Kobe Bryant rips Pau Gasol for losing Game #4 against OKC Thunder

[simmytbone]

Kobe Bryant blames Pau Gasol for Lakers' Game 4 collapse against Thunder
By Johnny Ludden | Yahoo! Sports

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Lakers trudged off the Staples Center floor late Saturday, a single loss now separating them from season's end, another fourth-quarter collapse once again causing their undoing. They didn't show much poise in the locker room, either, with Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum pointing blame at others for allowing the Oklahoma City Thunder to steal their second victory in three games.

Bryant missed eight of his 10 shots in the final quarter, but shrugged off his struggles by saying his teammates' lack of aggressiveness "forced" him to take tough shots. He also left no question which teammate deserved the most blame for the 103-100 loss in Game 4.

Pau Gasol.

Bryant faulted Gasol for not playing aggressive enough. It was also Gasol's turnover that led to Kevin Durant making the winning 3-pointer with 13.7 seconds left.

"Pau's got to be more assertive," Bryant said. "He's the guy they're leaving [open]. When he's catching the ball, he's looking to pass. He's got to be aggressive. He's got to shoot the ball or drive the ball to the basket. He will be next game."

Bryant has periodically targeted Gasol with his public criticism, hoping to motivate him to lift his performance. But with the Lakers now down 3-1 in the series and facing Game 5 on Monday in Oklahoma City, Bryant's patience has been exhausted. Gasol's inconsistency has been a problem for the Lakers throughout the season, and he never seemed to recover after the team tried to trade him in December to the Houston Rockets in a deal with the New Orleans Hornets for Chris Paul. NBA commissioner David Stern blocked the trade, and Gasol has admitted his tenuous status with the franchise has bothered him.

Gasol totaled just 10 points and five rebounds in Game 4. Most recently, Bryant criticized both Gasol and Andrew Bynum after a listless performance in a Game 6 loss to the Denver Nuggets in the first round. Gasol responded with 23 points and 17 rebounds in the Lakers' clinching Game 7 victory.

After a dominant first half by Andrew Bynum on Saturday, the Thunder began fronting the Lakers' center with Kendrick Perkins. Bryant thought Gasol didn't attack enough when Serge Ibaka left him to help Perkins.

"He's looking to swing the ball too much," Bryant said. "He's got to take his shot."

That was the case on the game's most critical possession. After a steal by Steve Blake, Gasol tried to pass to Metta World Peace only to have Durant knock the ball away with 33.9 seconds left. Durant followed with the 3-pointer.

"Just a bad read on Pau's part," Bryant said.

"It's one play, one mistake," Gasol said. "There were a lot of mistakes in that fourth quarter, a lot of mistakes throughout the game. So, obviously, if I could have gone back, maybe I could have shot it and I would have. It's one play, obviously, at a critical time, but I don't feel like we lost the game because of one turnover."

Indeed, Bynum faulted the Lakers from going away from what was working. He had 14 points and seven rebounds as L.A. built a 10-point lead at halftime. With the Thunder increasingly fronting him, Bynum took just four shots in the second half, two in the fourth quarter when the Thunder erased a 13-point deficit over the final eight minutes.

"I didn't touch the ball, so the game started speeding up, speeding up, speeding up, speeding up," Bynum said. "They beat us in transition at the end.

The Lakers, Bynum said, never successfully countered the Thunder's defense.
"You have to be smart," Bynum said. "When a team fronts you, that means you're hurting them. So they make an adjustment and you can't keep running the same offense. You have to make them pay for that, whether you use a ball fake and come back to the same side or readjust. Reading that situation is a problem for us."

Had the Lakers showed more poise in end-of-game situations, they – not the Thunder – would be one victory away from reaching the Western Conference finals. Bryant was primarily responsible for the Lakers coughing up a nine-point lead in the final 2:08 of Game 2.

Team Harmony these Lakers are not. They've allowed their season to dangerously slip away, and now head to OKC looking for answers.

"Every single one of us played a part [in the losses]," World Peace said. "Every single one of us needs to go to OKC and get back on track."

credit: sports.yahoo.com

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by tnawcwvictoriafa

Kobe Bryant blames Pau Gasol for Lakers' Game 4 collapse against Thunder
By Johnny Ludden | Yahoo! Sports

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Lakers trudged off the Staples Center floor late Saturday, a single loss now separating them from season's end, another fourth-quarter collapse once again causing their undoing. They didn't show much poise in the locker room, either, with Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum pointing blame at others for allowing the Oklahoma City Thunder to steal their second victory in three games.

Bryant missed eight of his 10 shots in the final quarter, but shrugged off his struggles by saying his teammates' lack of aggressiveness "forced" him to take tough shots. He also left no question which teammate deserved the most blame for the 103-100 loss in Game 4.

Pau Gasol.

Bryant faulted Gasol for not playing aggressive enough. It was also Gasol's turnover that led to Kevin Durant making the winning 3-pointer with 13.7 seconds left.

"Pau's got to be more assertive," Bryant said. "He's the guy they're leaving [open]. When he's catching the ball, he's looking to pass. He's got to be aggressive. He's got to shoot the ball or drive the ball to the basket. He will be next game."

Bryant has periodically targeted Gasol with his public criticism, hoping to motivate him to lift his performance. But with the Lakers now down 3-1 in the series and facing Game 5 on Monday in Oklahoma City, Bryant's patience has been exhausted. Gasol's inconsistency has been a problem for the Lakers throughout the season, and he never seemed to recover after the team tried to trade him in December to the Houston Rockets in a deal with the New Orleans Hornets for Chris Paul. NBA commissioner David Stern blocked the trade, and Gasol has admitted his tenuous status with the franchise has bothered him.

Gasol totaled just 10 points and five rebounds in Game 4. Most recently, Bryant criticized both Gasol and Andrew Bynum after a listless performance in a Game 6 loss to the Denver Nuggets in the first round. Gasol responded with 23 points and 17 rebounds in the Lakers' clinching Game 7 victory.

After a dominant first half by Andrew Bynum on Saturday, the Thunder began fronting the Lakers' center with Kendrick Perkins. Bryant thought Gasol didn't attack enough when Serge Ibaka left him to help Perkins.

"He's looking to swing the ball too much," Bryant said. "He's got to take his shot."

That was the case on the game's most critical possession. After a steal by Steve Blake, Gasol tried to pass to Metta World Peace only to have Durant knock the ball away with 33.9 seconds left. Durant followed with the 3-pointer.

"Just a bad read on Pau's part," Bryant said.

"It's one play, one mistake," Gasol said. "There were a lot of mistakes in that fourth quarter, a lot of mistakes throughout the game. So, obviously, if I could have gone back, maybe I could have shot it and I would have. It's one play, obviously, at a critical time, but I don't feel like we lost the game because of one turnover."

Indeed, Bynum faulted the Lakers from going away from what was working. He had 14 points and seven rebounds as L.A. built a 10-point lead at halftime. With the Thunder increasingly fronting him, Bynum took just four shots in the second half, two in the fourth quarter when the Thunder erased a 13-point deficit over the final eight minutes.

"I didn't touch the ball, so the game started speeding up, speeding up, speeding up, speeding up," Bynum said. "They beat us in transition at the end.

The Lakers, Bynum said, never successfully countered the Thunder's defense.
"You have to be smart," Bynum said. "When a team fronts you, that means you're hurting them. So they make an adjustment and you can't keep running the same offense. You have to make them pay for that, whether you use a ball fake and come back to the same side or readjust. Reading that situation is a problem for us."

Had the Lakers showed more poise in end-of-game situations, they – not the Thunder – would be one victory away from reaching the Western Conference finals. Bryant was primarily responsible for the Lakers coughing up a nine-point lead in the final 2:08 of Game 2.

Team Harmony these Lakers are not. They've allowed their season to dangerously slip away, and now head to OKC looking for answers.
"Every single one of us played a part [in the losses]," World Peace said. "Every single one of us needs to go to OKC and get back on track."

credit: sports.yahoo.com

He needed to be RIPPED because he is a 7 foot JOKE

[Jamie in CA]

That instance was certainly Pau's fault, but one player does not win or lose a game. But we Laker fans all agree Pau is not the player he was 2 years ago.

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by Jamie in CA

That instance was certainly Pau's fault, but one player does not win or lose a game. But we Laker fans all agree Pau is not the player he was 2 years ago.

His tall goofy a$$ is gone after this season-lol

[Jamie in CA]

Originally Posted by TVFactFan

His tall goofy a$$ is gone after this season-lol

They can't afford to deal Gasol unless they get a quality big in return. It's bad enough they gave up Odom for practically nothing. Bynum has a team option for next year and he's not necessarily getting it. Mr. Peace has 1 more year, but he has a player option for '14. Pau is signed through '14. Makes more sense to unload Bynum while he has value because you never know when he may miss 30-40 games.

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by Jamie in CA

They can't afford to deal Gasol unless they get a quality big in return. It's bad enough they gave up Odom for practically nothing. Bynum has a team option for next year and he's not necessarily getting it. Mr. Peace has 1 more year, but he has a player option for '14. Pau is signed through '14. Makes more sense to unload Bynum while he has value because you never know when he may miss 30-40 games.

On ESPN today they were saying the Lakers may trade Gasol to the Sixers for Iggy since they have similar contracts

[Jamie in CA]

Originally Posted by TVFactFan

On ESPN today they were saying the Lakers may trade Gasol to the Sixers for Iggy since they have similar contracts

That makes no sense for the Lakers because Iggy is no Odom and that would all but guarantee Bynum gets the team option for next year. We can't have Bynum miss 30 games again.

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by Jamie in CA

That makes no sense for the Lakers because Iggy is no Odom and that would all but guarantee Bynum gets the team option for next year. We can't have Bynum miss 30 games again.

The guy on ESPN said because the Lakers need athleticism on the wing

[Jamie in CA]

Originally Posted by TVFactFan

The guy on ESPN said because the Lakers need athleticism on the wing

They need quality bigs if Gasol or Bynum go. Gasol and Bynum disappearing against Denver nearly cost them the series. Kobe is the sole reason the Lakers advanced.

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by Jamie in CA

They need quality bigs if Gasol or Bynum go. Gasol and Bynum disappearing against Denver nearly cost them the series. Kobe is the sole reason the Lakers advanced.

Well Hill is a better player to me than Gasol since he rebounds and play defense.

[Jamie in CA]

Originally Posted by TVFactFan

Well Hill is a better player to me than Gasol since he rebounds and play defense.

There's a reason he plays less than 12 minutes a game.

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by Jamie in CA

There's a reason he plays less than 12 minutes a game.

Because Mike Brown is a stupid coach?

[Jamie in CA]

Originally Posted by TVFactFan

Because Mike Brown is a stupid coach?

Because he's a black hole at the other end of the court.

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by Jamie in CA

Because he's a black hole at the other end of the court.

As long as he is rebounding and defending.........all the other players can do the scoring.

Gasol wasn't scoring, rebounding, or playing defense

[Jamie in CA]

Originally Posted by TVFactFan

As long as he is rebounding and defending.........all the other players can do the scoring.

Gasol wasn't scoring, rebounding, or playing defense

Really? So ESPN reporting him averaging 17/10 is an error?