Pau Gasol
Pau Gasol
Pau Gasol Sáezis a Spanish professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association. He is a six-time NBA All-Star, and a four-time All-NBA selection, twice on the second team and twice on the third team. He has won two NBA championships, both with the Los Angeles Lakers. He was the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2002 with the Memphis Grizzlies, one of only two non-American NBA players to win that award. He is the...
NationalitySpanish
ProfessionBasketball Player
Date of Birth6 July 1980
CityBarcelona, Spain
CountrySpain
We just got out of the game for a few minutes and that really cost us. It was frustrating the way we were turning the ball over and giving it back to them without making them work.
We turned the ball over down the stretch and they came down and took the lead there. It was a little bit of everything, execution was definitely a factor. We need to execute in the fourth quarter.
I'm not a person or a selfish player, but we have to move the ball more, and we have to look further the team game, because we have enough talent to use different players.
It wasn't anything. I shot the ball (poorly) tonight. I wasn't shooting the ball well. Ruben tried to front me. Tried to front me and not allow me to get the ball. Reggie was on me. Marcus was on me. They all tried to guard me.
It's hard to play them when they're shooting the ball with that confidence. They did a good job running the ball and running 1,000 pick-and-rolls and they made their shots.
It was good the way we shared the ball tonight and made shots.
It was frustrating. We were turning the ball over without making them work for it. It was really an intense game for a while, and we had a very good chance to be right there. We lost it for a few minutes, and we paid for it.
The turnovers cause you to lose control of the game. It was frustrating. We were turning the ball over and giving them the ball back without making them work for it.
I ain't gonna lie, I was aware of it. I know I needed the assists and I was hoping that Mike Miller was going to make one of those shots (in the fourth quarter). I had a good game sharing the ball and making the right decisions.
In the first half, I was aggressive and then in a very good scoring rhythm making buckets. In the second half, they had to do something. They started digging in and forcing me to pass the ball and I'm glad to do it.
The confidence level that he gives me out there is huge. He puts the ball in my hands a lot and trusts that I'll make the right decisions. Playing 39 minutes a night puts a lot of confidence in me. I don't feel any pressure when I make mistakes and that's important for any player. ... He's told us sometimes that this team goes as I go.
We weren't ready. We didn't come out ready to compete at their level. It was frustrating because we weren't clicking from the start.
The thing we wanted to do is jump on them quick. When a team is not having a good year, when you jump on them early and hit them first it's hard for them to get back up.
In-N-Out is incredible, but don't tell coach I've been going there. He would flip out and put some curse on me.