Pau Gasol, the “beast?”
Gasol has been called a lot of things, like “the most skilled big man in the game” or four-time All-Star. He is a finesse player, which some people (a subset of Lakers fans in particular) mislabel as soft. Those same fans didn’t think he was soft when he held Dwight Howard in check in the 2009 NBA finals, but people have short memories if something doesn’t fit their preconceived ideas. Gasol is not Shaquille O’Neal circa 2001, in reality he is a four asked often to play the five in the NBA. But calling him soft is about as smart as calling Dirk Nowitzki soft because he’s a seven footer who likes to play on the perimeter.
However “beast?” Nobody is really calling him a beast.
Well, except Pau Gasol himself, according to Reuters.Pau Gasol said on Thursday he felt like a “beast” after working hard to prepare for his pivotal role in Spain’s bid for Olympic hardware in basketball.
“I have been preparing myself and working to get better this summer,” (said) Gasol… “First for the Olympics and to perform at a high level to be able to achieve our goal, and then when the Olympics are over, take a little break and continue to prepare myself for what’s going to be a very demanding (NBA) season, a season where we (the Lakers) want to get back on top as a team.”
Gasol looked good against Team USA when playing out of the low post, something Lakers coach Mike Brown needs to get him back to rather than just letting Andrew Bynum and Kobe Bryant dominate that space and using Gasol as a glorified stretch four. Having Steve Nash on the roster should help.
Heck, Nash might even get Gasol to look like a beast inside… nah. Not going to happen.
