Why Marc Gasol is the best center in the NBA
By Mike Parrott
Everyone sleeps on the Memphis Grizzlies. Since joining Beale Street Bears, I’ve been able to learn a few things from an average NBA viewer’s opinion. The main one? The Grizzlies aren’t ready to join the highest echelon of teams in the league.
I’ve heard many statements in Memphis Grizzlies season previews: “They don’t play the right way for the modern NBA,” and “They don’t have a superstar to lead them to the playoffs,” to name a few.
While it’s impossible to say if those are accurate or not, it’s unfair to say the Grizzlies don’t have a superstar. After all, when healthy, Marc Gasol can be the best center in the NBA.
The statistics and film don’t like, so here we go.
The tale of the tape
When discussing the most elite centers in the NBA, fans often bring up the same names: DeMarcus Cousins, DeAndre Jordan, Andre Drummond, Marc Gasol and even surging sophomore Karl Anthony-Towns.
In my eyes, you can’t put Anthony-Towns as the best. This is sheerly due to only finishing his rookie season and therefore cannot completely analyze him to see if he’s a one-season wonder, or a legitimate star. Because of this, I will be averaging the players’ past three seasons to find proper consistency.
DISCLAIMER: Before screaming bias, the “past three years rule” doesn’t include Gasol’s Defensive Player of the Year season. This is only for the current year, not the “fantasy draft hypothetical.”
DeMarcus Cousins:
Per 36 over three seasons: 26.2 points, 12.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.6 blocks, 1.6 steals, 4.1 Turnovers
Advanced stats over three seasons: 25 PER, .546 TS%, 34.1 USG%
The misunderstood monster himself, ‘Boogie’ Cousins puts up insane stats in each notable category: advanced, regular and per 36. But do these stats come at a cost? His true shooting percentage is 0.04 above the league average over the aforementioned three years, and with his usage percent going from second, to third to first in the league over the three years, should a player using that much of the ball if he’s shooting at a league average?
There’s no doubt Cousins puts up amazing stats that even look Shaq-esque from a casual standpoint, but when you deep dive into them, they look more similar to a ball-hog who shoots at an average level. This and his lack of appearances in the playoffs in my opinion disqualify him from being the best center in the NBA.
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DeAndre Jordan:
Per 36 over the three seasons: 12.1 points, 14.8 rebounds, 1 assist, 2.4 blocks, 0.9 steals, 1.5 turnovers
Advanced stats over the three seasons: 19.9 PER, .632 TS%, 13.8 USG%
The prototypical modern-day center. DeAndre is a great defender, rebounder and finisher in the NBA as seen from his true shooting percentages going from fourth, to third,to fifth in the NBA in the past three years. His rebounding percentage rate as well went from second, to first to third in the the league.
Even though advanced stats agree that Jordan is a great defensive presence, deficiencies as a standalone player on the offensive end take away from his resume. He cannot create his own shot and relies on one of the best point guards of all-time, Chris Paul, to make his points for him (78% assisted field-goals) which is still only 12ppg. That and that he’s an abysmal free throw shooter (42 percent in his career) shows that Jordan is just not good enough on the offensive side to be the best center in the NBA.
Andre Drummond
Per 36 over the three seasons: 16.4 points, 15.6 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 1.8 blocks, 1.4 steals, 1.8 turnovers
Advanced stats over the three seasons: 21.7 PER, .534 TS%, 20.9 USG%
Looking from a glance, Drummond looks like a balance between Cousins and Jordan in terms of stats. However, he couldn’t be any more different. Drummond plays the same role as Jordan, being an outlet for the Pistons’ point guard while being a defensive presence and rebounder. You can’t deny his rebounding abilities, he’s been first, second and first in the league in rebounding percentage over the past three seasons. However, the difference between these three is Drummond is the worst scorer, yet rarely shoots outside of three feet of the rim.
Drummond has shot 70 percent of his shoots within three feet over the past three seasons, but only has a .534 true shooting percentage in this span, below average for the league average of .542. This shows that he’s not a reliable option even when he’s under the basket, and does this mean if you can’t rely on him to finish plays efficiently.
Karl Anthony-Towns
Per 36 over one season: 20.6 points, 11.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.9 blocks, 0.8 steals, 2.5 turnovers
Advanced stats over the one season: 22.5 PER, .590 TS%, 24.9 USG%
Now I said he doesn’t count due to only finishing his rookie career, but look at those stats. This man will be scary very soon and he will be the top front-court in the NBA with a little more experience under his belt. There’s no doubt Anthony-Towns has a chance to take that crown by the All-Star break.
But in my own opinion, he can’t be the best after one season, we’ll come back to him next offseason.
Marc Gasol
Per 36 over the three seasons: 17.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4 assists, 1.5 blocks, 1 steal, 2.3 turnovers
Advanced stats over the three seasons: 19.2 PER, .547 TS%, 23.2 USG%
This lengthy Spaniard is the best center in the NBA.
From a glance in comparison to the other players’ stats, the only one that stands out is his assists at a staggering four assists (18.9 percent assist ratio). But when I see these stats, I see efficiency. When doing the the eye test, it becomes even clearer.
He has an above-average true shooting percentage, but unlike Jordan, Gasol only takes 20 percent of his shots within three feet. Actually, he shoots at higher ratio of his shots from mid-range, 10-16 feet (30 percent of his attempts) from the basket, than he does from right under the bucket (20.3 percent of attempts). He hits those mid-range jumpers at a solid clip, too, making 43.1 percent of attempts from that range over the past three years. These stats show how good of a shooter he is, which is such a paramount in the modern NBA when paint-clogging is one of the worst things to do to an offense.
In terms of rebounding, he’s much lower than the others and you can’t even argue he’s an elite rebounder. However, he has the second highest average of defensive win-shares between the five (only behind Jordan).
Why Gasol?
In my eyes, Marc Gasol’s ability to shoot efficiently from anywhere within the three-point line. His ability to pass the ball, and his high defensive efficiency, show all the traits that make Marc Gasol the best center in the league. He may be aging, but it’s like wine, FiveThirtyEight’s CARMELO statistics predict Gasol’s defensive plus-minus to increase in the upcoming seasons.