After taking down the New Orleans Hornets for a third straight win on Tuesday, the Los Angeles Lakers seemingly starting to hit their stride with Kobe Bryant embracing a new role as a facilitator and the rest of the team responding to their leader’s new style of play.
As a result of Kobe’s 35 assists over a three-game span, the team is starting to play together and there seems to be some light at the end of the tunnel.
Even though the team is finally starting fire on all cylinders, one player in the Lakers’ locker room appears to still be unhappy with his new role on the team. Head coach Mike D’Antoni continues to bring two-time NBA champion Pau Gasol off the bench in favor of up-and-comer Earl Clark and it appears to be working moving forward, but Gasol has been vocal about not wanting to be a bench player.
Gasol was benched in the fourth quarter of the win over the Hornets on Tuesday and didn’t appreciate not being on the floor to help the team pull out the victory over Anthony Davis and company.
Although Gasol continues to disapprove with D’Antoni’s methods in terms of his playing time, the team is willing and that remains the ultimate goal over Gasol’s desire to reclaim the starting job at power forward.
The results of the current seven-game road trip may very well determine the fate of Gasol’s status with the team in terms of being a starter , bench player or ultimately being trade before the deadline on Feb. 21.
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