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NBA FINALS: CELTIC v LAKERS

June 10, 2010

Pau Gasol

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS: Game Four

Los Angeles Lakers 89
Boston Celtics 96

Q. Pau, can you talk about the unique challenge of going against Rasheed Wallace. It seems like it's been pretty intense all series long, maybe even more intense tonight.
PAU GASOL: I don't know. You know, he's trying to play hard and trying to do a good job on me, and obviously he's a great player. But it's just like the whole team. You know, it's no different. Tonight was a tough game all around, and we couldn't get accomplish what we wanted to get accomplished out there, especially down the fourth quarter. But always time for us to regroup, get some rest these couple days, get ready for Game 5 and give our very best so we can obtain the victory that we're pursuing.

Q. Doc suggested that Rasheed is suited to guarding you because you're not used to shooting over that kind of length. Is that true?
PAU GASOL: He's longer. But there's also long players in the league. I mean, I don't treat it any different when one or another player is guarding me. I try to attack and be aggressive and go by him. If I see the opportunity to shoot it, if I see it, I seize it.
He did a good opportunity tonight just like the rest of their team.

Q. How much did you guys miss Andrew Bynum out there tonight?
PAU GASOL: Obviously we miss Andrew when he's not out there because he's been so effective just blocking shots and rebounding. Those two things alone are a big plus when he's out there for us, and it's something that we're going to need to continue to work on on the next game.

Q. You've seen a lot of interesting defenses on Kobe this season, but how would you assess the way the Celtics are defending him so far?
PAU GASOL: They're being aggressive, and they're on him. They force him into drives and into crowds a lot of times. You know, he has to make a lot of tough and big plays. So far I think he's been pretty effective in reading when to go, when to shoot and when to pass. You know, they're going to stay on him. Obviously he's a key player for us, and he brings a lot of scoring and a lot of decision making out there. But we'll see. We've got to continue to execute our game plan a little better and make sure that down the stretch it's crucial that we're sharper than we were tonight.

Q. You had a solid offensive game, but with Bynum hurt and not as many options, are you worried that outside of you and Kobe that there's not enough offensively?
PAU GASOL: No, I'm not worried. I'm not worried. I think we have enough in our arsenal to be able to produce in that case. So I'm not really worried.
Obviously, like I said, we want Andrew out there as much as possible, but it's just a matter of how he's feeling and how much he can do. But I think we have enough in our bench and in our team to be able to be aggressive and productive out there.

Q. Heading into a Game 5 on the road, 2-2 series is obviously a very critical situation. In the relatively short time that you've been around the team, how has the composure level changed? How much of that is just the maturity of the group that wasn't there before and the impact of being in The Finals three straight years?
PAU GASOL: A lot. You know, obviously the experience that we have now gives us something that we can count on and gives us confidence at these type of moments. So it doesn't really make us relax at all, being overconfident. But at the same time we know what to do, we know how to play, we know how to get it done. And we know how important Game 5 will be, so we've just got to get ourselves mentally and physically ready to give our very best in that game, and that's it, and try to accomplish our mission.

Q. And how has that changed in the time you've been here? You guys are the calm, stable team in this series. That wasn't always necessarily the case with the Lakers. How have you seen that personality change with your team?
PAU GASOL: We've just evolved. We understood what it took to be successful at this level at this time of the year, and that's why we have been successful, and that's been a progress since I've gotten here individually and collectively.

Q. Were you surprised at the collective Laker squad, un cuerpo, could not come together? It seemed after Andrew went down the whole team did not step up under the glass and the Celtics took over. Why didn't you guys rise up together when Andrew went down?
PAU GASOL: I think we tried as much as possible to stay together as a team and work as a team out there defensively and offensively. There were times that we couldn't really get to it, but it is definitely a factor, the fact of not -- giving up 16 offensive rebounds, it's huge, and being outrebounded by them is also key. So we need to do a better job next game on rebounding, putting bodies on people and not allowing them to get as many second-chance points as they did tonight. You know, it's a key point. It's a key point that we have to understand, and we've got to do what it takes to control that.

End of FastScripts

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