If Mike D'Antoni is such an offensive genius....

[Dre]

...then why is it essentially his way or the highway in regards to Pau Gasol?

You guys have probably been talking about this ad nauseum but I haven't been on here in a minute. My thing is Gasol is still capable of playing like an all-star or close to it, and to completely marginalize him because you can't manipulate your "system" to incorporate his sweet spots shows that maybe you're not an "offensive genius", just maybe a one trick pony

You look at someone like Gregg Popovich he went from a more methodical offense revolving around Tim Duncan for years, and now that Tony Parker is their best player they're taking advantage of his strengths. Any "genius" should be able to do similar. Not to say Pau is the Lakers best player or anything like that, but you know what I mean

Phil is somewhere laughing hard

[Adam]

Pau struggled even when Phil was there.

I guess you don't remember the, "His girlfriend dumped him and now he's depressed!" 2011 second half of the season and playoffs. He's two years older and shittier from then.

[doctordrizzay]

It's hard to run a great offense when your "superstar" is always looking for his shot first before his teammates.

[Diable]

They are screwed unless Pau starts playing the way he is capable. Maybe they should get some new uniforms.

[Dre]

Originally Posted by Adam

Pau struggled even when Phil was there.

I guess you don't remember the, "His girlfriend dumped him and now he's depressed!" 2011 second half of the season and playoffs. He's two years older and shittier from then.

Not to this extent. Not to the point where Phil was basically trying to keep him off the court

He was always a shaky playoff performer anyway

[Knicks4life]

1. Gasol is not close to being the same players he was, I have seen him post up 3 ft away from the basket and air ball, and fail to post up Ronnie Brewer.

2. Dwight thinks he Shaq and wants to post up every time he gets an opportunity even though turns the ball over almost every time which results in fewer post ups for Pau, he also needs as much space as possible which forces Pau to try an be a stretch 4.

[Dre]

i see nothing's changed yall are still crazy

theres no excuse for it when even Kobe is saying they have to get Pau in his spots..when Dantoni and Pau are having meetings trying to resolve it

yall are playing that "hes not even close" card because he hasnt had the opportunity to really be himself on the court in a long time. i guarantee if he gets traded somewhere he fits hed jump back up to like 18 ppg on good percentages...Pau's a guy who's game feeds off his confidence level and a flow, if he gets treated like hes supposed to he'll flourish, if he doesnt he gets soft even when he does get a random opportunity in a game

[doctordrizzay]

Give the Heat Pau, and Lebron will turn him back into an All-Star in no time. Lakers can have Jones and Miller.

[Dre]

and you're not even really answering the question, its not about Pau not being good because D'Antoni hasn't even used him comfortably enough to be able to tell if he's good or not

why is that


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[Dee-Zy]

I don't think Pop had ever to integrate so many stars at the same time.

Not an easy task. He's basically trying to please Kobe, Dwight and Nash and lord knows please Kobe and Dwight is two full time job in itself, nevermind coaching a team.

[Knicks4life]

Originally Posted by Dre

and you're not even really answering the question, its not about Pau not being good because D'Antoni hasn't even used him comfortably enough to be able to tell if he's good or not

why is that


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Because Dwight wants a majority of the low post touches and D'Antoni has to keep Dwight happy.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by Dre

i see nothing's changed yall are still crazy

theres no excuse for it when even Kobe is saying they have to get Pau in his spots..when Dantoni and Pau are having meetings trying to resolve it

yall are playing that "hes not even close" card because he hasnt had the opportunity to really be himself on the court in a long time. i guarantee if he gets traded somewhere he fits hed jump back up to like 18 ppg on good percentages...Pau's a guy who's game feeds off his confidence level and a flow, if he gets treated like hes supposed to he'll flourish, if he doesnt he gets soft even when he does get a random opportunity in a game

Kobe also said he needs to stop complaining about the system, everybody has to adjust including himself, and Pau needs to put on his big boy pants.

It's not D'Antoni out there shooting thirty-something percent on post-ups. People always just like to blame the coaches.

[Dre]

Originally Posted by Adam

Kobe also said he needs to stop complaining about the system, everybody has to adjust including himself, and Pau needs to put on his big boy pants.

those quotes were before what i referenced

It's not D'Antoni out there shooting thirty-something percent on post-ups. People always just like to blame the coaches.

i already explained how Pau is




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[Seuss]

The majority of NBA fans, including myself, anticipated that Dwight and Nash's pick-n-roll presence would dramatically change the Lakers offensive makeup, allowing a guy like Gasol to get easier points from the attention drawn by that specific play. But it hasn't. I have no idea how Howard and Nash fail to make a dynamic pick-n-roll duo, but they have failed miserably. When Nash was at his best with Amare, they were locked in for 3-4 dunks per game, just from the pick-n-roll. That has failed to transpire in lakerland, leaving D'Antoni very desperate and unsure as to how to proceed with his team. The obvious guy to pick on is Gasol, because he isn't a 'true' stretch forward. So instead of being able to adjust his offense, Mike D is just cruising along, expecting miracles to happen for Lakers.

They've got to utilize more ball movement, instead of a pick-n-roll, run-up-the-other-guys type of offense.

To answer the question, Mike D'Antoni IS a one trick pony. His results in New York, and now in LaLa Land, prove this assumption.

[OneBadLT123]

Now that Bynum is gone, Pau is now 100% the scapegoat.