Memphis Grizzlies 2016-17 Final Review: Marc Gasol
By Ryan Schmitz
Becoming the Memphis Grizzlies’ lone All-Star this year along with a career year may show that Marc Gasol isn’t ready to slow down.
Marc Gasol has been one of the two faces of the Memphis Grizzlies franchise for a long time. He and Mike Conley have built these Grizzlies into a contender that doesn’t back down from any team each year.
Fans throw his name out in potential trades rumors with the beliefs that it’s time for the Grizz to blow it up. You could get quite the haul for Gasol, as he’s arguably a top 3 center in the league.
But why would the Grizzlies want to trade him? Gasol is coming off a career year in which he led a depleted team, whose bench was consistently being filled by rookies who shouldn’t be playing yet, to the playoffs.
Marc still has a few more years on his contacts, and as long as he’s a member on this Memphis team, don’t expect to be missing the playoffs.
Offense
Marc Gaso’s new career-high in points (19.5 per game) fueled his career year.
A lot of this could be attributed to Coach Fizdale’s desire for Gasol to expand his range. In Gasol’s eight previous seasons, he attempted just one 3-pointer a game in all of those seasons combined. This year, however, he was shooting 3.6 3-pointers per game at a 39 percent clip.
By expanding his range, Gasol only made himself more versatile while also possibly extending his career. The Grizzlies have never had great shooting during Marc’s career, but his ability to step out helped out Zach Randolph and Conley immensely.
Marc also dished out a career-high 4.6 assists per game. This team may have been one of the weaker teams he has been apart of. So, raising that number really speaks volumes of how well Marc went about distributing the ball.
His career-high averages in points and assists this year, while also extending his range, may hint that Marc Gasol isn’t done improving on offense.
Offensive Grade: A
Defense
Marc Gasol has always been known as a solid defender. He moves somewhat in the paint and at least affects a lot of shots by playing driving in there. He has never been a huge shot-blocker, and his numbers were around what this normal averages. However, he had his best year in terms of not fouling. This helps him stay in the game for a team that needs him out there at all times.
Marc does have one problem on defense. His rebounding has never been good, but this year was his worst yet. He only grabbed six rebounds per game. Having that low of rebounds as a center isn’t going to cut it. Plenty of players smaller or slower than him out-performed him in that category. Some even surpassed that clip in fewer minutes. The Grizzlies don’t need Marc to be an outstanding rebounder, but they need more from him there.
Overall, Marc was solid again on defense this year, which can make up for his rebounding. However, if he improves his rebounding, he could be a real force and potentially be the top center in the league.
Defensive Grade: B
Final Grade: A
Shouldn’t Marc have a final grade of an “A-” if you combine his two grades? Yes, but what he does on offense and for this team means more than just those two grades. Sure Gasol could have improved some on rebounding and maybe block some more shots, but those are minor compared to his leadership. He and Conley lead this team to the playoffs every year by putting the team on their backs. The Grizzlies live and die by these two. If Gasol or Conley is off, it’s usually not going to be a fun game.
Marc does so much on the offensive end as well. He moves the ball well for a big and finds different ways to score. He extended his range this past year, which helps out the team’s offense more than anything. Guarding a center who can step outside to shoot, pass like a point guard and then post you up inside is hell for defenses. Somehow Marc found a way to do that.
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Marc is getting up there in age, and the question about trading him has been brought up. That question should wait at least a year. The Memphis Grizzlies could get a lot for Marc, but the they should at least wait to see how Chandler Parsons, Conley and Gasol all do with each other before trading him.