Pau Gasol Is Exactly Right to Rip Mike D’Antoni, LA Lakers for Selfish Play

When you're right, you're right. And Pau Gasol is (beyond) right.

Following their 118-98 loss to the Indiana Pacers, Gasol had more than a few words of pointed criticism for his self-serving and ungoverned Los Angeles Lakers.

"That's why you have to be disciplined and implement discipline, that's how you kind of make that better or make that not a factor," Gasol said of the Lakers' collection of players, via ESPN Los Angeles' Dave McMenamin. "I don't think there's a lot of discipline right now."

Indeed, the Lakers are a collective free-for-all. In the absence of something tangible to play for, like a championship, Mike D'Antoni's system has become host to profusions of individual stat-chasers auditioning for their next contract with the Lakers or elsewhere.

Chemistry is at an all-time low thanks to injuries and new additions as well, but teamwide progress is slowed most by the almost-every-man-for-himself mentality the Lakers now champion.

"Anytime you step on the floor, it’s an audition," admitted the newly acquired Kent Bazemore, per the Los Angeles Daily News' Mark Medina. "There’s probably a lot of teams watching."

Bazemore is one of just 10 current Lakers not under contract for next season. Two others, Nick Young and Kendall Marshall, are operating on player or team options. That makes the Lakers home to potentially 12 players looking to a future outside Los Angeles, which, in turn, has made for some me-first basketball.



"We just didn't move the ball," D'Antoni said after the loss to Indiana, via McMenamin. "We tried to go one-on-one."

Magic Mike's offensive system prides itself on general unselfishness in addition to volume shot selection. But the founding principals of his system have run amok since the Lakers turned into a potential carousel of talent.

Isolations have become more prevalent and while the team is working diligent...

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