a man in his position, was ruthlessly exposed
last time around.
In contrast, Marc Gasol was quite formidable for the Memphis Grizzlies, and his star can only rise further when they take to the court next season.
A Lakers fan summed up the contrast between the two when, during one of the games in the playoffs, he shouted at Pau to play more like his brother.
At the moment, it is the younger Gasol who is more in demand.
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