Le Basketbawl

Doesn’t it seem to you that every time Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson talks about his big man Pau Gasol there is kind of a Frickin derisive tone in his voice? Like he truly has no respect for the guy and he thinks he is a “Frickin Sissy Boy” who just is not tough enough for “Coach Zen’s” standards? That is the way that he comes off to New York Vinnie and I really don’t understand why he does it. Does he truly believe that that is the way to motivate his player; to call out his Frickin Man-Hood?

In New York Vinnie’s neighborhood that is the worst thing you can do to a man is to call them out for not being Frickin tough enough. In New York Vinnie’s neighborhood people have died for calling out somebody else’s  Man-Hood; that is no exaggeration! That is hitting somebody where they Frickin live; if you catch New York Vinnie’s drift.

New York Vinnie learned a long time ago not to judge anybody until you have walked a Frickin mile in their Frickin shoes. There are some poor souls out there that are constantly bombarded with Frickin pain from morning until night and they still do what they need to Frickin do. In New York Vinnie’s eyes people like that are incredibly Frickin tough.

According to the “Los Angeles Daily News” Gasol could be out until the end of the week as he recovers from a strained left hamstring. The veteran suffered the injury on January 3, against the Houston Rockets and has not played since. Jackson has been rather snide in his remarks ever since his big man got injured. He told reporters “Any time Pau has an injury we’re concerned.”

If the Lakers were deep into the Frickin season trying to secure a Playoff spot that would be a different story. But the team has the best record in the NBA and it is not even half-way through the Frickin season. What exactly is “Coach Zen’s” problem? Why is he not handling Gasol like Celtics coach Doc Rivers is handling Kevin Garnett?

Garnett has missed the last few games with injuries but Rivers does not want his star to rush back saying he would rather err on the side of caution. In New York Vinnie’s mind that is how you do things. Jackson apparently believes that Gasol in a malingerer who is trying to milk this injury. New York Vinnie thinks that Jackson is just being a PUD for treating his player with such little respect.

The “Los Angeles Daily News” Monday reported that Los Angeles Lakers big man Pau Gasol may miss the game Tuesday night between his club and the Houston Rockets. Gasol has what has been classified as a mild to moderate strain in his left hamstring which caused him to play just 7 minutes Sunday as the Lakers bombed  the Dallas  Mavericks by a final of 131-96.

Gasol had a MRI performed on Monday which revealed the source of his pain. Gasol missed the first 11 games of the season with a strained right hamstring. Los Angeles head coach Phil Jackson when asked about his veteran responded “Any time Pau has an injury we’re concerned.”

Doesn’t it always seem that Jackson wants to call Gasol out when he gets hurt? New York Vinnie keeps waiting for the day when “Coach Zen” says that his  big man is a “Frickin Sissy Boy” for taking as long as he does to return from an injury. New York Vinnie has written this before; there is no Frickin connection with your pain threshold and how much of a man you are. People have different limits; it has nothing at all about being tough.

New York Vinnie had always thought Gasol was soft until this past NBA Finals when we watched him go up against the best center in the current age Dwight Howard. After seeing the way Gasol rose to that occasion it convinced New York Vinnie that Pau Gasol is certainly not soft.

When it comes to a hamstring injury better to wait a day too long than to start a day too early. You rush back and you only make things Frickin worse. Yo, Phil; you got the best Frickin record in the NBA. You willing to mess that up so one of your players comes back too soon from being hurt? New York Vinnie would rather you react like Doc Rivers is doing in Boston. Better to be too cautious than not cautious enough.

New York Vinnie learned a long time ago that you can not judge others based on “YOUR” values.  What New York Vinnie finds despicable you may find totally acceptable. That does not mean either of is correct or incorrect it is just shows we perceive things differently. The same thing applies in New York Vinnie’s mind to pain; we all have different tolerances of pain. Some people can be bed-ridden by something while another person carries on without skipping a beat. It is no reflection on either person it is just a fact of life.

Los Angeles Lakers All-Star Kobe Bryant has an “incredible” tolerance for pain; that is something that can never be disputed.  For the past couple of years the “Black Mamba” has been playing with a mangled pinkie finger that could be fixed if he was willing to  have an operation and take some time to recover. So far he has refused to go that route unwilling to give up the time to recuperate.

Last season New York Vinnie was dead positive that Bryant would reach a point in January of February in which the pain got be unbearable and he would have the procedure. New York Vinnie was dead wrong as Kobe played through the pain all last year and won the NBA Championship and to this day that pinkie is still not fixed.

Friday night as the Lakers defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 104-92 Bryant fractured his right index finger in the first quarter and played for the rest of the night with a splint on the finger. Now to his credit the veteran still scored 20 points in the game, which is pretty Frickin incredible. The broken finger is on his shooting hand and if you have ever shot a basketball you know how important that finger is in being able to get a shot off correctly.

After the game Kobe spoke with the “Associated Press” about the injury. He does not expect to miss any games and told reporters that the only thing he needed to get used to was playing with the splint. The Lakers guard said “It’s pretty painful. I just tried to play through it. … You just get used to it, that’s all. It’s just a different technique to shoot the ball with this.”

New York Vinnie admires the “Black Mamba’s” attitude, his courage and his devotion to his team. However New York Vinnie does not agree with Kobe’s decision to play through the injury. Reports state that it currently is a small break in the bone. However after every opponent who guards him over the next few games keeps whacking that finger that small break could get a lot worse.

There is only one problem; there is not going to be one person that forces him to sit games out. It will not be Lakers Team Owner Jerry Buss; last time we heard anything about him was the summer of 2008 when he was charged with a DUI. It will not be Los Angeles General Manager Mitch Kupchack; who can put together a great team but is not a forceful guy. It certainly will not be “Coach Zen“; instead Jackson will give him some book.

No, in “Lakers-Land” Kobe calls the Frickin shots and makes the decisions of whether he will play or not. Now New York Vinnie  has already admitted to you that Kobe was a lot stronger than I gave him credit for as he has played with the Frickin mangled pinkie. We will have to find out if this is the right decision or not and the next couple of weeks should give us an indication of that.

Over the last few weeks we have been told by the Los Angeles Lakers that their All-Star big man Pau Gasol was on the verge of returning to playing in the NBA; only to be told days later that the veteran could be out until Christmas. The latest report from the “Orange County Register” is that Gasol most likely will be making his season debut Thursday night as his team hosts the Chicago Bulls.

Gasol missed the last six preseason games as well as the first 11 games of the regular season after suffering a strained right hamstring.  Lakers head coach Phil Jackson told reporters earlier this month “I find that hard to believe, that it’s gone backwards. … Right now, he’s capable of doing only so much and nothing else. We’re starting to look toward Christmas, though. Some time out there.”

Jackson said that the injury to his veteran big man was perplexing. The Lakers coach said “Yeah, because with most hamstrings you see bleeding or bruises or holes in the hamstring. His has been one of those things wasn’t a big concern to us, but has turned into a month-long injury. But it is mysterious, no doubt about it.”

Apparently those comments by Coach Zen were made sarcastically. It seems that Jackson thinks that Gasol is a “Frickin Sissy Boy” because it has taken him so long to return from the hamstring injury. According to the paper the coach asked his big man to play Tuesday night but said he was not ready yet.

New York Vinnie has written this before; there is no Frickin connection with your pain threshold and how much of a man you are. People have different limits; it has nothing at all about being tough. New York Vinnie had always thought Gasol was soft until this past NBA Finals when we watched him go up against the best center in the current age Dwight Howard. After seeing the way Gasol rose to that occasion it convinced New York Vinnie that Pau Gasol is certainly not soft.

When it comes to a hamstring injury better to wait a day too long than to start a day too early. You rush back and you only make things Frickin worse. We shall see if Gasol is on the floor or not Thursday; if he is New York Vinnie hopes that it was because he felt ready not because he was shamed into it.

The “Los Angeles Daily News” reported Wednesday that Los Angeles Lakers head coach Phil Jackson now believes that his team might be without their All-Star big man Pau Gasol for quite a while. Like possibly Christmas. Gasol missed the last six preseason games as well as the first seven games of the regular season due to a strained right hamstring and is not expected to play on Thursday night as Los Angeles takes on the Phoenix Suns at the Staples Center.

Jackson told reporters “I find that hard to believe, that it’s gone backwards. … Right now, he’s capable of doing only so much and nothing else. We’re starting to look toward Christmas, though. Some time out there.”

Jackson said that the injury to his veteran big man was perplexing. The Lakers coach said “Yeah, because with most hamstrings you see bleeding or bruises or holes in the hamstring. His has been one of those things wasn’t a big concern to us, but has turned into a month-long injury. But it is mysterious, no doubt about it.”

A little over a week ago Jackson made it sound like Gasol’s return would be imminent. He told reporters the first week of November “We don’t have six weeks. There are ways to come through this without having to jeopardize him.” Well Jax as Mick Jagger sang when New York Vinnie was just a baby; You Can’t Always Get What You Want. Looks like this one of those times.

The Los Angeles Lakers were pretty freaked out earlier this week when big man Pau Gasol underwent a sonogram and it showed he had a slight tear in his right hamstring. Their blood pressure returned to normal when Wednesday he had an MRI which revealed that there was no tear the hamstring was just strained. The “Los Angeles Times” reported Thursday that Gasol has been cleared by team doctors to start resuming basketball activities. So does that mean that Gasol will be on the floor Friday night as the Lakers will play in Oklahoma City to take on the Thunder? Gasol told reporters “I’m far from playing on Friday.”

Gasol said that the results of the MRI were quite encouraging. The native of Spain told the media “The results of the MRI were promising and positive. So that gives me a little bit of hope that I’ll be back soon. I just hope that I can increase the level of work that I’m doing right now until I feel good about it and my hamstring responds well.”

New York Vinnie has written this before when it comes to hamstring injuries you proceed with Frickin caution. A hamstring injury is a tricky thing and if you try to rush back too soon you risk really being up the Frickin creek. The Lakers are now 4-1 and got a double-double on Wednesday from center Andrew Bynum against the Houston Rockets with 17 points and 17 boards.

However for what ever Frickin reason Coach Zen otherwise known as Lakers head coach Phil Jackson wants Gasol back in the lineup yesterday. Jax; New York Vinnie has got to tell you if you rush Gasol back you will Frickin regret it. If this was the end of the regualr season and your club was fighting for a Playoff spot that is understandable. Same thing goes if you are in a Playoff series. But to rush him back with a 4-1 record in early November is just Frickin Stupid. Phil let Frickin nature run its course and let Gasol come back when he is ready.

The biggest difference between NBA General Managers and NBA Head Coaches is perspective. The G.M.  looks at the long term while bench boss is worrying about today and this season. That is why it is so Frickin tough to wear both hats like Isiah Thomas tried to do with “MY BOYS” the New York Knicks. You are being pulled in two different directions at the same Frickin time.

The reason that New York Vinnie brings this up is an item that came across the wire on Monday concerning Los Angeles Lakers big man Pau Gasol. Gasol missed the last six preseason games as well as the first three games of the regular season due to a strained right hamstring.

The “Los Angeles Times” reported on Monday that the veteran would make the road trip with the team as they travel to Oklahoma City and Houston even though he has not been activated.  The paper reported that the big man is “close enough” to being activated that it is worth him making the trip according to the team’s head coach Phil Jackson.

Jacskon told reporters that it typically takes a player about six weeks to recover fully from Gasol’s type of injury. The veteran has been out so far for three weeks since getting hurt. Jackson said “We don’t have six weeks. There are ways to come through this without having to jeopardize him.”

Yo Jax; exactly what are these ways and if they exist why do other teams wait the full six weeks? Is this opinion yours or the team’s medical staff? And how will this effect Gasol down the road? Pau Gasol is only 29 years old at the peak of his NBA career age wise. If healthy he could most likely play until at least 36. Would these “ways” that you are talking about Jax shorten his career?

A hamstring is a tricky injury; if you have ever had problems with one you realize what New York Vinnie is saying. It is tough enough dealing with it in regular life; how tough is it for a Pro Athelete. Is Jax thinking about this season as opposed to Gasol’s long term good? New York Vinnie does not have these answers; but it sure is intriguing.