With the Spaniard about to make a return to the Los Angeles Lakers lineup, there has been an increasing chatter about posting him more. Mike D’Antoni has heard it all and now it’s time to be heard....
Ever since Mike D’Antoni took over as the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, his biggest headache has been Pau Gasol. The seven foot forward underperformed at the start of the season, and while his tendinitis issue might have
to do a lot with that, there were many people who highlighted that it was actually Mike’s tactics which rendered Gasol ineffective.
Among those, the biggest critic has been former Laker great Magic Johnson. Kobe Bryant also raised the issue with the coach and now that Gasol returns, the general consensus is that Gasol will get more touches in the low post rather
than operating near the free throw line.
That consensus might be wrong though. After Monday’s practise, Mike D asserted that he will try to capitalize the strengths of every player, but there has to be a balance. In short, he will not go out of the way for anybody;
"We play a certain type of basketball," D'Antoni said. "We'll try to get to guys strengths and figure those out, but basically he's going to be good in what we do, I know that."
When asked specifically whether Gasol will be getting more supportive post-up play, his response reeked of annoyance;
"Everybody wants everybody in the post. We can't put 15 guys there in the post. We can't do it. It doesn't work. Because if you're posting him, that means you're not posting Dwight (Howard). Then you get criticized for not posting
Dwight.”
“It's a little crazy about some of the stuff that's being said. But other than that, we're good. We're moving forward, he (Gasol) is good at what he's good at, and we'll exploit it."
The bottom line is that Gasol needs to make plays for himself, and he can only do that by being assertive on the paint. There is no doubt that the Spaniard has gone soft in the last two season and more than anything, it is this
mental block which he needs to work on.
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