Archive for the 'Pau Gasol' Category

Spain Squeaks By Slovenia

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on September 9, 2009
in Off-Season and Pau Gasol
. Closed

Pau GasolPau Gasol and his Spanish teammates built a 13-point lead heading into the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s EuroBasket showdown with Slovenia, but found themselves in overtime after a furious rally and buzzer-beating jumper that mandated an extra period.

Enter Gasol, who first converted a tough and-1 near the rim and second grabbed an offensive board and stuck it back for five-straight OT points that gave Spain some breathing room. Ultimately, the Spaniards were able to hold on for a 90-84 victory that propelled them into Eurobasket’s next round.

A day after posting 27 points and 11 rebounds in a victory over Great Britain, Gasol’s finished with 13 points, nine rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal against a scrambling Slovenian defense that loaded up down low, though his contributions were certainly timely.

Former NBA player Juan Carlos Navarro led Spain with 21 points, while Portland’s Rudy Fernandez added 19.

Spain had previously lost to Serbia but beaten Great Britain, while Slovenia had beaten both, meaning both teams finished at 2-1 in their group. It’s presumed that Spain’s victory over Slovenia would render them the group winners as both advance to the subsequent round.

Gasol Responds in Spanish Win

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on September 8, 2009
in Off-Season and Pau Gasol
. Closed

After a tough first game back from his finger injury in Spain’s opening loss to Serbia, Pau Gasol was back to his dominant self in a 27-point, 11-rebound performance that led Spain to a 84-76 victory over Great Britain as the Spaniards avoided elimination from EuroBasket 2009.

Eurobasket.org described what ended up being a surprisingly close game:

Great Britain used a 12-0 run in the first 3:28 of the fourth quarter to take their first lead, 68-66, on Mike Lenzly’s right corner three-pointer. They went up by as many as four, 73-69, when Jarrett Hart hit a long bomb of his own. Spain answered right back. Rudy Fernandez stepped into the passing lane for a steal and breakaway dunk before Pau Gasol hit a three-pointer from the top of the key with just over three minutes left to edge Spain back in front 74-73. Spain didn’t trail again after that as Gasol and Juan Carlos Navarro sealed the game.

After scoring just nine points and missing all but 1-of-8 free throws in Spain’s Game 1 loss to Serbia, Gasol made 5-of-6 shots from the field, 2-of-2 from three and 11-of-18 free throws to lead the way.

That’s the Pau Lakers fans know.

Gasol, Spain Drop Eurobasket Opener

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on September 8, 2009
in Off-Season and Pau Gasol
. Closed

In his first game since injuring the index finger of his left hand, Pau Gasol scored nine points with seven rebounds in 25 minutes during Spain’s 66-57 loss to Serbia.

Gasol missed the first seven of his eight free throws, and hit only 4-of-9 shots in the loss, a surprising result for many as Spain are the heavy favorite to win the Eurobasket 2009 title.

Gasol, who shot 56.7 percent from the field and 78.1 percent from the line for the Lakers during L.A.’s championship run, may have been bothered by the finger, but he and Spain have a chance to bounce back against Great Britain on Tuesday.

To read a full report of Spain-Serbia game and view the box score, CLICK HERE.

Pau Gasol Injury Update

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on August 31, 2009
in Off-Season and Pau Gasol
. Closed

According to Pau Gasol’s website, Lakers trainer Gary Vitti met with Gasol in Barcelona to check on the progress of Gasol’s injured finger.

Pau is about to start playing ball, perhaps this Sunday to coincide with last warm-up game of Spain, in Murcia against Israel. He will not play this game, but perhaps he does it in Lithuania, the last before the European Championship.

The index finger on Gasol’s left hand seems to be progressing according to plan, and the Spanish National Team expects him to return to the court shortly.

European Round Up

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on August 21, 2009
in DJ Mbenga, Pau Gasol and Sasha Vujacic
. Closed

blog_0908paugasol_euro
***UPDATE 2: The Spanish National Team expects Pau Gasol (finger) to play.
***UPDATE: Sasha Vujacic will not play in the tournament.

On September 7 in Poland, up to three L.A. Lakers could be representing their National Teams in EuroBasket 2009, an international tournament intended to designate Europe’s best team.

Pau Gasol of Spain, Sasha Vujacic of Slovenia and D.J. Mbenga of Belgium, are all expected to play, though Gasol is in the process of recovering from a torn volar plate on the index finger of his left hand. Gasol will be re-evaluated in just over two weeks when Lakers Athletic Trainer Gary Vitti travels to Barcelona.

Gasol and Vujacic’s teams have already qualified for the tournament, while Mbenga’s battling for Belgium to join his Lakers teammates in Poland.

Mbenga (who grew up in Congo, Africa, before moving to Belgium) has averaged 20.3 minutes on the way to 6.3 points and 3.7 rebounds per game for his country. Belgium needs to win its final game in Group A of the Additional Qualifying Round to finish 3-1 and thus advance to play Group B winner France for the right to play at EuroBasket in Poland. Just as the folks in the “Banging with Mbenga” fan club would have expected, D.J. swatted five shots to open the tournament, then contributed seven points and four boards in a 102-79 victory over previously unbeaten Bosnia and Herzegovina to put the Belgians in place to beat Portugal and move on to join Group B, featuring Russia, Germany and Latvia.

Gasol and Vujacic’s countries are both in Group C, widely considered the tournament’s toughest group, which also features former Laker Vladimir Radmanovic’s Serbia as well as Great Britain.

According to Vujacic’s website, he’s been dealing with a sore knee, but began practicing again on Monday, August 14.

Slovenian Basketball Federation national team director Matej Avanzo confirmed that Sasha will be practicing with the team again on Monday and travel with them to Spain for their next match after the games against Croatia.

Stay tuned for further coverage of Gasol, Vujacic and Mbenga as EuroBasket 2009 approaches.

Pau Q&A Remix: Frosted Flakes & Penelope Cruz

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on August 17, 2009
in Off-Season and Pau Gasol
. Closed

Pau GasolWhen we sat down with Lakers All-Star forward Pau Gasol in early February, he and his teammates were on quite a roll, having won six straight road games including the confidence-cementing victories at Boston and Cleveland.

At the time, Gasol was as good as ever from an offensive perspective, and was demonstrating an impressive zest on the defensive side of the floor as well. Since we had a pretty good sense of the Spaniard on the floor, we thought it prudent to talk about everything else.

So, while Gasol - who’s currently recovering from a minor finger injury - was waiting for his midday meal (pasta with marinara sauce/grilled chicken breast with mashed potatoes/coke) in his Utah hotel room, we started asking questions:

MT: Let’s begin with a no-nonsense question. What’s your favorite cereal?
Gasol: Frosted Flakes. That’s easy. Also, Corn Flakes … with sugar. I guess that’s basically Frosted Flakes, but I started eating them when I was very young in Spain.

MT: Tony the Tiger, huh. What about your favorite meal?
Gasol: Sushi. I love toro, I love sea urchin, I love salmon … All kinds really. Seafood is big part of Mediterranean culture, and I grew up eating it in Barcelona.

MT: You probably know Salma Hayek, don’t you…
Gasol: Actually I know Penelope Cruz better. I like her sister Monica (google images link), too.

MT: Your mother is a physician and your father a hospital administrator. Was education emphasized before sports as you grew up?
Gasol: Yes, it was always “Do your work before you play.” They wanted me to keep my options open, to make sure studying was a big priority over basketball because you’re not sure that sports will work out. So I stayed in school as long as I could and should have even though it was hard my first and last years in college to do both medical school and professional basketball.

TO READ THE FULL INTERVIEW, CLICK HERE.

Pau Gasol Injury Update

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on August 11, 2009
in Off-Season and Pau Gasol
. Closed

Pau GasolAccording to Lakers spokesman John Black, Pau Gasol had surgery earlier this week in Spain to repair a torn volar plate on the index finger of his left hand. Gasol will wear a splint for three weeks, when the Spanish National Team hopes that he can return to play for his country in the European Championships.

The Lakers expect to have an update on Gasol’s progress and return status in approximately three weeks.

In related news, Gasol spoke to Lakers Athletic Trainer Gary Vitti early Tuesday morning, determining that Vitti will travel to Barcelona at the end of the month to see Gasol.

Gasol to Play for Spain

Published
by
Ty Nowell
on July 5, 2009
in Off-Season and Pau Gasol
. Closed

Pau GasolAccording to the Associated Press, Lakers big man Pau Gasol will represent his home country of Spain in this summer’s European Basketball Championship.

“The season went really well for me and now I want to defend our country,” Gasol said. “We’re really hopeful about the team we have, but we can’t go there with a mentality that we’ll be playing the final just because we’re really good.”

Spain is considered one of the favorites after settling for the silver medal in last summer’s Beijing Olympics. This will be Gasol’s fourth straight offseason competing on the international stage; snagging silver in the 2007 Euro Championship and gold in the 2006 FIBA World Championship, where he was also named tournament MVP.

The European Basketball Championship tournament is scheduled for September 7-20 in Poland.

Pau Gasol: Exit Interview

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on June 16, 2009
in Pau Gasol
. Closed

blog_090616paugasolWhile Pau Gasol’s mastery of offense was evident throughout his All-Star 2008-09 campaign, and his entire career, for that matter, it may have been his growth on the defensive side of the ball from L.A.’s 2008 Finals loss to Boston and 2009’s victory over Orlando that made the ultimate difference.

For the season, he averaged 18.9 points, 9.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.0 blocks on 56.7 percent from the field and 78.1 percent from the line in 81 games at 37 minutes per. In the playoffs, Gasol scored 18.3 points with 10.8 boards, 2.5 assists, 0.83 steals and 1.96 blocks on 58 percent from the field and 71.4 from the line while playing 40.5 minutes per contest.

Here are some highlights from his exit interview:

- To start: “I feel great. When I got here, it was a complete shock … Everything happened extremely fast. I was able to deliver very well throughout the playoffs and help my team conquer the championship. It’s been a beautiful year.”

- Gasol acknowledged that the big difference between last season and this was his focus on getting stronger, pushed along by L.A.’s staff, that clearly played off in the playoff run to the championship as his defense and paint presence picked up considerably.

- Gasol’s next three answers came in Espanol, as is sometimes the case depending on the reporters … Yeah, not sure what he said.

- On Phil Jackson: “I think he would like to come back. I really want him, I wish and hope that he comes back. He’s such a big part of our team and our success. I don’t know if he gets enough credit for what he does. He’s such a great person, not just a coach, he’s just a great guy to be coached by. I respect him so much, appreciate who he is and what he’s about extremely. It’s a true pleasure and honor to be coached by him so I really hope he can coach us again for as long as he wants, can or (will be allowed) by.” In other words, Gasol loves Phil.

- Finally, Gasol acknowledged how hard it was to repeat, citing how L.A.’s hunger from losing last season drove them throughout this campaign, but he suggested that if the team’s able to keep it’s key players and coaches, he felt good about its chances: “We have an amazing group and we’ll definitely go for it again.”

Pau Gasol Audio: Saturday

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on May 16, 2009
in Pau Gasol, Podcast and Practice News
. Closed

Pau Gasol explained his team’s excitement heading into Game 7, talked about the importance of helping Andrew Bynum get off to good starts and expressed clearly his desire to bring a maximum physical effort to the game.

 
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