Boost from Gasol vital if Lakers to rebound

LOS ANGELES: Pau Gasol, whose February arrival helped lift the Los Angeles Lakers into the National Basketball Association Finals, must raise his performance if his team is to rally against the Boston Celtics.

The 27-year-old Spanish 7-footer (2.13m) has averaged 17.6 points and 8.9 rebounds in the playoffs but the Celtics have outrebounded the Lakers twice in taking a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven championship series that resumes here on Tuesday.

"We all have to be aggressive. We all have to execute our plays. We know how to do it," Gasol said.

"We want to make sure we establish a post presence and play inside-out a little bit more. That's going to help our offense and hopefully also get me a little more in the lane and being aggressive."

Gasol, obtained in a trade with Memphis after six years of struggling with the lowly Grizzlies, rejuvenated the Lakers' offense to provide the inside power needed to maximize the skills of backcourt playmaker Kobe Bryant.

"Pau is probably one of the most underrated big men in the league. He has definitely taken the Lakers from one level to the next," Celtics star Kevin Garnett said. "He's definitely the outlet which Kobe looks to a lot."

But Boston forwards Kendrick Perkins and Leon Powe have been effective in grabbing rebounds and containing Gasol in the second half. Bryant, the NBA Most Valuable Player, said Gasol can overcome them by working harder.

"You run into Perkins and Pau in an alley, you're probably going to go in Pau's direction," Bryant said.

"But I think his skill and everything that he does gives him a huge advantage. It's not about us being tough. You've just got to play a little bit harder. We've got to get loose balls and timely rebounds and knock shots down."

Gasol finds the same pressure in his first NBA Finals as he has in global events for Spain, which won the world title in 2006 thanks largely to Gasol.

"The intensity is pretty much the same," Gasol said. "It's a series, not a one-game thing. We have a chance to bounce back. It allows you to regroup, make adjustments. It allows you to get them back."

Only three teams have won the NBA Finals after losing the first two games, and none have recovered after dropping the first three, but Gasol, who hit his first six shots in Game 2, is accustomed to defying the odds in tough times.

"I was only the second Spaniard to make it to the NBA," Gasol said. "When I came here, everybody in my country, they were all hesitant and expecting me to fail because I was skinny, only 21 years old. They told me I wasn't ready.

"I always like to prove people wrong when they think less about me. That was my mission, play well and toughen up. I took the challenge. It was hard for me, not only in basketball but in every other aspect of my life. But my mission was to succeed."

AFP

(China Daily 06/11/2008 page22)