- LARRY KUZNIEWSKI
- Marc Gasol throws the hook on the Indiana Pacers en route to the All-Star Game.
Over the next couple of days, I’m going to be putting up a series of snapshot posts breaking down the roster as we enter the season’s second half. Let’s start with the Grizzlies’ current All-Star, center Marc Gasol:
(Note: Stats in these posts are drawn from a multitude of sources, with NBA.com’s Advanced Stats site as the primary resource. Others used are: Hoopdata.com, ESPN.com, 82Games.com, BasketballValue.com, and TeamRankings.com.)
Gasol’s season probably seems like a breakout to many, but it’s really more of a rebound. Two years ago, while Zach Randolph was making the All-Star team and Rudy Gay was scoring around 20 points a game, I was telling people that Marc Gasol was actually the best all-around player on the team. And when he missed most of the season’s final month and the Grizzlies’ playoff hopes dissolved, his value was underscored.
Last season, Gasol’s performance was down, something that was mostly forgotten when he came up big in the playoffs.
This season, Gasol is mostly back to where he was in ’09-’10, with primary indicators like his Player Efficiency Rating, scoring and rebound rates, and on-court/off-court stats all returning to what we might now considered to be his norms.
But beyond just playing better, Gasol has stepped up in the absence of Zach Randolph by playing more, a sharp decline in his foul rate and seemingly better conditioning abetting a minutes increase from 31.9 per game last season to 38.1 so far this season, fifth highest in the league.
