Pau Gasol reacts after scoring a basket against the Celtics in Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals. (NBAE/GETTY IMAGES)

While accepting the NBA Finals MVP trophy from Bill Russell, Kobe Bryant appeared almost embarrassed that he was receiving an award despite a very subpar performance in Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics.

Bryant may have been best player in the series against the Celtics, but it was his teammate Pau Gasol who proved to be more valuable. And deep down somewhere in his cold-blooded body, Bryant knew it.

“I can’t say enough about the Spaniard,” Bryant said, acknowledging the impact of his teammate Pau Gasol in front the 19,000 fans inside Staples Center who were celebrating the Lakers’ back-to-back NBA titles and the franchise’s 16th overall.

“The man was unbelievable. We couldn’t have won it without him,” Bryant continued.

As good as Bryant was in the series, the Celtics defense made him into a volume shooter and had a counter for his every move. However, the Celtics had no answer for the talented 7-foot Spaniard.

Kevin Garnett tried, but he ran out of gas. Rasheed Wallace tried, but he was too old and injured. Kendrick Perkins had some success, but his knee gave out. And Glen “Big Baby” Davis was stout, but he was just too short.

Gasol took on the entire Celtics’ frontcourt and won.

“Think about what we’ve accomplished since he’s come to this team. I don’t know if you can think of another player in the last five, six years that changed teams and had that kind of impact,” Lakers co-captain Derek Fisher said of Gasol. “His skill set and his ability to play the game all the way around: shooting, passing, ball-handling, length, size.”

Since acquiring (ahem! stealing) Gasol from Memphis in 2008, the Lakers have been to three consecutive NBA Finals and won nearly 80% of their games. Gasol immediately clicked with Bryant and the two have become the best 1-2 punch in the Association.

“There is a God,” Bryant said two years ago when the Spaniard first arrived.

Former TNT analyst and current Philadelphia 76ers coach Doug Collins calls Gasol “the most skilled big man in the game.”

I’ll take it one step farther. Pau Gasol is the BEST big man in the game.

His performance in the seven-game series against Boston was Hall-of-Fame stuff, and that alone should elevate him to first-team All-NBA status. In my book, he has surpassed Orlando’s Dwight Howard as the best low-post player in the NBA.

Howard (aka Blankman) relies solely on his athletic talents to dominate games. Gasol may not possess Howard’s brute strength and explosive legs, but his skill level is far greater than Howard’s. It’s not even close.

Gasol is so much more polished as a low-post player. He can score with either hand, passes well out of double teams, has an above-average mid-range jump shot, makes free throws, is a very underrated l0w-post defender and knows how to stay out of foul trouble.

Gasol also has a very high basketball IQ, which allows the Lakers to run their high-post sets through him. His ability to read defenses and make the correct play is about as good as any big man who has ever played the game. Just ask Steve Nash.

“He’s extremely long,” said the Suns All-Star point guard, whose team struggled to contain Gasol in the 2010 Western Conference Finals. “He’s a good shooter and passer for a big guy. He can look over the defense, look over double teams. He’s extremely versatile. He can put the ball on the floor and make plays. He’s a terrific player.”

Gasol was an absolute beast in the deciding game against Boston, scoring 19 points and grabbing 18 rebounds. When the Lakers, including Bryant, were launching brick, after brick, after brick, it was Gasol who kept giving his teammates extra possessions with his game-high nine offensive rebounds. His determined effort afforded the Lakers a 53-40 rebounding advantage – 23-8 on the offensive boards.

“If you don’t make shots you have to make sure you get your second-chance opportunities, and that’s pretty much what I figured early on in the game,” Gasol said. “So we had to work extremely hard to get those boards, pursue them to get our opportunities because we weren’t shooting the ball well. We were rushing a little bit. It’s Game 7. There’s a lot of pressure, there’s a lot going on. So we just continue to hustle, continue to work.”

In the last two games at Staples Center in Los Angeles, Gasol scored 36 points, grabbed 31 rebounds and had 13 assists. For the series, he averaged 18.6 points, 11.6 rebounds and 2.6 blocks.

“What I see from him is just a little actions that represent not backing down, getting hit, taking the blow, absorbing it, not reacting to it one way or the other with the mentality of looking at the referee or wonder about the blow or the legitimacy of it. Those are the things that he has learned in the last year and half or two,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said of Gasol, who was heavily criticized for playing “soft” against the Celtics in the 2008 Finals.

He obviously learned his lesson and has gotten physically stronger.

The perception is that Gasol tends to shy away from contact. On the exterior, he appears to be this whimpy guy who easily gets bullied. But in reality, he’s about as tough as they come and he proved it Game 7.

Two plays late in the fourth quarter against Boston captured Gasol’s evolution as a clutch performer.

The first was his block on Paul Pierce that allowed the Lakers to maintain their four-point lead. Then, after a Bryant miss, Gasol gobbled up a rebound over Rajon Rondo and passed to a cutting Bryant, who then drew a foul that resulted in two free throws. Bryant’s free throws gave the Lakes a 76-70 lead.

“I was able to box him out, hold him with one arm and get it with the other one and kick it out,” Gasol recalled. “I’m pretty proud of that play. Those little plays, those little things make a huge difference, especially at that point of the game. I’m glad that things turned out the way they did and we’re enjoying this incredible victory.”

Gasol has come a long way in his basketball journey. He has supplanted Dirk Nowitzki as the best European player in the NBA, but he’s got bigger goals than just being a flag-bearer for European or international players. He continues to work because he wants to be considered the best.

And I think he’s there now.

“For me, it’s incredible. It’s like I’m living in a different dimension,” Gasol said of winning a second NBA championship ring. “If I could get a Genie and asked for a wish, this would be my wish as far as my basketball life and career. I’m so thankful for having this opportunity. I continued to work hard and it has really paid off.”

Though the Lakers didn’t play their best in the finale, the fact that they were able to grind out a come-from-behind victory against the supposedly more grittier team in the Celtics was quite an achievement, and Gasol was right in the middle of it.

“It just tells how much we wanted this, and how much will and determination we put into this,” Gasol said. “It’s very sweet. It feels amazing to win a championship. It definitely adds up when you beat Boston. Especially the rivalry, the history of the franchises and our individual and personal history in 2008. It feels that much better. We won the championship, and that’s the ultimate accomplishment.”

Gasol added: “We’ve definitely grown. We’ve definitely grown as a team, grown as individuals and obviously it shows. Back-to-back championships is a pretty tough thing to do and we’re proud of that. Now we want to enjoy it, embrace it and have a beautiful summer.”

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Game 7 is here!

Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles is jumping early, but you can feel the tension in the building. Laker fans are in full force, with a few Celtic fans sprinkled around the arena.

Tons of streaks are on the line, as well as legacies. Game 7 is where star players become legends. This is one of those career-defining moments that would be replayed over and over again. It’s the Lakers against the Celtics. Amazing does happen! A quarter-by-quarter account of Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals:

FIRST QUARTER:

Derek Fisher opens the scoring with a 3-pointer. Lakers are pounding the offensive boards early and Pau Gasol is having his way against Kevin Garnett on the glass, but can’t finish. Gasol also missed two free throws, a clear message that he’s as tight as a low-rise jeans. Lakers have a 9-0 edge on the offensive boards, but are missing a lot of easy shots.

Ron Artest appears to be lost. Phil Jackson may need to buy him a GPS so he can finally re-join the action.

Rajon Rondo gets a couple of easy baskets and Rasheed Wallace is 2-for-3 from the field early. Wallace goes out with four minutes left in the quarter in favor of Big Baby Davis, who immediately contributes with a couple of layups and two free throws.

The opening tip of Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals at Staples Center in Los Angeles. (NBAE/GETTY IMAGES)

Artest’s inactivity has allowed Paul Pierce to sag on defense and is playing free safety. Lakers appear very tight, while the Celtics are in total sync defensively. The winner of the first quarter has gone on to win each game in the series. Not a good sign for L.A. CELTICS 23, LAKERS 14.

SECOND QUARTER

Despite shooting poorly from the field, Lakers continue to pound the glass and that is what’s keeping them in the game. Kobe Bryant makes a short jumper (he’s 2-for8 from the field thus far) and Artest gets a put-back off an offensive rebound to get the Lakers to within four, 23-19, with 10 minutes left in the quarter.

After Wallace missed a three, Lakers had three chances at 3-pointers but Artest, Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic all missed. Bryant re-enters and immediately sets up Gasol for an easy layup. Artest takes the ball out of Ray Allen’s and scores a layup to tie the game, 23-23. Staples crowd finally has something to cheer about.

Celtics are in a serious drought, and haven’t scored in four minutes. Both teams are playing so hard that it is affecting their offense. More bricks than swishes in the first half.

Just saw Ellen Pompeo. Loved her in “Old School.”

Artest finally makes a 3-point shot and he points to the stands. I think he was giving props to his man Boogie. Lakers continue to jack up threes. Not sure why. Memo to the Lakers: If you have an open three, it doesn’t mean you have to take it. There’s a reason why you they’re leaving you open.

Bryant and Gasol are a combined 6-for-26 in the first half. Yikes!

Lamar Odom’s head is somewhere else besides Staples. LO has one more point than his wife Kloe Kardashian. LOL!

Artest and Pierce gets tangled up under the basket and both got double Ts for staring at each other. Brian Scalabrine sighting! Who gave him tickets to the arena? I guess Doc Rivers feels he can’t do any damage in 34 seconds. Lakers shoot a miserable 26% from the field and Pierce got to the free throw line late to give Boston a six-point cushion. CELTICS 40, LAKERS 34.

Halftime.

THIRD QUARTER

Celtics start the half with an alley-oop to Garnett on a feed from Rondo, who is playing a very controlled game. Celtics go up 42-34. Kobe misses a long three. He’s 3-for-15 for the game. Just as I was typing that, Kobe just missed another three. Make that 3-for-16.

Garnett’s 3-point play and Rondo’s floater in the paint gives the Celtics their biggest lead of the game, 47-36, at the 9:45 mark. After a Laker timeout, Bryant misses another jumper (3-for-17!). Rondo follow-up gives Boston a 49-36 lead. Bryant finally ends his drought with a short mid-range jumper to cut the lead to 10.

Celtics have stalled a little bit, allowing the Lakers to make a little run. Artest blows a layup, but Odom follows. His first field goal, cutting the lead to six at 51-45 five minutes remaining in the quarter.

Kobe turns the ball over and his teammates jog back on defense. Pierce hits a three to push Boston’s lead back to nine. Fisher heads to the locker room. Shannon Brown in the ballgame. Lakers had a chance to cut the lead to under five, but Bryant turns the ball over which leads to a Celtic fastbreak. Ray Allen is 1-for-9 from the field. He’s not walking on water in Game 7.

Odom follow up makes it a four-point game with under two minutes left. Odom has provided a nice spark off the bench. Both teams looked gassed. Starters played heavy minutes in that quarter so the benches will play a pivotal role in the fourth quarter. CELTICS 57, LAKERS 53.

FOURTH QUARTER

Gasol posts up Big Baby Davis, gets fouled and hits the shot. Lead down to two. Pierce overdribbles and turns the ball over. The two best players in the series are struggling mightily. Did I say both teams are gassed? Geez. This is like a marathon with both runners stumbling across the finish line. Water break!

Kobe is playing like someone with a 500-pound weight on his shoulders. Everything is a struggle, even with his ball handling. His timing has been off the whole game and he just can’t find a rhythm on offense. Still plenty of time to correct his issues, but as the game wears on that 500-pound weight becomes heavier and heavier by the minute.

Kobe Bryant protects the ball from Paul Pierce (left) and Rasheed Wallace during Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals. (NBAE/GETTY IMAGES)

Bryant catches a break when Ray Allen got his arms locked up with Kobe’s shooting arm. Three free throws for Bryant, which could get him going. Kobe hits all three. It’s now a 59-58 ballgame! Artest scores and gets fouled. His 3-point play ties the game, 59-59 with seven minutes left.

Fisher back in the game, which is key because he’s one of the best clutch shooters in the game. Lakers need his offense and leadership down the stretch. Gasol misses two free throws. Lakers are now 13-for-21 on the line. If L.A. ends up losing this game, they can point to the missed free throws as killers.

Fisher on cue! He hits a huge 3-pointer with 6:13 left to tie the game at 64. Rondo misses a shot and Kobe grabs the rebound and gets fouled. This could be a big five-point swing for L.A. I’m exhausted typing up the action. Imagine how those players feel on the court. Lakers role players have done enough to keep the Lakers in the game. Now it’s Bryant’s turn to close the deal.

Bryant’s FTs give the Lakers their first lead since the second quarter, 66-64, then hits a jumper over Ray Allen to give the Lakers a four-point lead. Doc Rivers is sensing this game is slowly slipping away. Timeout Celtics.

Boston’s offense is on a serious gridlock. Pierce is tired. KG is running on fumes. Where are the Celtics going to get some offense? It doesn’t appear C’s have enough left in the tank to finish this game. They are just fouling the Lakers at this point, which is a sign of a very, very tired team.

Lakers are two minutes away from an NBA championship.

Gasol may have just iced the game. He blocks Pierce’s layup on one end and then drops in a shot on the other end to give L.A. a six-point lead with 90 seconds remaining in the NBA season, 76-70. The crowd is sensing a big-time celebration. Cue the riot squad because there is a party about to happen on 11th and Figueroa.

Wallace, Artest and Ray Allen exchange 3-point shots. With under 40 seconds left, Bryant jacks up a three but Gasol gets the rebound (L.A.’s 23rd offensive rebound), feeds Bryant and he gets fouled. Gasol has been huge in the fourth quarter. I think he just elevated himself to first-team All-NBA status. Kobe makes both foul shots to make it 81-76 with 25 seconds left. Artest has been huge in this game. He’s got 20 points and has locked up Pierce on defense. Queensbridge in the house!

Rondo knocks down a miracle three to cut the L.A. lead to two, 81-79. Rondo then knocks the ball out of bounds with 13 seconds left. Vujacic is fouled by Allen. Facing the two biggest FTs of his life, Sasha swishes two HUGE free throws. Somewhere in Phoenix, Goran Dragic is cursing at his TV.

Rondo misses a 3-pointer and Gasol grabs the rebound (his 18th of the game), outlets to Odom and he flings the ball down the court to Kobe, who runs out the clock. As the great Chick Hearn would say: “The game is in the refrigerator. The door is closed, the eggs are cooling, the butter is getting hard and the Jell-O’s jiggling.” Lakers win the NBA title! LAKERS 83, CELTICS 79.

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Though Pau Gasol is focused on winning an NBA championship, his heart is still in Spain.

So, when the Spanish national team suffered a stunning 1-0 loss to Switzerland in its first match in the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, Gasol felt the pain of his countrymen.

“Tough loss. Not the way we expected our team to start the championship,” said the Lakers forward, who plays for Spain’s national team in basketball. “It puts them in a position where they have to win probably the two games they have left against Honduras and Chile.”

Gasol said he watched the Spain-Switzerland match on TV and was just as surprised as anyone when the second-ranked team in the World Cup couldn’t score against the Swiss defense.

“I woke up this morning and I couldn’t sleep anymore,” Gasol said. “It’s 8:30 and I turn the game on and the next thing I know we’re down 1-0 and struggling and scrambling to try to score a goal. It happens. Soccer is an interesting sport and it was unfortunate that we started out that way, but we still have a long ways to go.”

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Pau Gasol (left) and Andrew Bynum (right) helped limit Paul Pierce (middle) and the Celtics to 1-for-10 shooting from behind the 3-point arc in Game 1. (NBAE/GETTY IMAGES)

They stopped dribble penetration. They protected the paint. They rebounded the heck out of the ball. They took charges. They put a hand in the face of every shooter. They got to loose balls. And they took away the other team’s air space and made it a very uncomfortable night.

If you think I’m referring to the Boston Celtics you are dead wrong. As it turned out, the L.A. Lakers were more physical, more disruptive, more determined and more active than the Celtics in Game 1 of the 2010 NBA Finals. These were definitely not your 2008 L.A. Lakers. In fact, these are not even your 2009 L.A. Lakers. They’re better.

The Lakers simply looked far superior than the Celtics in their 102-89 victory on Thursday night to take a commanding 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Commanding? Yes. Commanding. Why? Phil Jackson is 47-0 when he wins Game 1 of a series. That’s why.

If the Lakers can sustain their defensive pressure for the rest of this series, it is going to be extremely hard on the Celtics to score points.

Paul Pierce scored 24 points but it wasn’t an easy 24 as he struggled against Ron Artest’s vice grip D. Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins looked overmatched against Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, as the Lakers’ big men dominated the Celtics on the boards. And Rajon Rondo couldn’t push the tempo fast enough to get easy layups and was stuffed a few times when he did try to get to the rim. Defense, defense, defense. That was the theme of Game 1, but it was the Lakers who displayed more intensity and tenacity – two things the Celtics are known for and two reasons why they beat the Lakers in the ‘08 Finals.

“The Lakers were clearly the more physical team today,” said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. “I thought they were more aggressive. They attacked us the entire night and we didn’t handle it very well. I’ve always thought that the team that is the most aggressive get better calls. That’s just human nature.”

The Lakers claimed they learned their lesson from ‘08, and they certainly showed it by playing hardball with the Celtics.

L.A. outrebounded Boston, 42-31, and completely took the Celtics apart on the offensive boards with a 16-0 edge in second-chance points. The Lakers were a plus-18 in points in the paint, a domination rarely seen done against a Celtic team that pride themselves in keeping teams away from the paint.

“I’m mean, they were,” Pierce said of the Lakers’ newfound toughness. “Look at the rebounding advantage, the blocks, and you look at the stuff that don’t even show in the box score if you watched the game. All the hustle plays. That’s all part of physicality.”

There must be an echo in the room because Ray Allen pretty much said the same thing. “We have to do a better job of keeping our paint tight,” Allen noted. “When they moved the ball, we didn’t suck in and close the gaps when they penetrated. We made them miss, but they got second chance opportunities.”

Artest set the table for the game when he scored a two-point takedown on Pierce 27 seconds into the game. It not only established a physical tone but it sent a message to the Pierce and the Celtics that the Lakers were ready to rumble.

“I expected it to be physical. He’s going to work as hard and he’s their defensive leader. I don’t know what else you want me to say. What are you looking for? I mean, he’s a good defender,” Pierce said of Artest, who was not part of the Lakers team that fell to Boston two years ago, along with Andrew Bynum.

“Obviously they’ve added some pieces,” Pierce said. “They brought Bynum back from a couple of years ago, added Ron Artest. They’re a seasoned team from a couple of years ago.”

The Lakers also held the Celtics to 43% shooting from the field and limited them to 1-for-10 from behind the arc. The Lakers took a nine-point lead at halftime and increased it to as many as 20 in the fourth quarter.

“We’ll go watch some film and learn from this. We’ll watch the tape and see what we can do a lot better,” Pierce said. “Obviously we can do things a lot better. We gave up 102 points and 48 percent shooting. We gotta do a better job of stopping the guards from penetrating, gotta do a better job rebounding the ball, and we gotta do a better job on Kobe Bryant. Everybody knows he’s going to shoot the ball, everybody knows he’s going to be aggressive so we gotta do a better job of getting the ball out of his hands.”

Though Bryant led all scorers with 30 points, it was Gasol who really did the most damage on the Celtics. The 7-foot Spaniard with the wingspan of a jumbo jet made eight of 14 shots, all from close range, scored 23 points and ripped down 14 rebounds. He was officially credited with three blocked shots, but it seemed like he altered 10 shots near the basket with his length.

Former TNT analyst and new Philadelphia 76ers coach Doug Collins calls Gasol the most skilled big man in the NBA. I’m going to take it one step further and start calling Gasol the BEST big man in the NBA.

“I knew it was gonna be physical,” said Gasol. “This being our third consecutive final, we understand the nature of the game, we understand who our rival is, and you gotta compete and match that aspect of the game in order to be successful.”

Because the Celtics had no answer for Gasol and Bryant, the game became so one-sided that Lakers fans began chanting for “We want tacos!” midway through the fourth. If you haven’t been to Staples Center in L.A., whenever the Lakers hold the opposition to under 100 points, everyone in the building gets free tacos courtesy of Jack In The Box.

By the way, I find it really hilarious that Laker fans who paid somewhere in excess of $500-$1,000 for playoff tickets are craving for $3 tacos. I’m pretty sure everyone in the arena can afford to buy all the tacos they want.

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Suns center Amare Stoudemire is sandwiched by 7-footers Pau Gasol (left) and Andrew Bynum. (NBAE/GETTY IMAGES)

When you pick on the biggest bully on the block, you better be prepared to back up your talk.

Phoenix Suns center Amare Stoudemire first picked on Lakers forward Lamar Odom, dismissing his impact in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals saying that Odom got “lucky” despite scoring 19 points and grabbing 19 rebounds. Then Stoudemire turned his attention to Lakers centers Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol, saying he used to dominate Gasol when the 7-foot Spaniard played for the Memphis Grizzlies.

“It was total domination,” Stoudemire told The Arizona Republic of his 2005 first-round playoff matchup with Gasol. “But now he has a little brother (Bynum) with him so now he’s a little more confident because he’s got someone to help him in the post.”

Though Odom, Bynum and Gasol didn’t respond publicly to Stoudemire’s statements, they did their talking on the court as they took turns in punishing Stoudemire in the low post, combining for 59 points and 27 rebounds in the Lakers’ 124-112 destruction of the Suns in Game 2.

“Well, what can you say. We’re just having a hard time slowing them down,” said Suns coach Alvin Gentry, whose team is averaging 109 points and shooting almost 50% from the field in the series but still find themselves down 0-2.

“We played well offensively, but every time we make an adjustment to slow them down they go somewhere else. You do a great job on Kobe [Bryant], which I thought we did, they to go to Pau. We go double team Pau and there’s Lamar; we get it out of Lamar’s hands and Jordan Farmar makes shots. They are the reason they’re the world champs.”

After the Suns tied the game at 90 after three quarters, the Lakers went back to their low post attack, which meant a whole lot of Gasol and that’s when the game turned into a rout.

Gasol scored 14 of his game-high 29 points in the fourth quarter and made 11 of 19 shots for the game.

He took advantage of Stoudemire’s inattentiveness on defense. On one play, Stoudemire totally misplayed a pick-and-roll situation and allowed Gasol to slip in for an easy layup. On another play, Stoudemire completely lost Gasol in a crowd and Bryant was able to spot him for another uncontested layup under the basket. And when he’s not embarrassing Stoudemire on pick-and-rolls, Gasol punished him on simple isolations on the low block.

“We had to try to play him straight up, and when we played him straight up Pau had some success,” Gentry said. “The one time we tried to double he turned it over, the next time we doubled he found the open guy and the guy makes a three. You really do have to pick your poison.”

Gentry added: “We just have to take a look at the tape tonight, and maybe we’ll decide we let Kobe score 80 and try to guard the other guys.”

Bryant, who lit up the Suns for 40 points in Game 1, scored just 21 points but had a team-high 13 assists.

The Lakers are making nearly 58% of their shots from the field and averaging 126 points through the first two games in the series. They enjoyed another big advantage in points in the paint (54-46) and, thanks to another stellar game by Odom (17 points, 11 rebounds) and timely contribution from Farmar (11 points), the Lakers bench outplayed the Suns bench for a second time.

Though his team initially didn’t target Stoudemire on the low block, Lakers coach Phil Jackson said it became a top priority once the Suns’ All-Star center got into foul trouble.

“He’s the initiator of their screen-and-roll offense because of what he can do off his roll activity,” Jackson explained. “We took the ball down in the low post because he had five fouls and we knew it would tough for him to play defense at that time.”

This series can’t end soon enough for Stoudemire, who finished Game 2 with 18 points and six rebounds. The Lakers are just too big, too strong and too talented for the Suns, who will need a lot of luck just to win a game in this series.

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The Utah Jazz has no shot against the L.A. Lakers.

What? Say that again.

The Utah Jazz has no shot against the L.A. Lakers.

The reality of the Utah-L.A. series is this, the Lakers are very familiar with the Jazz and they will use the same formula that has worked for them the past two seasons: use their superior size, strength and length to control the paint.

“We’ll be ready,” Bryant said of the matchup in the Western Conference semifinals. “No scouting report necessary, for either team. We know their offense inside out and they know our offense inside out, as well as the defense. We play each other so many times, including preseason, we’re just extremely, extremely familiar with each other.”

“Everybody knows we have trouble with the Lakers,” said Jazz coach Jerry Sloan, whose team has been eliminated from the postseason by the Lakers the past two years.

“They’re big and long and we’re not big and long. When it’s all said and done, you come and play and do the best you can,” Sloan added. “Our guys will lay it out there and compete, and that’s all you can ask them to do.”

Utah lost the season series 3-1, and one of the Laker victories came without Bryant.

In the four meetings, the Lakers held the Jazz to 88 points per game, 43% shooting from the field (27% from 3-point range) and L.A. enjoyed a +4 rebounding edge. Against the rest of the league, Utah averaged 104 points per game and nearly 50% shooting.

Carlos Boozer (6-9), Kyrylo Fesenko (7-1), Paul Millsap (6-8) and Wesley Matthews (6-5) will be at a major disadvantage against the Lakers’ frontline of Andrew Bynum (7-0), Pau Gasol (7-1), Lamar Odom (6-10) and Ron Artest (6-7). Fesenko is the only Jazz player who can match up height-wise vs. the Lakers, but the rookie center has just six playoff games under his belt.

Boozer, who dominated the Nuggets’ big men in the first round, enjoyed a season in which he averaged 19 points and 11 rebounds. But against the Lakers, Boozer’s numbers are down (16 points and nine rebounds). Boozer gives up almost three inches against Bynum and Gasol, which limits his post-ups.

Last year, the Lakers bounced the Jazz in five games in the opening round and the year before that the Lakers took them out in seven games in the conference semifinals.

“Third time is a charm, right?” said Jazz guard Deron Williams, who is a game time decision for Game 1 because of a sore elbow. “It’ll be a tough series. They’re always tough. They’re the defending champs until somebody defeats them. Hopefully we can be a little tougher with them, be a little more physical. They are usually a team that tries to come out and blow you out in one quarter and they’ve done that to us on several occasions. We’ll just have to be ready to go.”

So, unless the Jazz sprout some more height the next few days, it will be extremely difficult for them to combat the size and length of the Lakers. A sweep is not out of the possibility. More likely, the Jazz might be able to squeeze one win out of this series but that’s about it. Expect the Lakers to be in the conference finals.

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The atmosphere at Staples Center on Thursday, Nov. 19, was different. There was a sense of completeness.

Pau Gasol is back and the rest of the league better beware because the Los Angeles Lakers now have all their stars aligned and they are scary good with Gasol in the lineup.

The All-Star forward-center, who missed all of training camp, the preseason and the first 11 games because of a strained hamstring, scored 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting and grabbed 13 rebounds in his season debut and powered the Lakers to a 108-93 blowout victory over the Chicago Bulls.

Gasol didn’t miss a beat, starting the game and playing 35 minutes. He looked sharp and he was in sync with his teammates, including first-year Laker Ron Artest. Who needs the preseason? Gasol is a cerebral player and he knows how to play within the system. And he was also smart enough to stay in shape while he was recovering from his injury. Imagine if Shaquille O’Neal missed all of preseason and the first 11 games of the season? Shaq would be so grossly out of shape for his season debut he probably wouldn’t last past the first quarter.

Pau Gasol netted 24 points against Joakim Noah and the Chicago Bulls in his season debut. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

“It’s so much fun to play with our guys in front of our crowd,” Gasol told reporters. “I really wasn’t expecting to be as effective as I was tonight, but my teammates found me a couple of times and made it easy.”

With Gasol at power forward, Andrew Bynum at center, Artest at small forward, Derek Fisher at point guard, Kobe Bryant at shooting guard and forward Lamar Odom and Shannon Brown both coming off the bench, the Lakers now have a solid seven-man rotation that coach Phil Jackson can trust.

The Gasol-Bynum tandem – both 7-footers – makes is extremely difficult for other teams to score in the paint because of their size and length. Then, you bring in the 6-10 Odom off the bench and you have the tallest and deepest frontcourt talent pool in the Association.

The Lakers were 8-3 with Gasol sidelined. I can’t see this team losing more than 12 games this season.

Popularity: 4% [?]

There is no doubt that Pau Gasol and Dirk Nowitzki are the two best players in Europe. But who is better?

After leading Spain to a gold medal in the 2009 European Championships, you can make a strong case for Gasol as the best non-American player in the world.

Led by Gasol, named the “best player” of the tournament, Spain defeated Serbia, 85-63, in the championship game. Gasol finished with 18 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots, and was easily the most dominant force for the undisputed No. 1 team in Europe.

His performance throughout the championships served notice to the rest of the world that he is a legitimate superstar and belongs in the conversation when the topic of discussion turns to the “best players in the world not named Kobe Bryant or LeBron James.”

Pau Gasol has surpassed Dirk Nowitzki as the best player from Europe. (REUTERS)

Though they are almost similarly built – both are 7 feet and right around 250 pounds – Nowitzki and Gasol have varying basketball talents. Gasol, 29, is a classic back-to-the-basket post player who can occasionally face up and hit the 15-foot jump shot. Nowitzki, 31, prefers to start his offensive moves away from the basket  and loves to take his defender near the free-throw line, using his patented step-back jumper.

Gasol showed the NBA community that he is tough enough to play in the interior, helping the Los Angeles Lakers capture the Larry O’Brien trophy last June by outplaying Orlando’s Dwight Howard, a first-team All-NBA center, in the NBA Finals.

Nowitzki has long been recognized as Europe’s best player because of all his individual accomplishments. He is, without question, one of the top power forwards in the NBA and has earned the reputation for being a great offensive player (he averaged 25.9 points per game in 2008-09). He is a four-time member of the All-NBA first team, an eight-time NBA All-Star and is the only European-born player to ever win the NBA’s regular-season MVP.

Because the Dallas Mavericks superstar did not participate in this year’s European Championships (per Mark Cuban’s request), we never got to see the highly anticipated one-on-one matchup between the two European studs – although the end result would have favored Gasol’s squad because Germany is not in the same class with Spain.

It’s safe to say that Germany is a one-man team, boasting only two other NBA players on its roster compared to Spain, which fields at least seven players with NBA experience.

If I had a choice to pick between the two, I would take Gasol because he commands so much respect inside than Nowitzki. The game is still played inside-out, and Gasol is one of the best in the world at scoring in the paint and protecting the paint. Defense has never been Nowitzki’s forte and, at times, he easily gets flustered by a more physical defender. Gasol has learned how to play against bigger and stronger players, and his basketball IQ is off the charts.

Bottom line, Pau Gasol has surpassed Dirk Nowitzki as the best European-born player in the NBA. Gasol has an NBA title, a FIBA World Championship and European Championship to prove it.

Popularity: 3% [?]

The Lakers' terrific trio of Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom are poised to win an NBA title. (NBAE/GETTY IMAGES)

After sleep-walking through the first two rounds of the playoffs and the first four games of the Western Conference finals, the Lakers are now fully caffeinated and wide awake.

Pau Gasol is fully stretched, Lamar Odom is back to form and Kobe Bryant looks unstoppable. To borrow a line from the popular Nike Most Valuable Puppets commercials that features Kobe and LeBron James … “What makes his unstoppableness unstoppable?” Nobody knows.

So, cue the Lakers’ championship parade. Bring back Mark Madsen and let him do a little reign dance in front of Staples Center. Give Jack Nicholson a chest bump. And find one of Hef’s Playmates and give her a smooch. As the late great Chick Hearn would say, “This one is in the refrigerator. The door’s closed, the lights are out, the eggs are cooling, the butter’s getting hard and the Jell-O’s jiggling.” The Lakers are back in the NBA Finals and four victories away from a 15th NBA championship. It’s banner time!

When the Lakers are locked in on defense and playing with a high efficiency on offense, no team in the league – and that includes Cleveland and Orlando – that can stop them. The Denver Nuggets saw the Lakers at their best in Game 6 when the Lake Show dispatched the Nuggets, 119-92, on Denver’s home floor.

The domination was evident from the start. Trevor Ariza got the party started by hitting three 3-pointers in the first quarter. After the Nuggets took a 31-30 lead thanks to J.R. Smith, the Lakers went back to work and the game became one-sided. When the Lakers kicked it into sixth gear, there was nothing the Nuggets could do. Kobe Bryant punctuated the first-half assault by swishing a 3-pointer from the corner to give the Lakers a 13-point lead right before halftime. Dagger!

“All through the series, I saw little cracks in the Lakers. Somehow we’ve cemented those cracks back up and I think they’re the best team right now in the NBA,” said Denver coach George Karl, who reluctantly congratulated the Lakers after they eliminated the Nuggets from the postseason.

As usual, Bryant led all scorers with 35 points on 12-of-20 shooting from the field and was a perfect 9-for-9 from the line. The Black Mamba, who also had six rebounds and 10 assists, showed Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups and J.R. Smith how to close out a series.

“Their offensive execution was the best it’s been all series, and their box defense kinda frustrated our offense,” Karl added. “Then No. 24 had a great five minutes at the end of the (half) that no one in basketball could have covered. He made about four shots during that stretch; I think Jesus would have had trouble covering him.”

Though Karl was mesmerized by Bryant’s holy game, Kobe was not alone in cutting up the Nuggets. Pau Gasol also flirted with a triple-double with 20 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, and his proficiency in the post allows the other Lakers to get involved and creates a better balance on offense and defense.

“The last two games we really proved to ourselves and everybody else that we can be an extremely high quality team that deserves to be in the NBA Finals and is going for the NBA championship,” Gasol explained. “We have to do more of that. I think we have been a little inconsistent throughout the year with that. When we move the ball and use all of our weapons, we become really dangerous because the defense then hesitates and doubt if they double team Kobe or not, or go double team me or not and they’re out of balance. Hopefully we can keep it this way.”

Lamar Odom came off the bench to score 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting and Luke Walton enjoyed his best game of the series with 10 points. When Odom is actively involved in the game, teams have a really hard time matching up with the Lakers because it gives them three highly-skilled scoring options. A perfect triangle offense built to overcome any defense. “Whoever woke up Lamar Odom should be fired,” Karl joked. “I thought we had him contained, but he has been sensational the last two games.”

Karl hinted that when Bryant has is going offensively, Gasol is working his post-up game and the 3-point snipers are hitting their mark, the Lakers become unstoppable.

“We never got control of their post-ups,” Karl said as the Lakers made 43 of 75 of their shots from the field (57%) and were 9-of-16 from 3-point range (56%). “When we doubled it, they scored – the three or the two. And when we didn’t double it, they scored on the post-up. Offensively, they got into control of us more than we got in control of them.”

Right now, the Lakers are in complete control of their destiny and it would not matter who plays them in the NBA Finals because there is no stopping the Lake Show.

Popularity: 21% [?]

Vlade Divac played 16 productive seasons in the NBA, six with the Sacramento Kings. His jersey No. 21 now hangs in the rafters in Arco Arena. (NBAE/GETTY IMAGES)

Vlade Divac’s No. 21 jersey was recently retired by the Sacramento Kings in honor of the groundbreaking Serbian center’s six successful seasons with the club.
Divac was the emotional leader and most popular player on the best teams in the franchise’s history, including the Kings’ back-to-back Pacific Division champions and the 2002 Western Conference finalists. He is the second-leading rebounder in Kings history, and he endeared himself to California’s capital city with extensive charity work.
Divac played 16 NBA seasons, including eight with the Los Angeles Lakers and two with the Charlotte Hornets, and enjoyed six solid seasons with the Kings.
Even though he was not the first European player drafted by an NBA team, Divac’s successful run in the Association paved the way for a new wave of European ballers such as Dirk Nowitzki, Peja Stojakovic, Pau Gasol and Tony Parker.

OneManFastbreak.net rates the top 10 European-born players who have played in the NBA:

10) Šarunas Marčiulionis – At 6-5, 200 pounds and left-handed, he was the original Manu Ginobili. He was incredibly strong for a guard, and was fearless when he drove to the basket. He led the Soviet Union to a gold medal in the 1988 Summer Games, prompting a change to Olympic basketball and launching the development of the 1992 Dream Team. Marciulionis was drafted by Don Nelson in 1987, but did not play for the Golden State Warriors until 1989 when he entered the NBA as a 25-year-old rookie. His best season came in the 1991-92 season when he averaged 18 points per game off the bench.

9) Vlade Divac – A very skilled 7-footer who thrived in the Princeton Offense, where it showcased his ability to shoot or pass the ball near the free-throw line. Divac was more finesse than power. Considered the ambassador of Yugoslavian basketball to the United States. He was a good NBA player, but an even better person off the court. Divac, a Serb, and Drazen Petrovic of Croatia made it possible for NBA scouts to believe in the European player. Although he started and ended his career with the L.A. Lakers, Divac’s best seasons were spent in Sacramento where he served as the team leader of the run-and-gun Kings and took young Euros such as Peja Stojakovic and Hedo Turkoglu under his wing.

8) Andrei Kirilenko – Owns one of the best nicknames in sports. The man they call “AK47″ is one of the most versatile players in the world and can definitely fill a stat sheet. AK47 is always among the league leaders in blocks and steals. He was the 24th player taken in the 1999 NBA draft and has played his entire career with the Utah Jazz. The 6-9 forward has been a member of the all-defense team three times (he made first-team all-defense during 2005-06 season).
7) Arvydas Sabonis – NBA fans never got to see the real Sabonis because multiple knee surgeries robbed him of his mobility when he got to Portland. He was still very effective for the Blazers, helping Portland become a Western Conference power from 1999 to 2001. But if the Blazers had gotten the 7-foot-3, 290-pound Lithuanian center when he was in his prime, the Blazers could have won a championship or two. Just ask David Robinson how good Sabonis was back in the 1988 Olympics when Sabonis schooled Mr. Robinson, who at the time was the reigning college player of the year.
6(t) Peja Stojakovic – At one point of his young professional life, he was considered the best pure shooter in the world. The native of Serbia and Montenegro was drafted by the Sacramento Kings in 1998, at the suggestion of Vlade Divac, and began making his mark during the 2000-01 season when he averaged 20.4 points as the starting small forward for the Kings. For the next five season, Stojakovic averaged more than 20 points per game and always among the league leaders in 3-point shooting. After a brief stint in Indiana, Stojakovic has been a member of the New Orleans Hornets for the past three seasons and has become Chris Paul’s favorite basketball sniper.
6(t) Detlef Schrempf – The native of Luverkusen was the pioneer of German basketball players. After a successful stint at the University of Washington, Schrempf was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks in 1985 and went on to play 16 seasons in the NBA. His best years were spent in Indiana and Seattle. He was named sixth man of the year in 1990-91 and again in 1991-92. He was named to the all-star team in 1993, 1995 and 1997. In 1996, he was a part of the Sonics team that played lost to the Bulls in the NBA Finals. Detlef would be a lot higher on this list if he didn’t have such a bad reputation for being surly.

5) Dražen Petrović – He died in a car accident on July 7, 1993, on the highway in the vicinity of the German town of Ingolstadt, one day after his last game in a Croatian national team jersey at the qualifications tournament for the European championship in Wroclaw. Though his career was cut short by his untimely death, Petrovic left enough of an impact in the game that he was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002. His last two seasons was spent in New Jersey, averaging 20.6 in 1991-92 and 22.3 in 1992-93. He made third team All-NBA in his fourth and final season in the NBA.
4) Toni Kukoć – Enjoyed a legendary career in Europe that earned him nicknames such as “The Croatian Sensation,” “White Magic,” and “The Waiter” for his ability to serve and dish the ball to teammates. The 6-10 forward starred for Benetton Treviso from 1991-93. He joined the Chicago Bulls in 1993 as a 25-year-old rookie, shortly after Michael Jordan’s first retirement from the NBA. In 13 NBA seasons, the six with the Bulls, Kukoc was regarded as one of the best sixth men, winning the award in 1996. Kukoc has three championship rings and a reputation for making clutch shots.
3) Pau Gasol – If there was a player influenced by the 1992 Dream Team, it was Pau Gasol. He was 12 years old when he saw firsthand the greatest collection of basketball stars all under one flag playing in his backyard in Barcelona. Now, Gasol is the face of Spanish basketball. He is easily the greatest basketball player to come out of Spain and we now just realizing his true talents as the perfect complement to Kobe Byrant. Gasol is a big reason for the popularity of the sport in his country and for the influx of Spanish players in the NBA, such as Jose Calderon, Sergio Rodriguez, Rudy Fernandez and his brother Marc.

2) Tony Parker – When San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich handed the keys to the franchise to this ultra-quick point guard when he was only 19 years old, you knew he was special. With Parker, who was born in Belgium but grew up in France, at the controls, the Spurs just took off. Parker was on championship teams in 2003, 2005 and 2007. He became the first European-born player to win the MVP of the NBA Finals. He is enjoying his best season in 2008-09, averaging career highs in points (21.8) and assists (6.9). Parker’s success opened the doors for other Frenchmen such as Boris Diaw and Mikael Pietrus. The three-time NBA all-star is also married to actress Eva Longoria, which gives him bonus points.

Dirk Nowitzki won the NBA MVP award in 2007.

1) Dirk Nowitzki – The first and only European-born player to win the NBA’s regular-season MVP when he took home the Maurice Podoloff trophy during the 2006-07 season. After a slow start to his rookie season in 1998, the 7-footer from Wurzburg, Germany, showed he belonged in the league when he raised his scoring average from 8.2 to 17.5 during his second season with the Dallas Mavericks. For then on, he has become a fixture in all-star games and on the All-NBA teams. He is an eight-time NBA all-star and has been named to the All-NBA first team three times. Nowitzki increased his scoring average to 21.8 points during his third season, and his scoring has never dipped below that number since. He averaged a career-best 26.6 points in the 2005-06 season when he led the Mavs to the NBA Finals. For the 2008-09 season, Nowitzki ranks in the top 10 in points per game (25.7), field goals made, field goal attempts, minutes played and free throw percentage. Nowitzki owns one of the purest shots in the game, a big man with an accurate jumper.

Popularity: 20% [?]