Gasol chases MVP dream

The crowd at the Staples Center in Los Angeles roared. The novelty: it wasn't Kobe Bryant who was the object of their flattery. On this occasion, the Lakers' public, from Jack Nicholson and the court of celebrities in the floor seats to the baying hordes in the rafters where placards pay homage to the team's 16 Championship rings, were on their feet to cheer the skill and the delivery of Pau Gasol. The numbers speak for themselves. As Californians debate the origin of an unidentified missile spotted in its airspace, Gasol has started like a rocket on court this season. There is not a player in the NBA who can match the Spaniard's statistics: an average of 24.1 points, 10.9 rebounds, five assists and 1.4 blocks per match in the seven victories the Lakers has achieved so far, albeit with a kind opening calendar.

Praise for the Spanish center is rolling in from all sides, starting with Phil Jackson, his demanding coach who riles two out of three people with his acerbic commentaries. The Lakers coach, without the injured Andrew Bynum and with Bryant awaiting knee surgery, has called on Gasol to play practically every minute (38 on average) including in games that were already won. A case in point: against Memphis, with five minutes on the clock and the Lakers 112-93 up, Jackson sent Gasol back out on court.

"Ask Phil," Gasol replied when asked why. "I wouldn't have put myself out to play again. But I'm a professional and I follow his orders." Jackson had already complied with his monotonous thesis: for players to give their best, it's necessary to give them a bit of a sting. In pre-season Jackson commented that Gasol seemed as though he was still on holiday. Later, he let slip that maybe he had erred in signing Gasol and trading the rights to his brother, Marc. "Marc is very powerful and tough. He doesn't have Pau's shot, but his defense and his rebound ability is very good."

These barbs did not unsettle the older Gasol, who retorted: "I don't think he really thinks that, but he is always riling."

After Gasol's showing against Portland, featuring the fourth triple-double of his career - 20 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists in a 121-96 victory - even Jackson has surrendered to the evidence. Bryant, too, who has lent the mantle of leader without problem and is not upset that Gasol is taking more shots than him, something inconceivable until now. "Pau is a monster," said Brandon Roy, the Blazers' star player, after that match.

One contributing factor to the difficult step forward Gasol has taken, even though he has won two Championship rings and been an All-Star three times, is his current physical state, the best of his recent career, which has a lot to do with his decision not to play in the FIBA World Championships in Turkey.

"The key is that he has been able to recover from the exhaustion built up over several years of commitments to the Lakers, for which he has played more than 100 games in the last two years, and the Spanish national team," says Joaquín Juan, Gasol's personal trainer. "This has allowed him to be physically more complete. Instead of training to recover from the exertions of the entire year, we have been able to work above all on his aerobic resistance, an aspect he hasn't been able to impose in the NBA due to a lack of time. This kind of resistance is gained day to day, with match time. This specific type of training allows him to play more minutes and be in better shape toward the end of games. But there's no call for chest-puffing. It's a long season and where he needs to be at his best is in the playoffs. Right now they are pushing him a lot, but he should be at the service of his team and, as always, he will be."

At 30 years of age chasing a dream is perhaps impossible but, for now, Gasol has assured that it doesn't sound Utopian: to become the second European MVP in the NBA, a feat achieved only by Dirk Nowitzki. As things stand, Gasol's numbers are better than those of Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Dwight Howard, Dwyane Wade and the entire panoply of NBA stars.