In the 2001-02 season Pau Gasol was a rookie for the Memphis Grizzlies. They finished 23-59 his rookie year. 2 years later they would win 50 games and become a perennial playoff team in a stacked Western Conference. My point? Pau Gasol is franchise type of basketball player and he might be the best big man in the game.
I was genuinely excited for the Suns and Lakers game tonight. I thought that Los Suns might stand a chance at giving the Lakers a run for their money. Steve Nash is playing as well as he has during any stretch in his career, Amare Stoudemire seems to have his head right and he is healthy, Jason Richardson is shooting lights out and Grant Hill just got done shutting down Maxi face Manu in the second round. It seemed logical that this would translate into being able to compete with a banged up Laker team. Nope, I was wrong.
It felt like Deja Vu. I thought I was watching the Jazz again. Great point gaurd, all star power forward and some tough guys coming of the bench and overall average defense. The Lakers are not too "long"-- Gasol is just to good. The Suns simply do not stand a chance in this series and it has everything to do with Gasol.
The only chance that the Lakers have of losing is if the Celtics advance to play them in the finals. They are the only team tough enough, physically and mentally to defeat the Lakers and contain Gasol.
As such...Go Celtics!
No comments:
Post a Comment