For Memphis Grizzlies to succeed, Marc Gasol needs to adapt once again

Although Marc Gasol’s 2016-17 season looked good on paper, the Memphis Grizzlies success this season relies on him never doing that again.

Lets be honest, last season was really weird. It went from “Welp, let’s burn this whole thing down and start fresh” to “We look unstoppable right now” on a game-by-game basis. The Memphis Grizzlies’ roster was void of consistent playmakers so Mike Conley and Marc Gasol stepped up to fill those roles. Conley’s transformation was amazing. He was finally the player we all knew he could be. Marc’s transition was… a bit misguided.

Please Marc, never again think it’s ok to be 7-foot tall and not rebound the basketball.

The Transition That Changed Everything

Last season, Gasol transformed more into the player that he wanted to be rather than the player the team needed. The thing this team needed was for Mike to drop dimes, get buckets and show everyone his full potential. What they needed from Marc was a big body in the post that can facilitate when need be. When he plays strong defense, gets boards and scores at will, this team is hard to beat. Instead, Marc turned himself into a stretch-5, aka the dumbest concept ever. He started jacking up the threes like he was the second coming of Steph Curry.

Don’t get me wrong, there were times when Gasol saved their asses with his newfound range, but at the end of the year I really didn’t care. There’s never an excusable reason for being a starting center only averaging 6.3 rebounds per game.

Ever.

That number was the second-worst in the league for a starting center. Only Brook Lopez averaged fewer. Dewayne Dedmon and Willy Hernangomez averaged more, and they barely played 18 minutes per game. His own brother Pau averaged 1.5 more rebounds while playing 9 less minutes per game.

Last season Gasol had only 12 games in which he posted double-digit rebounds. He had 20 games with less than five rebounds. Call me crazy, but that seems a bit lackluster.

What Needs To Happen

This season, Coach Fizz needs to get it into Gasol’s head that with Randolph gone, the team is relying on him to pick up the slack. Say what you want about JaMychal Green, but if we have to rely on him to be any type of consistent rebounder, the Grizzlies are in trouble. If Gasol can spend a little less time outside and a little more time in the paint, even just a slight bump in his career-low 0.8 offensive rebounds per game from last year will lead to plenty more second chance points for this offense.

If last season was any indicator, a stretch-5 doesn’t lead to any type of success in the NBA. Of the 16 teams that made the playoffs, only two had centers that averaged more than two threes per game (Gasol and Al Horford). As a matter of fact, there hasn’t been an NBA champion with a center taking 2+ threes per game in the past 30 years. I can’t imagine the Grizzlies being the team to finally buck that trend.

Just Be A Center, Please Gasol

The 3’s are cool and all Marc, but c’mon man. If you truly are going to help lead this team to a championship, then you’re going to have to get back in the paint consistently. Take your open looks from deep here and there; that’s fine. If I see you trying to iso on the wing one more time, though, I’m going to seriously question your offensive IQ.

Rebounding isn’t hard, I promise. Just ask ZBo. If his big, unathletic body can do it, there’s no reason your bigger, much more athletic self can’t.

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