Pau Gasol talks about Howard’s physical play.
Daily News: Pau Gasol rubbed the back of his head, showed his forearm to referee Derrick Stafford and asked for an explanation. Stafford didn’t react.
Gasol’s meaning was clear.
“(Dwight Howard) is allowed to do physically a couple more things here at home,” Gasol said after the game.
Asked if those “things” are too physical for his taste, or within the rules, Gasol didn’t hesitate.
“For my taste, yes,” Gasol said. ” I have no control, so it’s a little bit unfortunate. There’s nothing you can do about it. You just have to play through it and continue to compete.”
Earlier, Lakers coach Phil Jackson had raised the issue of Howard’s physical play.
“We’re obviously concerned about his physical contact out there,” Jackson said. “We thought there were three or four occasions where there were offensive fouls.”
Howard even seemed to acknowledge Gasol’s complaints, though he had not been told of them before his postgame news conference.
“I think with (Andrew) Bynum, he doesn’t mind banging,” Howard said. “With Gasol, sometimes you’ve got to be aware of what you do in the paint. Gasol is very smart. He’s been playing for a long, long time and I think with him, I’ve just got to be smart. I don’t want to pick up any cheap fouls and have to sit on the bench.”
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