As a Lakers fan, when discussing interior players, the first name that can't be avoided is O'Neal, and the second must be Gasol.
Many people's initial impression of Pau Gasol is that he is an elegant and well-rounded tall interior player who can play the No. 4 and No. 5 positions, he is the No. 1 star in Spain in the first decade of the 21st century, and he is the star of the NBA Memphis Grizzlies.
And Gasol in my heart has always been the handsome, elegant, gentleman, and temperamental person who likes to cry his nose. I think that at the 2006 World Championships, the U.S. men's basketball team, which had a number of top stars of the 03** generation such as Youzhan, Wade, and Melon, was completely overturned by the European powerhouse Greek team.
The Spanish team lacking the first core will face the Greek team in the final, the Greek team has a super strong "little shark", and the Spanish team lacks the inside Gasol, everyone thinks that Spain will be defeated, who knows that in the absence of the team's first star, but also the first core Gasol, the Spanish team relied on team advantages, the Greek team was beaten to the ground, and Gasol, who was standing on the bench with crutches, could not restrain his excitement and burst into tears.
Gasol's moment was moving, and that was the first scene I knew about him, I only knew that he was great, but I didn't know how good he was. And when it comes to the NBA arena, there is no shortage of superstars in the league with many talented monsters, but the little-known Gasol has few highlight moments, for veteran viewers, only know that the Grizzlies have a Gasol, and for most fans, Gasol has no sense of existence.
All this changed in 2008, although Kobe Bryant left O'Neal to play a historic performance, but the team's record has not been satisfactory, the depressed Kobe Bryant finally welcomed the talented Gasol, the two hit it off, and since then changed each other's fates.
Today, Gasol is a member of the NBA Hall of Fame, comparable to the NBA's all-time history. So how should we position Gasol's career?
Gasol has a lot of labels on him, and "soft eggs" are one of them. It is undeniable that Gasol has brought a unique fighting force to the team since joining the Lakers, and the Lakers have quickly become a super powerhouse because of him. But in the face of the Celtics, Gasol in 2008 did show a weak state, Gasol could not be said to be completely blown up by the wolf king Garnett at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, but the combat effectiveness reflected was indeed not as good as before.
In fact, Gasol in 2008 was indeed suppressed by the Wolves, and we understand the gap between Europe's top interior and the NBA's top interior. One of the most memorable moments is when Gasol attacks with the ball, but Garnett inadvertently touches the ball, and then presses the ball down steadily, Gasol can't move at all, and finally the referee blows for the scrum. At this time, the wolf king raised his arms and shouted, showing strong muscles, although not thick, but extremely dense. And Gasol can only hold his breath secretly.
This is the epitome of Gasol's performance in 2008, his ability is obvious to all, but it seems that he can only bully the weak, not fight hard.
But a word must be said for Gasol, it's not that he's too soft, it's that Garnett is too hard. Garnett has been tough since ancient times, some people call him "hard inside" or "tough special", such an NBA super tough guy is not afraid of Kobe Bryant at all, he has won both the regular season MVP and the league's first salary, although he looks thin, but the strength is top-notch, and all other qualities are super-first-class.
Garnett is the person who can discuss with Duncan the top three forwards in the league, while Gasol is only one of the top ten power forwards in the league, and the superstars of the two are not in the same rank. This is Gasol's clearer positioning, very good, but by no means in the top three in the league.
There is another important person who has made Gasol bear the soft egg label, and that is Griffin. Although the White Demon Beast at its peak was a little rough in terms of technique, it was extremely talented, especially its amazing bounce power, which made everyone envious. Griffin is a character who can dunk but never layup, and his dunks are pleasing to the eye and have become a landscape in the NBA. Although Gasol has a good height and arm span, he is not good at jumping, so the White Monster has repeatedly buckled on Gasol's head, especially since the Lakers and Clippers belong to the same city and have 4 games a year, so there are more opportunities to meet, and Gasol has been reduced to the background board of the White Monster many times.
Despite being crushed by Garnett at the 2008 NBA Finals, Gasol showed his true self at the Beijing Olympics in August. He's no longer the softie, but he's dominating the inside, and that's the real Gasol. Since ancient times, European players have a tradition of not adapting to the NBA, and Gasol is not incapable, let alone soft, but not so adaptable to the rhythm of the NBA.
So we saw that Gasol, with the blessing of the Spanish team, showed amazing combat effectiveness, and was dominant at both offensive and defensive ends. Coupled with the echo of his younger brother Gasol Jr., the two brothers completely dominated the inside, including when playing the finals against the United States team, the Gasol brothers were also Spain's biggest advantage, and their overall performance beat Howard. Although Yi Jianlian at his peak gave everything he had and played well, he was still at a disadvantage when he was against Gasol. Such a Gasol, is it soft?
And what made Gasol completely proud was in 2010, when Gasol had already won the first NBA championship of his career, which was not the same in terms of ability or confidence. In the 2009-2010 season, the Lakers and the Celtics met again, and Gasol also swept away the gloom of two years ago and had the upper hand against Garnett.
At the age of 28, Gasol was at the peak of his career, while the 34-year-old Garnett was already a little old, and although he still had the strength to fight, a long-term injury had affected his competitive form. The wolf king of the sunset mountain met Gasol at his peak, and he had to admit that the years were ruthless. 34 years old is not the end of a basketball player's career, so Gasol's victory over Garnett is still a classic to admire. Gasol, who was in full form, met Garnett, who was eighty percent powerful, and this time Gasol won and won the second championship, and he completely asked for the label of a soft egg.
Gasol is not a soft egg, but his body language is too elegant and gentlemanly, after all, he is not like those black players from the slums, he is well-educated, so he does not look like the NBA players we think of in terms of speech and behavior. Today, Gasol is a strong player in both the NBA and the national team, he is a member of the NBA Hall of Fame, and he is the No. 1 center in FIBA, which can be described as a success.