LOS ANGELES (AP) -Pau Gasol wants the ball inside against the Denver Nuggets. Only he’s not about to pull a Keyshawn Johnson and order his Los Angeles Lakers teammates to “just give me the damn ball.”
That’s not the Spaniard’s way.
Gasol is all about finesse on and off the court, so he’ll leave the angry big man approach alone.
“I just want to go with what’s effective and what works out there and what’s been working for us and what’s a strength of ours,” he said after Tuesday’s practice. “I think we should explore that a little more.”
The mild-mannered Gasol complained about only taking four shots in the second half of a 120-101 loss at Denver on Monday night that left the Western Conference finals tied at two.
“I wish we would take more advantage of our height and inside game because it’s pretty effective,” he said.
Bynum were no match for Denver’s trio of Nene, Kenyon Martin and Chris Andersen, who dominated the boards, 42-25.
Odom said the Lakers need a dose of the two Es – energy and effort – in Game 5 Wednesday night at Staples Center, where the Nuggets won Game 2.
“It’s the offensive rebounds, not the defensive rebounds, that bother me,” he said. “When you get behind, you take quick shots and you tend to give those guys some good numbers when it comes to rebounding. We want to clean up the defensive boards and keep them off the offensive boards.”
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