I don't mind him playing, but I hope his minutes are limited to under 25 per game. Most guys in the league play basketball during the summer to stay in shape and keep their games sharp. PJax is going to have to monitor both Kobe & Pau's PT this season.
I don't think we should limit Gasol's minutes or let Drew carve into them. We just need to monitor them. Gas man is relatively young still. He should have enough in his tank to get through this and a normal season.
Well he's 29 and doesn't rest in the off-season much, I'm all for Bynum getting 36 minutes a game and then letting Gasol carry the load in the playoffs which is all that matters. I don't want neither him or Bryant doing too much, Pau already had to play more minutes than normal this past season due to Bynum's uselessness.
Yeah our second unit was a disaster down the stretch in the regular season. The first team would be build double digit leads and the bench would give it right back and then some. Every game counts when you're trying to lock up homecourt advantage in the playoffs.
In all fairness, trades and injuries are what made our 2nd unit stink last year. Trevor and Lamar got called up off our bench because Vlad got traded and Bynum got injured. This year if Pau and Bynum can both stay healthy, then we can always have at least one of them on the court, and Lamar will go back to the "bench." Likewise, Artest can easily play 30-35 min a game and that would only leave 13-18 for Luke which IMO is perfect. I dont see how Farmar could be worse than last year and Brown having a year in the triangle and a trainning camp with the team will help a lot. Sadly I have all but given up on Sasha. If he could just go back to being a good shooter it would be a boon to our 2nd unit's spacing.
I think we should still somewhat limit Pau if Drew proves to be effective enough in the season. Same with Kobe.
Ideally I'd like Fisher, Kobe & Gasol sitting on the bench every 4th quarter this season as we cruise to victory.
30 minutes a night for Pau is not even remotely realistic. We're going to need him big time this year. We're not just going to cake walk through teams, the West has gotten a bit tougher, as has the East.
Pau averaged 34 minutes his first season with us and absolutely no Drew, of course it is possible. Unless you're admitting Bynum is quite fragile, he should be able to play longer than 29 minutes a night if he's going to be a star in this league.
He averaged 37 MPG last year. If you really think P Jax is going to find a way to cut him 7 more minutes a game, on average, you're crazy. And there is no need for Bynum to be a star right now. He is only 22.
He was at 35 and a half minutes until Bynum went down for the count dude, you're just forgetting the monster months Pau had to carry us after that. If Bynum goes from 29 -> 34 a night, Pau would indeed be at just about 30 minutes a game. We have monster depth potentially you shouldn't be surprised.
And where do you expect Bynum to get those extra minutes with both Gasol and Odom still in the rotation and closing out games, most likely?
Okay, we'll look @ Pau's MPG @ the end of the season and if he is near 30 MPG, then you're right. But I can almost guarantee he'll be up near 35-38 MPG, again.
