Why Pau Gasol Should Come Off The Bench

     The Lakers finally have a streak under their belt after defeating the Cleaveland Cavaliers on Sunday and then the Milwakee Bucks tonight, it feels pretty damn good.  They are currently 17-21 after tonights win, putting them 3 full games behind the Portland Trailblazers for the eighth seed spot.  Dwight Howard and Kobe Bryant both scored a game high 31 points, distributing the ball in an uncanning style.  Sharing is caring and the Lakers are finally sharing.  Dwight's back seems to be healthy again, Nash is healthy again, they're playing some pretty good defense, and things are starting to go their direction.  Up next is Lebron James and the Miami Heat on Thursday.  Mike D'Antoni has been questioned on Pau Gasol's role as his return approaches but a straight answer has not been given.


     D'Antoni's rotation has been pretty unpredictable as of late.  There was a 6 game stretch where Antwan Jamison posted DNP, a 3 game stretch where Jodie Meeks played complete garbage time, and times where Pau was healthy but didn't play in the fourth quater.  Earl Clark has become a bright star in the midst of a dark time as Jordan Hill was ruled out for the rest of the season due to a hip injury against the Denver Nuggets.  There has been speculation that the Lakers have their eyes on free-agent Kenyon Martin, a strong defensive player.  As of now the Lakers are playing great, it appears that they are falling into their roles, spreading the ball, and hustling.  The mojo is good right now.

     So where does that leave the Spaniard Pau?  Will he be inserted back into the starting line-up dropping Earl back to the bench? That doesn't seem like a good idea to me.  If it ain't broken don't fix it.  Nash, Kobe, Metta, Earl, and Dwight look great together and we should keep them together.  We know that Pau hasn't really found his role in D'Antoni's offense, except as the new "Luke Walton". We know that Pau and Dwight don't work well together, at least when they're both on the floor.  We also know that Pau isn't happy with the shots that he is taking (mid-range jumpers) and his lack of touches.  So lets move him to the bench.

     If Pau comes off the bench he'll more or less be the focal point of the second squad.  Keep in mind that he can still log in 28-30 minutes coming off the bench and actually play till the final whistle blows.  So if Pau comes off the bench, he'll be paired with Morris/Duhon, Meeks, Antwan, and Robert Sacre.  That's not a bad squad and the Lakers need a bench.  This evident in tonights game as they were out scored by the Bucks' bench 16-39.  If Pau comes off the bench he'll more than likely get the shots that he wants, he'll open up and spread the floor, and he'll get to play the basketball he wants to play.  Pau is a great player but only if he is allowed to be a great player.  He needs to get over his ego and come off the bench.  Hell if Amare can willingly come off the bench for the sake of the team why can't Pau?  We say that he is a star power forward but that is living in the past, he is currently averaging 12 points with 8 rebounds.

     The next game is Thursday against the Heat and Pau is predicted to start.  We'll have to see how he performs and I hope he doesn't mess up our mojo.