Lakers forward Pau Gasol is struggling to adjust to Mike D’Antoni’s new pick and pop system.
Gasol once again watched a good part of the final minutes of a loss from the bench.
The Lakers are struggling right now, and according to ESPN L.A. Kobe Bryant is in no mood to coddle and baby Gasol.
He wants Gasol to man up, and “Put his big boy pants on.”
“Put your big-boy pants on.”
“Just adjust. Just adjust. You can’t whine about it. You can’t complain about it.”
Gasol for his part says he’s taking everything in stride, and is not whining.
“I don’t get irritated,” Gasol said of the benching. “I like to be out there. It’s upsetting for me as a player but I won’t allow it to irritate me.”
Bryant again even after calling Gasol out, stepped up to be his biggest supporter, letting reporters know they won’t allow Gasol to get lost in the shuffle, or lose his confidence.
“We’re not going to lose him,” Bryant said. “That’s just not going to happen. I’ve been around him long enough. I know how to deal with him.”
“Pau has got to make some adjustments, obviously, to his game,” Bryant said. “He might not be posting up as much as he likes, but he just has to adjust.
“The reality is, I’ve adjusted, I’ve never run this many screen-rolls in my entire career. But, I’ve worked on it. I’ve worked on handling the ball. I’ve worked on coming off of screens and making plays. I’m used to being in the post much, much more but you have to adjust.
“You have to master what it is that we’re trying to do here and Pau is talented enough and he’s good enough to be able to do that.”
The real reality of the situation is the Lakers are a more talented bunch with Gasol, and need to figure out a way to maximize his game.
Maybe that will happen when Nash returns, but if doesn’t get fixed when Steve Nash does return, expect a move to be made.