Gasol Feels Love at Staples in L.A. Debut
Lots of energy in the building tonight as Pau Gasol played a Lakers home game for the first time.
Gasol was cheered when his face appeared on pre-introduction highlights.
He was cheered even more loudly when he was introduced in the starting lineup.
And he got a thunderous ovation when he took a behind-the-back pass from Kobe Bryant (the kind of pass Kwame Brown would have whacked out of bounds with his ping-pong paddle hands), took a few dribbles along the baseline and athletically put up a reverse layup.
The Lakers destroyed the Atlanta Hawks, going up 41 in the second quarter before coasting to a 122-93 victory.
That's five consecutive victories and nine in 11 games. The Lakers are 19 games over .500 (at 36-17) for the first time since the last Shaquille O'Neal team (2003-04).
Gasol and Kobe Bryant each scored 23 points; neither played one second of the fourth quarter as Phil Jackson rested his regulars for the Wednesday night game in Phoenix vs. the Suns and, yes, Shaq, who will make his Suns debut.
"It was great. It was a pretty big deal for me," Gasol said. "I'm excited and honored to be here with my teammates and these fans. The way we came out and played defense in the first half was pretty impressive.
"Obviously the crowd had a lot to do with it. They gave us a lot of energy. I had a chance to play my first home game as a Laker, and I wanted to give the fans a little taste of what it's going to be from now on with me and the team."
Fans seem to expect Gasol to be a difference-maker. He could be He seems like the perfect complementary player for Bryant: A known scorer who doesn't demand the ball and doesn't mind being The Sidekick.
Lakers fans are almost giddy at the thought of how good their team could be if Andrew Bynum (knee) comes back strong.
Definitely, some deep penetrations in the playoffs are coming up. Maybe even this spring.