Lakers’ Gasol Finds Role in Offense?
Not that the three-point shot will ever be Lakers’ forward Pau Gasol’s trademark, but he did hit the first two of three attempts from beyond the three-point arc on Friday and has made five of nine three-point attempts in the Lakers’ last three games, two of them wins.
Gasol deserves credit for adjusting to a style in seemingly rapid time, even though the offensive system that Head Coach Mike D’Antoni runs clearly doesn’t favor his talents and has moved him out of the familiar post position now dominated by center Dwight Howard.
Gasol, who met with D’Antoni last week to discuss his role and their differences about it, had 15 points Friday in addition to nine rebounds, three blocks and five assists. It was the fifth straight game he’s dished out at least five assists, and he considered that the most significant stat on his score line.
“I like that a lot,” Gasol said. ”More so than the threes. I like getting my teammates easy looks and just moving the ball. It’s a good sign when your assists are up as a team. Everybody gets a chance, the open guy is going to get the ball. It gives you confidence, it gives you a good team flow and that’s what we’ve been doing. So we just need to continue to do that and I’m definitely going to continue to do it.”
It has been a struggle for him, he acknowledged, and it’s not over yet.
“I’m figuring out where I’m going to get my opportunities and where I can get my looks, whether they’re threes or anywhere else,” Gasol said. “So I just have to keep working on positions where I’m going to be mostly during the games and try to be effective whichever place.”
Loading ...
