Pau Gasol right now is the single most important player on the Lakers. Period.
There, we’ve said it. Now you can begin to mock it, as soon as you stop wetting yourself with laughter.
Listen, we know just like you do that the Lakers without Kobe Bryant basically are the Rockets with better uniforms.
Bryant on Monday was named the Western Conference’s player of the week for the second consecutive time, meaning he’s the player of the fortnight, the MVP of the pay period.
But we’re here today to counter that the Lakers without Gasol basically are the Rockets, too, with more minutes available for DJ Mbenga.
If Bryant is the Black Mamba, Gasol is the White Samba. The Lakers wouldn’t be the same without their most dangerous weapon or their most dangerous weapon’s multi-talented dance partner.
It’s absolutely true. One could make the argument that Gasol is just as important to this team as Bryant is. One would lose the argument, sure, but the fact it even could be made is revealing.
The Lakers wouldn’t have advanced to the Finals in the spring of 2008 without both Bryant and Gasol. They wouldn’t have won the Finals in the spring of 2009 without both of them.
And they have no chance of successfully defending their championship in the spring of 2010 without the pair.
The same three statements cannot be made involving any other current Lakers player. No one else is even close.
In a previous lifetime, the championship Lakers had a big man who gave himself nicknames like "The Big Aristotle." In keeping with this tradition, Gasol would be "The Big WD-40."
With a mere spray of Gasol, the Lakers suddenly go from just well-heeled to well-oiled, from missing the occasional beat to humming along in usually uninterrupted harmony.
Yeah, the team has oddly stumbled the past week, but these are the dog days of December. Gasol’s importance only grows as the season does.
Immediately after the Lakers acquired him in the winter of 2008, they won 11 of 12 games. Gasol missed the start of this season because of injury before returning in mid-November, at which point the Lakers won 10 in a row.
These streaks were coincidences the same way it was amazing how the other teams always struggled to score when Greg Maddux happened to pitch.
Remember when Gasol became a Laker? Remember how the team went from playoff contender to Finals favorite in the time it took him to fit into his first pregame layup line?
Since the start of the 2007-08 season, the Lakers are 103-25 in games in which Gasol participates, 44-23 in games in which he does not.
If you can’t comprehend his worth now, you probably also can’t comprehend how socks work.
When this season opened, the Lakers at times looked exceptionally average. Without Gasol they suddenly appeared thin, old and vulnerable. This is precisely how they would look without Bryant.
Their offense bogged down in a loss to Dallas and halted completely in a defeat at Denver. Without Gasol, there was a lack of cohesion.
Given the way Bryant can dominate the ball, it is conceivable that Gasol is the more vital of the two in regards to offensive movement.
The Lakers certainly understand Gasol’s value. The team, in fact, just placed a number on it — an impressive number, assuming you consider making an estimated $32,800 per hour impressive.
Gasol last week agreed to a three-year contract extension that could be worth nearly $65 million. In dealing with this sort of money, the NBA doesn’t need a salary cap as much as a salary sombrero, something giant to collect the loose $100 bills.
Also this month, Gasol had consecutive 20-rebound games. Shaquille O’Neal never did that in the regular season as a Laker.
In a four-game stretch, Gasol had three 20-rebound games. O’Neal spent eight years here and had more 20-rebound games than that in an entire season exactly once.
Now, there is no petty Kobe-Shaq debate with these Lakers. This is definitely Kobe’s team, Kobe’s franchise, Kobe’s legacy.
No one is claiming that this is Pau’s team. We’re trying to provoke thought here, not provide evidence of insanity.
But there is no way to oversell the significance of Gasol in the Lakers’ bid to repeat as champions.
In that regard, he is Bryant’s equal, only as vital to his teammates’ chances as their next breath.
Few have matched Bryant in his time with the Lakers. Gasol, at this moment, is one of the few.
He is the single most important player on this team. Period.
You can argue differently, true, but we can argue the point. And that, today, is the point.
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