Pau talks bout the concussion

[Vinylman]

Surprised he found the strength to talk.

[8kobe24]

Surprised he found the strength to talk.

Concussion must be real bad.

[midwestlaker75]

This is meant as no disrespect for Pau, A head injury is serious business. But in order for the Lakers to get the best out of either he or Dwight then one must go. And since the F/O is hedging the future of the franchise on Howard......Well you know where this is going. By any means am I taking a shot a Pau; I still think he is one of the best bigs in the world. However if the Lakers are going to stick with D'Antoni's style of play then there can only be room for one big. If you don't move one of them, Then you are doing a disservice to both, Pau needs to be on the low block for maximum effectiveness and so does Howard. So for the sake of this team and the optimum production of this team....Then one must go and Pau seems to be the odd man out! If we are going to stick it out with D'Antoni it's the only way.

[GailGoodrich]

Just caught a screen crawl on ESPN that said Pau is "expected" to return Thursday against the Heat.

Let the hate begin. Although, actually, it never really stopped, which I think says a lot about the way in which some people express affection for their favorite team.

Nothing like a fan base that ***** on its own players, including issuing death threats.

[J4KOP99]

Just caught a screen crawl on ESPN that said Pau is "expected" to return Thursday against the Heat.

Let the hate begin. Although, actually, it never really stopped, which I think says a lot about the way in which some people express affection for their favorite team.

Nothing like a fan base that ***** on its own players, including issuing death threats.

What do you think we should with him if he does come back on thursday? Start him or bring him in off the bench? I think that if he is willing to do either, and promises to be assertive and aggressive, he should come off the bench.

[Lakeshow24KB]

What do you think we should with him if he does come back on thursday? Start him or bring him in off the bench? I think that if he is willing to do either, and promises to be assertive and aggressive, he should come off the bench.

Bench. We've all been wanting to see Pau coming off the bench and see if he works better that way and this is the perfect excuse to use so he doesn't get offended or anything.

[GailGoodrich]

What do you think we should with him if he does come back on thursday? Start him or bring him in off the bench? I think that if he is willing to do either, and promises to be assertive and aggressive, he should come off the bench.

Confirmation here: https://twitter.com/search?q=lakers%20pau&src=typd

And here: http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/s...medium=twitter

I don't really put a lot of stock in whether a player starts or not. Most of the time it's a sign of who is better, but not always. Many of the league's 6th-man-of-the-year winners could have easily started on their own teams (Harden), but for various reasons -- including shoring up and maximizing the bench -- they didn't. And you only have to think about how LO didn't start but usually closed out games to see a recent Laker example.

I think it's clear that Pau is slowing down. Whether that's a result of age or lack of sufficient rest I don't know, but we clearly need to find out. What I want to see from Pau is what everyone wants to see: effective play. If he can give us twenty-five minutes, great. If he can only gives us fifteen minutes, great. But whatever he gives us, I want it to be useful to the whole team, which finally looks like it's rounding into shape.

Bottom line, if he can be productive, he's invaluable for us in the post when D12 is out. If we assume Howard is going to play roughly 32-36 minutes each game in the regular season, that's 12 to 16 minutes a game minimum where we need Pau. If he can gives us that and a little more, I'll be happy. And hopefully he'll be happy to contribute as well.

And one more thing.... The Lakers this season have won more games with Pau than without. He may not be doing what people want him to do, either for his salary or his status on the team, but we're better with him than we are without. We just need to figure out how to maximize that benefit.

[GailGoodrich]

News on Blake as well:

The Lakers got some more good news on the injury front Wednesday as Steve Blake went through shooting drills and played in the same three-on-three game as Gasol. It was the first time Blake had been involved in any type of game since he was sidelined Nov. 11 with an abdomen injury. Blake underwent surgery in early December to repair a torn abdominal muscle and was expected to be sidelined a minimum of six-to-eight weeks after the procedure.

Blake is expected to meet with doctors on Thursday and said there is no timetable for his return but hopes to be back by the end of the month if there are no setbacks.

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/s...medium=twitter

I think we're fortunate to have had a really good look at all the players that everyone said at the beginning of the season were obviously better than Blake, all of whom turned out to be erratic at best. Whether you like Blake or not, he's a steady player, and this team can use all the steady it can get.

[Lakers+Giants]

So you don't know anything about the actual content of the thread, but you still managed to have a comment -- and proudly so.

I think that pretty much typifies the conversational dynamic in this forum.

oh, you fancy huh?

Come at me bro.

[kblo247]

The problem with what you're saying is Kobe called him on it, a Spain a spaid so to speak to Slam.


Per the LA Daily News: “I was a little angry with him the other day because he’s coming to practice and coming to the games,’ Bryant said. ‘Stay home. Cut all the lights off. Just rest. Let your brain rest. But he wants to be around [the team] ... ‘That’s the difference between me and him,’ Bryant said. ‘I’ll stay home and cut the damn lights off. He’s more of a team guy. He wants to be around the fellas. He wants to do his treatment around the fellas.’


He's supposed to do all that, but he is the same guy who has been driving, going to the practice arenas, coming to games, etc. He hasn't followed orders, he hasn't avoided those lights or noises, he has sought them out, and as a result he hasn't healed and hasn't been available to play. That's on Pau for not doing what he is supposed to do

[Vinylman]

oh, you fancy huh?

Come at me bro.

watch out man... he will bore you to death with his keyboard

[kblo247]

News on Blake as well:



I think we're fortunate to have had a really good look at all the players that everyone said at the beginning of the season were obviously better than Blake, all of whom turned out to be erratic at best. Whether you like Blake or not, he's a steady player, and this team can use all the steady it can get.

Duhon is steady by definition, by definition Blake is erratic in his production. Duhon and his shooting, point output, and assist to turnover ratio are consistent. Blake cannot say the same because he has hot streaks, cold steaks, excessive turnover streaks from bad lobs, and the like meaning he can't be defined as a steady backup pg. now he may very well take the role of Morris and Meeks at the 2

[GetShrutedOn]

Hahaha

[J4KOP99]

Confirmation here: https://twitter.com/search?q=lakers%20pau&src=typd

And here: http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/s...medium=twitter

I don't really put a lot of stock in whether a player starts or not. Most of the time it's a sign of who is better, but not always. Many of the league's 6th-man-of-the-year winners could have easily started on their own teams (Harden), but for various reasons -- including shoring up and maximizing the bench -- they didn't. And you only have to think about how LO didn't start but usually closed out games to see a recent Laker example.

I think it's clear that Pau is slowing down. Whether that's a result of age or lack of sufficient rest I don't know, but we clearly need to find out. What I want to see from Pau is what everyone wants to see: effective play. If he can give us twenty-five minutes, great. If he can only gives us fifteen minutes, great. But whatever he gives us, I want it to be useful to the whole team, which finally looks like it's rounding into shape.

Bottom line, if he can be productive, he's invaluable for us in the post when D12 is out. If we assume Howard is going to play roughly 32-36 minutes each game in the regular season, that's 12 to 16 minutes a game minimum where we need Pau. If he can gives us that and a little more, I'll be happy. And hopefully he'll be happy to contribute as well.

And one more thing.... The Lakers this season have won more games with Pau than without. He may not be doing what people want him to do, either for his salary or his status on the team, but we're better with him than we are without. We just need to figure out how to maximize that benefit.

I just don't know how we can expect him to guard opposing 4's... Earl is not nearly as good as Pau, but at least he can defend multiple positions and is athletic enough to stretch the floor and get back on transition defense.

Pau worries the hell out of me in those situations. He's not a 4. He's a 5.

[GailGoodrich]

I just don't know how we can expect him to guard opposing 4's... Earl is not nearly as good as Pau, but at least he can defend multiple positions and is athletic enough to stretch the floor and get back on transition defense.

Pau worries the hell out of me in those situations. He's not a 4. He's a 5.

I agree that Pau is a 5. He's just not fast enough to stay with the 4's, like you said.

I also really like Clark and Howard playing together. Clark isn't beefy, but he's got a lean kind of muscle that seems to allow him to hold his own down low while also following defensive assignments out high.

If you think of Pau, D12 and Clark as essentially interchangeable parts, it's a real advantage that we can keep two of them on the floor for most of each game. (And Hill would have given us even more depth and energy.)