LOS ANGELES (AP) - Lakers coach Phil Jackson acknowledges Pau Gasol came to the team with a reputation of being soft, not that he agrees.
"The last game obviously was not a great game for him," Jackson said Thursday night before Game 4 of the NBA finals, referring to Gasol's nine-point, 12-rebound effort in Game 3. "But we believe that he's going to have another real good game for us.
"I won't touch the `soft,' though," Jackson added with a smile.
The Lakers acquired Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies on Feb. 1, giving up center Kwame Brown, rookie guard Javaris Crittenton and two first-round draft picks.
It turned out to be an incredibly one-sided deal, since the Lakers went 22-5 with the 7-footer in the lineup, helping them finish with a 57-25 record - best in the Western Conference.
Center Andrew Bynum sustained what turned out to be a season-ending knee injury nearly three weeks before the deal was made - ironically in a game against Memphis. Assuming Bynum is healthy next season, which seems to be a reasonable expectation, Gasol would likely spend much of his time at power forward.
"I think that's one of the reasons perhaps we were fortunate enough to get him in the draft situation is that perhaps that had been carried with him, that perhaps he was not a center, he was more of a forward type of player," Jackson said. "He wasn't tough enough or powerful enough to be a center.
"But he's constantly risen to the occasion in every series that we've gone through this year. I find it remarkable how well he's played. I mean, he's really taken the challenge and played very well."
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PIERCE A LEGEND?: Paul Pierce will probably finish his career with the Boston Celtics as one of the top five players statistically in franchise history. Coach Doc Rivers is uncertain whether a championship would mean the 6-foot-7 forward from nearby Inglewood would be considered in the top tier of the team's legends.
"I don't know. I don't pay much attention to it," Rivers said. "Obviously if you're a Celtic, the championship helps put you in a different level because they've set the standard of winning. So if you're going to be a Celtic, winning has to come with being a Celtic."
Boston has won an NBA-best 16 championships, but it's been 22 years since their last one - in 1986, when Larry Bird, Robert Parish and Kevin McHale led the way. The Celtics lost to the Lakers in the finals the following year, and hadn't been back since until this year.
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