Mike D'Antoni Benched Pau Gasol Yesterday

Is Gasol out of shape?

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Complex Original

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It's three games into the Mike D'Antoni reign and three things are obvious: the Lakers are still struggling, Kobe Bryant is pissed (did anyone catch him walking off the court with eight seconds left in the game last night against the Grizzles?), and Pau Gasol just isn't keeping up with the D'Antoni system. The forward has been stinking it up these past two games, and last night D'Antoni had enough and benched him in the fourth quarter. The former Knicks head coach was pretty blunt about his reasons for benching Gasol in the post-game conference. 

“I was thinking ‘Oh, I’d like to win this game.’ That’s what I was thinking,” D’Antoni said.

A bit harsh? Maybe. But a combined 14 points in 64 minutes over two games just isn't going to cut it for Gasol.  He clearly isn't running well with the D'Antoni system, but the coach made it very clear he's just going to have to adjust.

“Guys have got to get used to this pace. It might take a little bit, but we’re going to run up and down," D'Antoni said. "And if you can’t run up and down and play quickly,  then we’ll have to find guys that do.”

At least Dwight Howard is taking it all in stride, right?

RELATED:  The 50 Greatest Moments in L.A. Lakers History

[via Larry Brown Sports]

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