I don't see Gasol covering young stretch fours, and heaven forbid he gets stuck on a SF or a guard away from the basket. I'll be satisfied if he can hold his own for 6-8 minutes at Center, and very happy if he can do it for 10-12.
He had foot surgery last season and according to him is now 100 percent....you can start Nassir at PF if you want young legs but Pau is better at all aspects.....he can throw a lob pass full court for one...he's not out of shape...Jimmy Connor made the semi finals of a Grand Slam tennis tournament in his 40s...and that's a game of running. I personally believe he'll start at PF this season. Paul Millsap is no sprinter either.....I stand by my projection that Pau will be our starter..how many 7 ft players have dissed out 14 assists or blocked a guys shot 3 times in a row on a possession?....Pau has. He's more skilled than Nurk at this point. I'm excited for him to share the court with Dame and CJ....I've said before....older players who keep their careers on track play smart basketball....it's why they play at 39 ...Tim Duncan says hello
Nobody's saying Pau is out of shape, or not skilled. Offensively, he could easily play the 4. Defensively, he'd get crushed. That dude has 0 lateral quickness, not bevause he's out of shape, but because he's 39. Pau has played C exclusively for the last 4 years. Tim Duncan played C exclusively at the end of his career too. Hell, Meyers has much more lateral quickness at this point and he couldnt play PF.
Leonard couldn't play defensively at PF (and the same, but not as bad at center) because he is a step or 2 behind the play. Gasol's advantage is he has played at a high level for a long time. What he has lost in quickness he has gained in knowledge and knowing where to be and when to be there plays a big role in playing defense. Leonard had very limited anticipation skills.
Knowledge and experience play a part though . Knowing where you should be before you are there is half he battle of movement. Meyers never know where to be so h was slow. Gasol will know where to be several steps ahead, which gives him a much better start.
Here are the current PFs in the west: GS- Draymond DEN- Millsap HOU- PJ Tucker UTA- Bogdanovic OKC- Gallo SAS- Gay LAC- Kawhi/Harrell SAC- Bagley LAL- Lebron MIN- Covington MEM- Jackson Jr. NOP- Zion DAL- Porzingis PHX- Saric Who the hell is Gasol guarding? Hell, Zach is gonna have a ton of trouble with these guys.
This is why Little's, and to an extent, Hezonja's development will be crucial for this team moving forward. The old mainstay PF position has gone from endangered to extinct. These guys playing the 4 now are all mobile, face up shooters who can create. It's just comprised of taller SFs, and our roster construction is going the complete opposite way while we're filling it with centers. Just glancing at the east, it's even worse with guys like Giannis/Siakam/Tatum/Simmons/Durant/Gordon etc all playing the majority of the minutes there.
I'm not putting Pau out to pasture just because he's 39.....if there's an obvious mismatch you just sit him for Zach...pretty simple...my point at the beginning of all of this discussion is he's deserving of a starting spot just like Lamarcus would be if he came back over younger, quicker players.
Isn't this a thread about the small forward position? I will go out on a limb and say that I don't think Pau should play small forward.
Of course, but it doesnt make up for 0 literal quickness. I hope he plays some PF so that we can see..
I tend to agree I think he is too slow to defend most PF's, but I certainly would like to see he and Whiteside and he and Nurk on the court together against certain lineups. I think we will make up our deficiencies on the other end and just overpower some lineups. Then when Nurk is healthy, lets see Dame/CJ/Gasol(Collins even)/Nurk/Whiteside Just for a moment even!
What? I was under the impression that any big that tried to play defense during the regular season, automatically got called for a foul.
