Marc Gasol Discussion: The Rain In Spain Falls Mainly On The Plain

That was pure sarcasm from my end. I'm still laughing.

 

We know we have a good team when the biggest discussion is around a guy who won't average more than 15mpg nor be in closing lineups

 

Everything seems up in the air about that position though and it is important. We need a competent starter there who works well with the offense, however they hope to keep it from getting clogged in the middle and us overmatched physically by other teams real Big men who start. Regular season at the very least.

 

lol

 

Nicely condensed and stated.

 

Lol what he said was hilarious

 

I'm going to preface this reply with how strange I find this whole argument. We're arguing over a minimum center playing 15 mins that is still a net positive.


I'm not going to get into defence, I think it should be clear that Marc is still positionally a good defender. With him playing 52 games we were ranked a top defence. I'm not saying he was responsible for this, but he didn't impact it negatively either. So no point to argue that he isn't a good defender.

You said that you've been watching this game a long time so clearly you understand there is only one ball and stats don't happen in a vacuum. Career lows are to be expected when you're playing career lows in minutes, no?

On offence, the value Gasol provides comes from him being able to hit a 3 (this opens up space by bringing the opposing center out of the paint) and being a willing passer that creates good offensive looks for his teammates. So the points you're making about career lows in attempts from the 2, 3 and the FT line, all seem to be part of our game plan, how we want to use him and how he can still be effective.

Secondly you made the point that he shot 2.3 attempts per game from 3 and that this volume is meaningless. Before AD went down, Marc only shot 45 times from 3 in 26 games which is 1.7 attempts (14/45 - 31.1%). When AD went down, Gasol shot 17/40 (42.5%) in the next 9 games until he got covid and missed time. That's 4.5 attempts per game - which is useful volume. (He also shot it at 46.7% for the second half of the season as a whole - 37/80)

So with that in mind, can I ask you, why would we want Gasol shooting more than Schroder, KCP, Lebron and AD in the starting unit last year? And why would we want him to shoot more this year when we have Russ, Lebron, AD and a shooter starting?

Also who cares if he is earth bound and can't dunk?

This is exactly what he has been doing, contributing from a very limited role. He defends, play-makes and hits a few 3's all for the minimum.

Who cares if he is a starter? The guy will only play 15 mins, and if for those 15 mins our starting unit is out scoring the opposing team - that's perfect.

You seem to really like that nickname, but you left the lowest hanging fruit which is 'Gas-old'.

 

You basically just repeated everything I've already said and spun it..

He is playing less minutes because he can't stay on the floor longer at this point in his career. Already acknowledged that. Still doesn't mean he's not a stopgap or that he would start somewhere else which is my entire point here in regards to his minutes. You guys are acting like he's our great savior at the 5 and I'm saying he wouldn't even get a contract with most other teams, am I wrong? The FO tried to include him in a trade recently to dump him for tax purposes. That sounds like a ringing endorsement on their part to me *sarcasm..

You think he's great, awesome. I think he offers a serviceable role, albeit not that good anymore and I'm just calling it for what it is. Just because someone's a Laker doesn't mean they're above being analyzed and we should all worship them because they wear purple and gold. My opinions may not always be that of the crowd but I'm good with that.

Again that's why I loved Chick, he would say the Lakers sucked and wasn't afraid to say it like it was when they were stinking it up. Didn't mean he didn't love the team, but he lived in reality

 

valiant effort, svtzr. i've tried most of these arguments at different times to no avail.

 

I've gotten the feeling from your comments over the last week that you and Stick just don't like him because he isn't athletic and can't jump while options like Dwight and Cousins appeal more because they can.

I'm not sure what I spun? My main points were:

• Career lows in minutes leads to career low in stats. You can't use that as a penalty, because the two are connected.
• Marc's low volume shooting isn't an issue when we have Lebron, Russ, AD and a shooter in the starting lineup.
• Gasol's lack of jumping ability is not important because he can still defend, shoot and play make.
• I'm fine calling him a stop gap, he isn't a saviour and I don't think he is great - but let's be realistic you aren't getting anything better for the minimum.
• There is context in how we judge players. Marc for the max is awful, but at the minimum in a limited role, his style of play, impact and production is good.

I haven't seen any indication we tried to trade or dump him. But regardless, it doesn't change the fact that he can still contribute in a limited role - and that's all most of us have been arguing when posters say he is washed or we should get rid of him.

 

Never thought I'd be writing posts explaining the contribution of a 15 min pseudo-starter center. But here we are haha

 

“You guys are acting like he's our great savior at the 5”

NO! Stop with that mischaracterization. It’s annoying to keep having that said or implied.

The reality is for what we can pay he is better starting, and doing what we NEED better than adequately than anyone else that’s available for the 15 minutes a game. Maybe it’s not “always” you with the mocking and the Gasol’s washed up and the it’s a joke that the rest of us don’t see the “proof” the other 2 guys have seen with “their eye tests” and throw at the rest of us …. but then you “like” in support those very same posts when they’re worded that very way that he’s worthless / useless / too slow / insert other negative remarks ….. to play in the NBA now.

 

Bite all of us.