Against the Celtics, Gasol shot 5-13, had 12 points, 7 rebounds and one assist. Of those 13 shot attempts, eight were jump-shots 10-feet or further away from the basket. He missed six of them. His inability to establish position in the lower post hurt the Lakers. Gasol chose to be passive rather than aggressive, opting to take jumpers instead of drives at the basket. As a result, he ended the night with two foul shot attempts. But hey, at least he made both of them.
Currently, the Lakers are third in rebounding at around 44 per game. The Celtics entered the contest dead last in the league at 38 per game. Gasol only had 7 rebounds, and overall the Lakers were outrebounded 30-43 by the Celtics.
Kevin Garnett was the one bleeding, albeit accidental, but what he and Perkins did to the Lakers’ big men, Gasol in particular, left the mind to wonder what could have been had Perkins been available to play game 7 of the finals last year.
Gasol has never been the guy to say, “Hey Kobe, I got this.” Essentially, that’s fine. Bryant is the number one option on the team. Gasol is a great facilitator and has no problem being the number two option. The problem is, if you’re the number two player on your team you have to play like it. Too many times this season, Gasol has left something to be desired. He may not have the personality to take over when Bryant is not playing well or when he’s simply seated on the bench, but he’s got the talent and skill to hold the Lakers down during those times, and 12 points is simply not going to cut it.
Next: It’s time for Gasol to start playing like the number two option