To say Pau Gasol’s performance in the playoffs was a disappointment would be understating the issue. In ten playoff games, Gasol failed to reach his regular season scoring average of 18 points one time, and he only reached his regular season rebounding mark three times.
Whatever was eating at Pau, his mind certainly wasn’t on basketball.
Naturally, since the Lakers’ playoff exit on Sunday, Gasol has been shredded by both the media and fans. This should not come as a huge surprise. Pau was largely blamed for the team’s poor finish in the 2008 Finals against Boston.
Even when Pau was at the top if his game in 2009 and 2010, leading the Lakers to back to back championships, he was still labeled “soft” by many pundits.
But fans should not be so eager in wanting to exile Gasol from tinsel town.
It’s very natural for fans to feel upset and jump to hasty conclusions, especially after an embarrassing elimination from the playoffs.
Here is the bottom line: Fans sometimes overreact to a team’s shortcomings.
Here are a few reasons why fans should just take a deep breath and appreciate what Gasol has done for the team.
Gasol’s poor performance constituted a very small sample size
Granted, they were the most important games of the season, but Gasol’s string of miserable play was only over a ten game period.
There were many more games this season where Gasol played like the best post player in basketball, instead of a kid who had just lost his puppy.
Also, it’s silly to pin the entire Lakers’ debacle this postseason solely on Gasol.
Gasol is in the prime of his career
It’s not as though fans saw the physical deterioration of an aging star. Assuming his problems in the playoffs were mental, Gasol has plenty more quality seasons under his belt.
Remember, Gasol made his third straight All-Star team this season, and he will likely be named to either the All-NBA second or third team.
Don’t bite the hand that feeds you
Come on Lakers fans, Gasol was the missing link after Shaq left Los Angeles that helped put the Lakers back in championship contention.
Since Gasol came to Los Angeles, the Lakers have been to three NBA Finals and won two championships.
The Dwight Howard Rumors are tiresome
Even before the Lakers were eliminated, people were talking about the Lakers obtaining Dwight Howard from the Orlando Magic.
Everyone is acting as if this deal is going to go down in the next few days, and Dwight Howard will be wearing a Lakers’ uniform in time for the draft. A lot more than people realize would have to go down for this deal to happen.
While the Lakers certainly need to make some moves this off-season, including Gasol in a possible trade for Howard may not be the smartest move to make. While Howard’s defensive abilities are far better than Gasol’s, Pau’s offensive game is much better than Howard’s.
Right now, it is certainly easy for Lakers fans to be harsh about the way Gasol played this postseason. However, let the disappointing loss settle for a few weeks.
There is no mistaking Gasol played terribly this spring, but he has helped the team win many games, and he will probably continue to do so in the future.
Joshua Sexton is a lifelong basketball fanatic, who watches as many games as possible. In addition, He has played and coached the game at the high school level. He has recently started writing about the game of basketball.
