Laker's Real MVP

Kobe will always be thought of as the best and most important player on the Lakers since '04, and Gasol will always looked at as the sidekick. While I will never question Kobe's toughness (the amount of injuries he has is ridiculous) or his will to win (you cannot question his drive), I can't help but see that the team's winning really depends on Gasol's game. Way too many games are lost as Kobe hoists up circus shot after circus shot while he has one of the best scoring big men in the league just sitting there. The most frustrating part about it is that Kobe will make one of the five horrible circus shots and that will be replayed over and over on SportsCenter as people cheer his great skill. The better play is 100% of the time to keep moving the ball.

As much as I would love to put all the blame onto Kobe, it has to be equally frustrating to Lakers fans to see Gasol get the ball and immediately pass without even taking a look at the basket. He needs to be more aggressive on offense and demand more shots. This was the case in the Lakers recent shocking loss to the Hornets as Gasol only scored 9 points on 8 shots and let Aaron Grey outplay him. The Lakers strength in the series is supposed to be, as usual, down low. As great as CP3 was in that game, it was Gasol and the rest of the Lakers big men game to lose.

If you take a look back at when Kobe started having success again post-Shaq, it is obvious that Gasol is the true X factor. Kobe made it to his first NBA Finals without Shaq in '08, the first year the Lakers acquired Gasol. He won his first ring the year after vs. the Magic. Kobe walked away the Finals MVP as expected, but it was really Gasol and Bynum's length and defense on Howard that won them that ring. They held Howard, the Magic MVP and by far their most important player, to 15.4 ppg on .488 shooting, numbers that were not even close to his averages. Kobe's finals performance was far from amazing, or even great (He averaged 32 points on 27 shot attempts). If you stop Howard then you have won vs. the Magic. The following year the Lakers beat the Celtics in 7 games to win Kobe's 2nd ring without Shaq in Gasol's third year on the Lakers. In the four Laker wins in that series they out rebounded the Celtics 190-145, in the three losses they out rebounding the Celtics 115-112. The games were won and lost down low. Kobe again walked away with the MVP even though he shot .405 for the series and almost lost the Lakers the series as he went 6/24 in game 7 as he continuously hoisted up contested circus shots throughout the game. In the three times he has made it to the Finals post-Shaq he has shot .405 vs. Celtics, .430 vs. Magic, and .405 again vs. Celtics.

You can also take a look at the players' split stats to see who makes the difference between Lakers wins and losses. During this year's regular season, Gasol averaged 19.8 points, on 14.1 shot attempts, and 10.4 boards in LA wins. In losses, he averaged 16.6 points on 12.6 shot attempts, along with 9.8 boards. As you would expect, the Lakers win more when Gasol scores more, shoots more, and is more aggressive on the glass. Kobe, on the other hand, averaged 25.1 points in wins on 18.9 shots with 2.7 turnovers. In losses, he averaged 25.8 points on 22.4 shot attempts with 3.6 turnover. Again, when Kobe shoots more, it is not a good thing for the Lakers. If the Lakers want to make a real run at a third consecutive title, they are going to have to again start playing inside out and playing through Gasol. He is their true MVP.