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NBA FINALS: MAGIC v LAKERS

June 7, 2009

Pau Gasol

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Game Two

Orlando Magic - 96
Los Angeles Lakers - 101

Q. Could you have played that type of defense on Howard last year?
PAU GASOL: Did I?

Q. No, could you have? How much have you improved defensively?
PAU GASOL: I think I've improved. I think I've improved physically to be able to hold my ground a little better. I worked hard for it all year long and continued working to show I can be effective against bigger guys. So far, so good. But I'm looking forward to continuing to do my work in the upcoming games.

Q. You were right there that last play of regulation. You came rushing over, were you surprised that Lee missed it? Do you guys feel like you got away with a second chance there? That was a pretty well executed play, they just didn't finish it.
PAU GASOL: I was happy he missed it. I was obviously relieved when he missed that shot because it could have been a heartbreaker, and right now we could be in a totally different situation. I was surprised he was kind of wide open. But I tried to contest it as good as I could, and then we gave ourselves a chance to win the ballgame.

Q. Since last year's Finals last to Boston, there was a lot of talk about you and Lamar kind of being soft inside. How much did that motivate you guys? And did you do anything to kind of correct that or anything like that?
PAU GASOL: I never really got upset about it. I think that the media try to find reasons why things happen. But I think I'm the hardest on myself than anybody else. I really criticize myself when I don't perform well, when I fall short, and last year I felt like I fell short at the end. I ran out of strength. I ran out of energy and couldn't deliver the way I wanted to.
I think I played pretty tough throughout the playoffs. We had a couple games that we just couldn't or didn't compete as hard as Boston did, and we got labeled as being soft, a soft team. Oh, well, right?
This year, bottom line, we're playing tougher. We understand what it takes to go get the championship, and so far we've been doing pretty well.
We're in a good position right now. We still haven't done anything, we just took care of our first two games, and we're looking forward to going to Orlando and accomplishing something positive there.

Q. I've been told that you were in the weight room a lot more this year. Can you compare how much you're in there this year versus the previous seasons?
PAU GASOL: Yeah, I just feel stronger. I feel like the work that I put in this year has paid off and is paying off. I'm able to hold my ground a lot better, and overall I think I'm doing pretty well. I've been staying out of injuries all year long I think because of it, also, because I got myself in that position, and I've been disciplined about it. It's been good.

Q. Talk about the team's defensive intensity in the overtime. It was very, very clutch. What was going through you guys' mind, the team defense in overtime?
PAU GASOL: Yeah, it was great. I think we were able to turn it up a notch and make sure that Turkoglu wasn't getting those shots he got at the end of the fourth quarter, those looks that he got. Trevor did a great job of chasing him around the screens. I was able to pull up higher and make sure he didn't have those looks, force him to penetrate and then contest the shot.
It was definitely a very good team effort down the stretch. We understood that we had to get this done and how well we could do it, we did it, and we're definitely excited about it, happy about it.

Q. Have you ever sensed that that soft label gets quickly attached to European players more so than other players? Have you sensed that with you and other guys that come from Europe?
PAU GASOL: Yeah, it tends to be that way, I think, because a guy has a set of skills and is more of a finesse player, then he's labeled as a soft player more likely. It is what it is. I'm not bothered by it because I know I'm a competitor, I'm a winner, and I've competed for my whole career, and nobody has given me anything. I had to earn everything I got, and I'm proud to be where I am today.
You know, aside from that, I don't really care much about comments like that.

Q. For their starting front court, 73 points, 33 rebounds, 15 assists. Can they play any better than that, and what can you guys do differently to scale that back?
PAU GASOL: Yeah, they played well. Their front court really stepped up tonight and was able to have a big, big impact in the game. I think Rashard got going and obviously had a huge game for them. Hedo stepped up and made a lot of plays, also, and Dwight had a pretty good game, too. We're going to have to do a better job of limiting them to tougher shots and make sure they don't get open looks. I think they got too many open threes that nobody was even close to them, and we just can't afford that against this team. They're too good of a shooting team to allow them to have good looks repeatedly.
I think we can make adjustments, we can get better as a team for Game 3, and again, try to get another win.

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