Was Pau Gasol even a top 15 player in 2009 and 2010?

[murksiderock]

No one has said the gap between Bosh and Pau is big. We all agree they are close. I simply think Bosh is better. You yourself admit he had a better peak so what's the problem?

With that said, I disagree with Pau being some perfect fit next to Kobe. Kobe made that pairing work a lot better than I imagined. Pau was a back to the basket big with below average defense. His skill set on offense was redundant with Bynum. Both guys played the same on offense thus giving the Lakers some of the worst spacing in the league at that time.

Bosh would have been a better fit next to Bynum since their skills wouldn't have overlapped. He also would have helped give Kobe better spacing. And his defense was superior to Pau.

Chris Bosh would have made those Lakers teams in 2008-2010 a lot better than they were with Pau.

Have you read this thread? Lmao yes people I'm here were saying Bosh greater than Pau and it wasn't close...

I ain't of the opinion Pau was a perfect fit with Bean, but I'm not positive anyone else would have been better. People in this thread have mentioned David West, David Lee, Amare, Bosh, it's all speculation but I have no reason to definitively think anyone else would have fit in LA better than Pau...

A Kobe and KG pairing obviously woulda worked more than any of these other guys including Pau...

 

[Swagnificent]

Lmao...

Nobody has won 7-8 titles in a row since Boston did it from 1958-1966, in an NBA incomparable to the one now. A prime KG and Kobe weren't winning 7 or 8 in a row either...

We missed your overzealousness, you have a unique skill at making insightful points then simultaneously trolling and/or making dumbass statements...

Whose beating Kobe and KG from 2003-2010?

Jordan and Pippen won 6 titles in 8 years in the modern era. If Jordan doesn't retire for 1.5 years they possibly win 8 in a row. I believe Kobe and KG would be a comprable duo.

Kobe and KG fit so well together in terms of skill set and personality. Both are two of the best two way players in NBA history. Plus both are fearsome competitors who would have the rest of the league intimidated.

They woulda easily run through the league.

 

[Sccit]

Let’s look at blogs back then thinking about pau gasol. Y’all revising history like crazy


Top 50 NBA Players

LMAO THERE U GO

PAU WAS CONSIDERED THE 38TH BEST PLAYER IN THE LEAGUE PRE-KOBE

/THREAD

 

[Swagnificent]

I ain't of the opinion Pau was a perfect fit with Bean, but I'm not positive anyone else would have been better. People in this thread have mentioned David West, David Lee, Amare, Bosh, it's all speculation but I have no reason to definitively think anyone else would have fit in LA better than Pau...

Is spacing not a concept you are familiar with in basketball?

Pau and Bynum were both 7 foot bigs who preferred to play with their backs to the basket. Their skill sets on offense were redundant. And they both hurt Kobe when it came to driving the ball to the basket since they both stayed in the paint and so did their defenders. Its the main reason Kobe took so many mid-range shots.

Bosh played more of a mid-range/pick n pop face up game. He would have worked better with Bynum since their skills didn't overlap. Also his superior skills as a shooter would have spaced the floor better for Kobe when it came to driving lanes. Plus his superior defense helps the team trememdously since defense is 50% of the game.

Anyone who knows basketball can see Bosh would've fit better with those Lakers teams than Pau.

 

[murksiderock]

Whose beating Kobe and KG from 2003-2010?

Jordan and Pippen won 6 titles in 8 years in the modern era. If Jordan doesn't retire for 1.5 years they possibly win 8 in a row. I believe Kobe and KG would be a comprable duo.

Kobe and KG fit so well together in terms of skill set and personality. Both are two of the best two way players in NBA history. Plus both are fearsome competitors who would have the rest of the league intimidated.

They woulda easily run through the league.

You know how this works, though. The League will eventually catch up, people get hurt, challengers rise from nowhere...

A sometimes unmotivated Shaq was always a better player than KG and the Lakers didn't win 7 chips in a row, so this you obviously made that post for shock factor...

 

[Sccit]

Pau was a top-3 two-way big man in 2009 and 2010. There were very few bigs who could play on both ends as well as he could. He was making All-NBA as a PF every year from 2009 to 2011 even though LeBron, KD, Carmelo, PP, KG, Dirk, Duncan, LMA, Bosh, and Blake were all listed as forwards.

Was KG a top-15 player? Was Dwight Howard a top-15 player? Because Pau outplayed both of them head-to-head in the Finals.

Bosh didn't come close to touching any All-NBA teams in that span, and 2/3 of those years were before he joined the Heat. Also, Pau and Bosh played 20 games head-to-head in their career:

Pau: 20-10-3 and 1.2 blocks on 53% shooting
Bosh: 18-9-2 and 0.9 blocks on 49% shooting

And Bosh actually took more shots than Pau in those games but still finished with worse numbers.




What five are those?

Y'all move the goalposts like a mofo. Tell me how many playoff games Bosh, Love, Kyrie, Z, Mo, and Hughes had won COMBINED before they teamed up with LeBron.

Kobe played more seasons with Shaq alone than LeBron played with Wade and Kyrie combined. Add in Pau and that's 13 years that he played with elite All-NBA bigs, while LeBron only had four seasons with All-NBA teammates in his entire career.




We go by that blog's rankings then LeBron was facing a Dallas Superteam with 3 top-15 players.

YO NICK WRONG OVER HERE IS SO DISINGENUOUS, I DONT KNO WHERE 2 BEGIN

 

[Sccit]

There's only been 2 times that the nba finals MVP shot below 50% with kobe doing it both times.

ARE U RETARDED?

JORDAN DID IT 3 TIMES

 

[Sccit]

"thank god they brought Pau here , those last 2 wouldnt have happened"

NO STAR HAS EVER WON A CHIP WITHOUT ANOTHER ALLSTAR...ITS OKAY THAT KOBE HAD A GOOD TEAM..ITS OK

BUT KOBE WON WITOUT A SUPERSTAR

THE ONLY GOAT TO DO SO

 

[Sccit]

He made the 2nd and 3rd All NBA team those years. Only 15 people get selected to that. So yes he was Top 15.

HE DIDNT MAKE ALL-NBA TEAMS PRE-KOBE


THAT WAS THE POINT

 

[Sccit]

According to Forty Percent stans Pau wasn't even Top 100 but whether he was or not Forty wouldn't have won without him so what's the point?

WHO THE HELL IS FORTY PERCENT?

ALLEN IVERSON? JASON KIDD??

U TRYIN TOO HARD SON

 

[Sccit]

THIS @ISO CHARACTER IS REALLY IN HERE PROPPIN PAU UP FOR HIS DEFENSE

NEVER THOUGHT I’D SEE THE DAY

 

[A Tribe Called Quest ™]

PRIME GRANGER WAS PAUL GEORGE BEFORE PAUL GEORGE

26 PPG
6 RPG
3 APG
1 SPG
1.4 BPG

AND AN EXCELLENT DEFENDER.. CLEARLY BETTER THAN PAU.

THE PROBLEM WIT GRANGER IS THAT HIS PRIME WAS SHORT LIVED DUE TO HIS INJURY.

Son his stats went down every year, as the Pacers won more games. By the time the Pacers were a top 4 seed, Granger was an 18 PPG scorer

 

[Sccit]

KG in 07-08?? Because if your taking earlier Kobe and KG.. Imma be real Kobe from 00-04 wasn’t ready to be a 1st option, we all know he can score and defend back then. His leadership skills were poorest then, and being without Shaq humbled him and improved his leadership. KG would be perfect for Kobe, but Pau was better than KG by 09. Pau throughly outplayed KG in the finals too

KOBE WAS ALREADY THE 1ST OPTION IN 2001

COOL HOT TAKE THO

 

[Sccit]

Son his stats went down every year, as the Pacers won more games. By the time the Pacers were a top 4 seed, Granger was an 18 PPG scorer

I DONT GIVE A FUCC HOMEBOY

WE TALKIN GRANGER AT HIS BEST.. HE WAS BETTER THAN PAU IN MEMPHIS. AND IF U SAY HE WASNT, COOL. BUT WHEN U START ACTIN LIKE IT WAS SOME HUGE DISPARITY, THATS WHEN IMA CALL U OUT.

 

[fantabolous]

I haven't lied about anything. I made a mistake and admitted it. My point hasn't wavered and remains that unchallenged by you or anybody else. Kobe is statistically the worst shooting nba finals MVP in league history. He's the only guy to win finals MVP while shooting sub 50% for every game. He has the record for the most missed shots in a finals.

I don't highlight those facts to hate on kobe. The point is to refute the narrative that he carried those lakers teams due to a lack of help which the thread starter tries to make in a bytchmade passive aggressive way.

Instead of addressing my point countering the agenda that this thread is built on, you want to deflect by playing semantics. Another bytchmade passive aggressive game. You kobe cocksuckers are the worst.

You post the "facts" to hate on Kobe if it was really about trying to point out his help, you'd actually address the performances by his teammates. Instead you "made mistakes" to try to illustrate how "badly" Kobe performed, passively implying his teammates must have been crucial to them winning.

Kobe clearly carried the Lakers to 2 championships. I believe winning (and looking for an excuse to discredit Kobe) has in hindsight overrated Pau. Pau wasn't some 1b to Kobe's 1a. Pau is a very good player, and was important to the team but at the time the narrative was he was soft. The Lakers did have a solid core for this run. If anything I think Odom, Ariza, Metta and even Fisher are underrated in their roles.

Back on original topic I'd say Pau was probably top 20. I don't know why we're acting like that's bad; that still makes him the best player on at least 1/3 of the teams in the league. To discredit Kobe I think people try to act like Pau was a 1b championship caliber star, and that's just not accurate.