EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — As expected, Mike D'Antoni's arrival in Los Angeles has prompted a relocation plan for Pau Gasol. The move, happily, will not require luggage or a real estate agent.
Gasol is still very much a Laker and very much integral to the offense, albeit a radically different offense requiring Gasol to explore distant geographic options. He has drifted to the basketball exurbs, into the open spaces between the key and the arc, and, soon enough, might be found flinging 3-pointers from the corners.
This is life as a power forward in D'Antoni's spread-the-floor offense, which calls for keeping the middle open and requires nearly everyone to shoot long-distance jumpers. In the Lakers' first two games with D'Antoni's playbook, Gasol attempted 15 shots from 15 to 23 feet, far exceeding his career average. He converted eight of them, a strong indication that he is ready to thrive in this strange new universe.
"He's given all of us the freedom to shoot, as long as it's a good rhythm shot and we're open," Gasol said.
He added, "I'm practicing more since he's been here, just to be ready."
D'Antoni values big men who can shoot and, contrary to perception, he values Gasol, the oft-forgotten, frequently underappreciated member of the Lakers' All-Star quartet. The moment that D'Antoni landed in Los Angeles, rumors began circulating that Gasol would be moved elsewhere. The speculation was understandable.
In his glory years with the Phoenix Suns, D'Antoni played a small-ball lineup featuring a mobile, athletic center (usually Amar'e Stoudemire) surrounded by shooters. His power forward was Shawn Marion, a 6-foot-7-inch gazelle who spent most of his career at small forward. Gasol is 7 feet and 230 pounds and is no one's idea of a gazelle.
Gasol could thrive as a pick-and-roll center in D'Antoni's system, but that role will be capably filled most nights by Dwight Howard. There is no question about where Steve Nash or Kobe Bryant fits. They are essential. But Gasol? There are understandable doubts, which both D'Antoni and Gasol are working to quell.
D'Antoni acknowledged that Gasol did not fit the prototype for his offense, but said: "He's probably the most skilled big guy in the league. So if you can't figure out what to do with him, then you need to change your philosophy." He added: "Things might look a little different. But he adds things that a quick guy can't add, or a little guy."
That said, D'Antoni does expect Gasol to hit the open 3-pointer — a shot that Gasol often practices, with solid results.
"He's going all the way out to the corner 3 — he's got the green light to do it," D'Antoni said Tuesday as he prepared to make his debut on the Lakers bench against the Nets. "I think he can do it."
The Lakers are still adapting to D'Antoni's offense, which was only about 60 percent installed for victories over Phoenix and Houston. D'Antoni missed those two games while recovering from knee surgery, but he has been coaching practices since Thursday.
With D'Antoni finally getting on the bench, the assimilation process should accelerate. But D'Antoni cautioned that the offense will not truly be fully deployed and at full power until Nash returns from a leg injury, perhaps sometime next week.
In the meantime, Gasol is working on his adaptive skills. He has generally been a reliable midrange shooter, but the shot has often been a limited part of his arsenal. From 2007-8 through 2009-10 — the three years the Lakers made the Finals — Gasol averaged 1.6 to 2 two attempts per game in the 15- to 23-foot range, according to HoopData. Last season, his attempts in that range spiked to 4.1, and he converted 43 percent of them. In two games under D'Antoni, Gasol averaged 7.5.
"It's a shot that's going to be important, available," Gasol said.
Gasol has taken just 117 3-pointers in his N.B.A. career — about one every seven games — but those should increase, too.
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