At the NBA regular season’s midpoint, we are grading each Memphis Grizzlies player through the first half of the season. Today we grade center Marc Gasol.
It’s been as up and down of a season as ever for Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol in terms of consistent production.
The big man has averaged 16.6 points per game on 45.6 percent shooting from the field to go along with 7.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game so far this year.
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To this day Gasol remains arguably the best passing center in the NBA and it shows because his assist numbers remain on par with the All-Star production he put forth last season. However his scoring and shooting efficiency has taken a bit of a hit, and while he’s had a few games of monster offensive output he’s also had plenty of disappointing outings on that end of the floor.
When you initially look at Gasol’s game you come to the conclusion that he shouldn’t have a problem putting the ball in the basket. He has great size and length and a shooting touch that occasionally stretches out to the three-point line. He’s up there with the other skilled post players in the league and even made All-NBA honors just a season ago.
So why has he dropped off slightly? The answer’s in the Grizzlies’ pace and space transition they’ve attempted to make this year.
Before the small-ball experiment took place Gasol played most of his game at the high post initiating a lot of plays for Memphis. Nowadays he finds himself down low more than ever before and he’s being looked at as a post-up primary option in the same way that Zach Randolph is.
Don’t get me wrong Gasol is more than capable of being a productive finisher around the rim thanks to his array of hook shots and fadeaways. But he’s not being asked to utilize his natural face-up skills and I think that’s affected him in a way. Playing a different way than you have almost your entire career would affect anyone at least a bit and it’s something Gasol’s going to have to get used to in today’s NBA.
Nowadays the best lineups have one big man down low quarterbacking the defense and ready to finish easy looks in the post and four shooters on the perimeter creating enough space for the point guard and center to play a spread pick-and-roll system of offense. Memphis operated with both Randolph and Gasol in the starting lineup for so many years and still do at times, but with Jeff Green playing a lot of power forward for the Grizzlies it’s going to take Gasol a while to fully figure things out offensively.
I don’t have any worries about the big guy turning his game around and being more consistent in the second half of the season. He’s had four 20-plus scoring barrages in the month of January and he’s only going to get more comfortable as the year goes on. I just can’t give Gasol a great grade for what he’s done so far, considering he’s scored 13 points or fewer in 17 games for the Grizzlies.
He’s gotta get in better shape and be ready to play low and fast if he wants to get back to the player he was just a season ago.