Memphis Grizzlies: Mike Conley’s absence expose Marc Gasol’s ceiling
You would think Marc Gasol would start taking over games since the Memphis Grizzlies are losing so much, but he clearly lacks an “alpha male” gene.
Mike Conley has missed 31 out of 43 games, and during that time the Memphis Grizzlies have only won eight games. Despite the absence of Captain Clutch, Memphis has found a way to keep the bulk of these games close, but they always appear to come up short. They have given up 11 fourth-quarter leads thus far this season. No one deserves more blame for that than Marc Gasol.
With Conley, Gasol hasn’t shown the ability to lead this team and close out games. He just appears to be going through the motions until Conley returns. He clearly lacks that “alpha dog” mentality ZBo was known for.
Gasol is putting up solid numbers this year, averaging 18.4 points, 8.6 rebounds and four assists a game. Honestly that isn’t enough.
Memphis needs more from Big Spain, if they expect to somehow salvage this season. There’s no excuse for Gasol to be taking less than 20 shots per game with Conley sidelined. Right now he’s averaging 15.1 shots per game, which is a hair short of the 15.7 attempts he averaged all last season while playing alongside Conley. This shows that he’s not willing to assert himself on the floor.
I know Tyreke Evans is having one heck of a season, but everyone should take a backseat to Gasol. He’s the best offensive force on the team, but I can’t understand why Gasol is playing so passive.
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Closing Remarks
At some point you would think Gasol would start taking over games since the team is losing so much. Marc is a phenomenal talent, but it’s clear that he’s lacking THAT trait to put the franchise on his back and carry the load.
The Grizzlies are close to the bottom of the western conference and hold the sixth-worst record in the league (15-28). Mike Conley is still without a concrete timetable, and his return might not save much at this point.
This season started with a lot of promise, but the injury bug bit early and Memphis couldn’t sustain their success. All the Grizzlies can do at this point is give young players like Dillion Brooks, Wayne Selden, Kobi Simmons and Jarell Martin game experience. They need to rest Conley until his Achilles issues are completely resolved and to start scouting top picks.