Looks like Pau will toughen up quick against the savy vet.
ESPN: Ratliff and Gasol were matched up against each other at various times during Saturday’s scrimmage, with the 37-year-old Ratliff causing the 30-year-old Gasol to fall to the floor at one point while the two battled for positioning near the basket.
“I’m sure that’s something that [the coaching staff] told him to do, because that’s something that I’m going to get all year long,” Gasol said. “It’s part of the job that he does that during practice [to] get me right, get me ready for the games.”
Ratliff said he received no such orders.
“That’s how I play, he should know that,” Ratliff said. “Tell him, ‘No,’ that wasn’t the case. That’s just the way I play, that’s the way I have to play. I’m trying to keep him away from the basket. He’s so long and so skilled, that if I let him get all of the position, he can just go down and turn and shoot over top of me. It’s still a competitor thing, even when you’re practicing.”
Continue reading ‘Theo Ratliff toughening up, pushing Gasol’
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