#TBT- Marc Gasol, C, Memphis Grizzlies
@Hoover__26 December 3
In all sports, a new wave of players are taking over and rewriting the rules. Speed is taking favor away from strength, and stats are outweighing skill and leadership. The NBA may be the most changed by this new school of thought. Basketball players are now more seen as “athletes” instead of true basketball players. However, a few players still remain that play the game the way it was played for generations. They may look obsolete, but in fact they are the glue that holds teams together. A team with a bunch of athletes will not succeed without fundamental basketball players “holding down the fort” so to speak. In the case of Marc Gasol, he manages to not only continue to use a throwback skill set, but be a star as well.
Marc Gasol, at 7’1”, could very easily be a points, rebounds and blocks only guy. Many other people at his height have done it, and been successful. However, Gasol is of the older, more international school of thinking, and knows that passing is just as important at 7’1” as it is at 5’11”. Gasol is averaging 16.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.1 blocks per game this season, his eighth in the NBA. Gasol is averaging more points than LaMarcus Aldridge, more rebounds than Serge Ibaka, and more assists than Jimmy Butler (all were taken before Gasol on average in espn.com leagues).
More than ever before, NBA big men are taking over a scoring role. They play above the rim, and most of their shots come within about two feet of the hoop. In the past, the shooting guards and small forwards were the high flying scorers, and the centers played in the post and gathered rebounds. If you asked some of today’s centers (not naming any names here) to do, say, a dream shake, or maybe a double drop step, they probably would get the ball stuffed into the third row by someone like Marc Gasol. If you are an athletically gifted big, and all you do is exert your physical dominance, what happens when you play someone equally as athletic? The thing that sets you apart is technical skill, and the ability to out-fox the defender. Marc Gasol has a ton of post moves up his sleeve, and can call upon any of them in pretty much any situation. That is what allows him to score a career high 38 points against a young, athletic center like Anthony Davis. Davis is young still, and has plenty of time to learn things like using the opponent’s weight against him, but for now, guys like Marc Gasol are going to win that battle.
Marc Gasol is part of a dying breed, but is keeping the old ways strong by showing that a throwback player can survive in today’s NBA!
Marc Gasol, at 7’1”, could very easily be a points, rebounds and blocks only guy. Many other people at his height have done it, and been successful. However, Gasol is of the older, more international school of thinking, and knows that passing is just as important at 7’1” as it is at 5’11”. Gasol is averaging 16.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.1 blocks per game this season, his eighth in the NBA. Gasol is averaging more points than LaMarcus Aldridge, more rebounds than Serge Ibaka, and more assists than Jimmy Butler (all were taken before Gasol on average in espn.com leagues).
More than ever before, NBA big men are taking over a scoring role. They play above the rim, and most of their shots come within about two feet of the hoop. In the past, the shooting guards and small forwards were the high flying scorers, and the centers played in the post and gathered rebounds. If you asked some of today’s centers (not naming any names here) to do, say, a dream shake, or maybe a double drop step, they probably would get the ball stuffed into the third row by someone like Marc Gasol. If you are an athletically gifted big, and all you do is exert your physical dominance, what happens when you play someone equally as athletic? The thing that sets you apart is technical skill, and the ability to out-fox the defender. Marc Gasol has a ton of post moves up his sleeve, and can call upon any of them in pretty much any situation. That is what allows him to score a career high 38 points against a young, athletic center like Anthony Davis. Davis is young still, and has plenty of time to learn things like using the opponent’s weight against him, but for now, guys like Marc Gasol are going to win that battle.
Marc Gasol is part of a dying breed, but is keeping the old ways strong by showing that a throwback player can survive in today’s NBA!