Permalink - Posted in General on November 3, 2008 - Post a comment

Phil’s Hopes for Pau

Lakers coach Phil Jackson would like to see Pau Gasol get the ball more and become more integrated in the game. Gasol’s tendencies are the opposite of Kobe Bryant and while he has been active in the first halves of the game he tends to disappear in the second half. Jackson’s plan to improve Gasol’s game s to get the power forward more touches after halftime. Bryant, on the other hand, is known for what the L.A. Times calls his “game-saving flurry in the fourth quarter: such as during Saturday’s game against Denver. As for the Denver game, Jackson did critique Bryant’s third quarter play on Saturday’s game, telling the Times “He had to step it up in the third quarter just a little bit and I thought pushed the envelope just a little bit too far. Some of our guys got out of sync. Pau only got one or two shots in the second half. We want to use our weapons.”
In the first half against Denver, Gasol was six for 12 and in the second half he was one for three. In the game against Portland, Gasol made seven of nine shots during the first half but again fell short later on, missing his only hot in the second half. It was a repeat performance for Gasol against the Clippers as well. Jackson offered more insight saying, “He’s ust not getting the ball in the second half. In fairness to Kobe, he’s playing the team game the first half and he’s looking for his own situation the second half. That balance has got to even out a little bit.”

The Lakers face off against the Clippers Wednesday so wait and see how Gasol does; get all your Los Angeles Lakers tickets at StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on November 3, 2008 - Post a comment