Reason behind Pau Gasol’s on-court troubles is his ex-fiancé: NBA Play-offs Update
Los Angeles Lakers veteran forward Pau Gasol is considered one of the key members of the squad and his contributions have made their offence devastating. During this year’s playoffs his performance has been subpar and the reason has been revealed as conflicts
in his personal life.
Gasol, who scored an average of 18.3 points and 10.8 rebounds per game in the 2008-2009 National Basketball Association (NBA) Playoffs. In the 2009-2010 Playoffs, Pau averaged 19.6 points and 11.3 rebounds in each game but in this postseason run he failed
to make an impression.
So far in nine games of the playoffs Gasol’s scoring percentage is 13.4 points and 7.8 boards per game. These stats are far below his calibre and are also unacceptable since he has no injury and no major changes were brought up in the game plan as well.
This left Lakers’ fans and analysts in a rather awkward situation and they kept hoping that he would snap out of his bad patch at any point in time but he failed to do so. Many started wondering what was exactly wrong with Pau. Some speculated that was having
problems with Kobe Bryant or with coach Phil Jackson but the mystery was finally unveiled before Game 3.
When reports came in that Gasol’s struggle might be the result of his recent break up with his long time girlfriend and fiancée Silvia Lopez. The story didn’t just end here it was reported that Gasol dumped his fiancée because she was in a very close relationship
with the wife of another unnamed Laker.
Shortly after his break up, Pau blamed his fellow Laker and wife for the whole situation. This ignited the situation as Gasol and his unnamed teammate became violent towards each other and took shots at each other ladies.
This has increased the on-court difficulties too. Pau, who has led the Lakers to three straight Finals trips and two successive NBA championships, has not been the same since this unfortunate event. He still remains the best forward of the league and the
second choice in the Lakers offensive unit but the Lakers are going through a lot of trouble without their key forward’s form, as Pau usually runs the offense when he is in the game.
He failed to deliver under stress but in contrast to him, many players have had the resilience to accomplish results in the face of adversity. Kobe did well when rape allegations were made against him and as a result of that he had to take many flights back
and forth from Denver.
Similarly, Shaquille O'Neal went through his very pricey and tiring divorce. Dwyane Wade and Michael Jordan also experienced tough times, but they all played through them. Gasol on the other hand folded under pressure and failed to play through.
This could be the end of the Lakers magical run, as they are close to dropping their second-round series to the Dallas Mavericks because of lady troubles.
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