To quote the great Marshall Mathers aka Eminem “Will the real slim shady please stand up, please stand up?” Just insert Lakers Power Forward Pau Gasol’s name in there.
Gasol is one of the most skilled big men in the league nobody can deny that but with great power comes great responsibility, *a Peter Parker quote. With his skill set he should be more assertive on both sides of the court but most of the time he fades away like Kobe on the baseline.
When Gasol is on his game he can score on the post with either hand, shoot the face up jay, hit 3’s if needed, pass with the best of them , even lead the break and control the glass. Which is what the Lakers need if they are going to get to their 4th NBA finals in the last 5 years.
When Gasol is off his game he becomes passive to a fault and allows smaller , more rugged players push him around.
Case in point is game 6 against the Nuggets he had a 3 point and 3 rebound game off of 1 of 10 shooting with 6’6″ Kenneth Faried guarding him most of the game. Which just can’t happen. Game 7 Pau played much better (23 points, 17 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 blocks) which was a key reason they won the game.
Gasol had a great streak when he arrived to the Lakers where he always played great in the playoffs until he ran into KG in the finals in ’08. We questioned his toughness and he came back with avengence in ’09 and ’10 during the back to back title run. Gasol even faced his own demon as he out played KG in the 2010 finals.
After the 2011 season we all thought Gasol would not play as soft as he did once before and then the 2011 playoffs happen where he let Dirk lock him up as the Lakers got swept. Yes he let Dirk lock him up he mind was all over the place because of rumors of his personal life but still that’s no excuse just ask Kobe.
The Lakers are legitimate title contenders but if Gasol doesn’t play with fire every game from here on out it could make their goal a lot harder than it already is. Which Gasol will show up is a question that Laker fans will ask before each game. Which is sad because if the bad Gasol shows up after the season the Lakers might not have another ring and he might have another team.
