Magic Johnson has been pretty vocal with his feelings about the Lakers recent personnel moves, and now their current struggles on-court as well. The franchise sits in 12th place in the Western Conference with a 9-13 record, but most concerning to the Laker legend is the misuse of two-time champion, Pau Gasol. Johnson says the reason the Spaniard is putting up career-low numbers is because Mike D’Antoni doesn’t know the best way to get the most efficiency from the power forward.
“He’s still one of the best passing big man, I’m sorry, he is the best passing big man in the game, but you have him at the free throw line” waiting for the ball, Johnson said. “That makes no sense. That’s not his game. His game is catch it on the low block, face his man, one dribble left or right, he’s in the cup, nice hook, nice move, because he’s got great moves.
“Now all the blame is on his shoulders, like he’s not performing well,” Johnson said of Gasol. “He can’t take that. That’s not who he is. They got to put him in a winning situation because once Gasol starts playing well, I think the team will play well. Gasol to me is the key to this whole thing. But if you continue to have him at the three-point line, he’s not going to perform well because he hasn’t been out there, especially with Phil Jackson and the Lakers. When he was playing in Memphis, he was down low. I got to adjust my system a little bit if I’m the coach, that’s all.”
