Though the caliber of Pau and Howard suggest that the Lakers need to have them play together as much as possible, it's impossible to guarantee their styles and tendencies will ever complement each other perfectly.
Nor should the Lakers want to make such a guarantee. Again, these are two essential All-Stars. Utilizing the extent of their talents should be something Los Angeles is keen on doing all the time.
And that's going to require the team to commit to some degree of separation.
We've discussed the notion previously and the numbers are there to support it. Just five of the Lakers' most productive five-man units include Howard and Pau. That is cause enough to stagger the amount of time they spend alongside each other.
But while this is a strategy that Mike D'Antoni and the Lakers have begun to explore, there is some reluctance (via Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com) on the part of the two parties involved:
"I think it's good that we spend some time together on the court and also apart so I can play a little more center and closer to the basket. But we have to find a balance and the right rotations and timings out there where we can exploit our size when we're together and also give each other some rest.
"We're two talented players and we can overpower people. You're talking about two top big guys in the league, you should take advantage of it."
It's not just Gasol who remains skeptical about the separation either. D'Antoni is just as agnostic:
"It's our job to figure out a way for them to play together because they're both really good," D'Antoni said. "We could have two 7-footers and have something that people don't have.
"We got to f...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
