Marc Gasol has emerged, out of nowhere, as the league's best center. (Getty Images) |
So you're building your superstar team and you've got LeBron. Maybe you've got CP3, maybe you've got Steph Curry or Kevin Durant. But who you going with at the center position? Dwight Howard right? Well, maybe if he ever gets healthy. Tyson Chandler? Ehhh he's getting eaten alive by Roy Hibbert. So Hibbert? Nahhh he's still too soft. Pau Gasol? Maybe a couple of years ago. Actually the answer is hidden in a far off land, where the NBA has almost never mattered, sort of basketball graveyard in Memphis. The answer: Marc Gasol.
The younger Gasol has been slowly building his resume over the years, showing himself as an immovable low block player with a growing offensive game. As the Grizzlies have improved into one of the better teams, their center has grown in wonderful synchronization (no coincidence there). It was showcased in Spain this year when he and his brother almost single-handedly took down one of the most disgusting collection of superstar athletes the world's ever seen (if you need a clue it starts with United). Marc Gasol has arrived.
With Gasol you know exactly what you're going to get. His consistency is so valuable, especially for a Grizzlies team we still don't know much about. The paint presence he brings is immense. At 7-foot-1, 265 lbs his paint presence is literally immense. But his ability to shift his feet and move to slashers on defense is what really makes him a monster. It's as if he looks like a doofus out there, but he plays with absolute precision and toughness. I'm not talking about the toughness that Kenyon Martin thinks he brings, I'm talking about not letting big men back you down. I'm talking about meeting contact while remaining in position. I'm talking about making guards fear you, avoid you. Now that Gasol has developed a solid low post game? That's scary and it's not even like he needs to score, not when you have an offensive low-post option like Zach Randolph right next to you. Marc Gasol has arrived.
As we watched the Grizzlies surprisingly (we shouldn't have been so surprised) upend the Clippers in six and absolutely take care of business against the hobbled Thunder, Gasol has emerged as a leader. He's a leader on the court behind a rambunctious and rugged bunch that are coming together beautifully. The stability he provides has set in stone an example for the rest of his team and they're following it.
Out of nowhere Marc Gasol has emerged as the league's best center. Why out of nowhere? Probably because most people don't realize there's a basketball team in Memphis, let alone a damn good one. If you disagree you're both crazy and you're not staying up past your bedtime to watch the west coast games. There's a very distinct possibility if this team continues to play efficiently on both sides of the ball (in large part due to Gasol's play) they could beat the Heat. Dwyane Wade is hobbled. Gasol is ascending. The best front court in basketball is surging. The Memphis Grizzlies are for real. Really real.
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