Everything Marc Gasol

[inthepaint]

The Raptors have a 111 ORTG with Gasol on the court. No real problems to fix there. His shooting will come around with time, and in the meantime they are scoring just fine with him passing more than he shoots. That 111 ORTG would rank 4th in the league if they scored like that all 48 minutes. Sadly when Gasol sits the offence drops to a 99 ORTG, which would rank 28th.

Just curious, are you able to tell with whom Gasol is typically sharing the floor with when this high-end net rating is generated? Like, is he typically beside high scoring guys like Siakam and Lowry, or is that happening when he shares the floor with guys like Davis & Norm as well?

I was also curious to see what the team net rating would be when Ibaka is playing with the same guys Gasol typically plays with. Probably hard to tell this early in the season because the samples are so small, but I'd be nice to be able to compare apples to apples.

[golden]

It's not so much about the aggregate ORTG but more about: (a) what is happening in particular instances where the team needs Gasol to be a willing shooter/scorer and he's either not in position to do so or is passing up shots, and (b) how much better they are when Gasol becomes a scoring threat, even if he's not a center of gravity on offense.

In particular, I think people are looking at that 4th quarter in Milwaukee where the game was there for the taking and the offense went AWOL in the fourth quarter. Now, you can't blame it all on Gasol but perhaps he can help address that issue going forward.

Yeah, it's those high leverage make-or-break moments when the opposition amps up the defense to get the knockout punch or stay in the fight. I mean Gasol is swinging the ball so fast that he's actually achieving the opposite of what he's trying to accomplish, which is to catch the defense off-guard and make scoring easier for his teammates. Those pretty looking touch passes are so predictable now that defenders can roam off him with impunity. The opposition has figured out how to use Gasol's strength against us.

[LJ2]

What sort of usage did Gasol have for Spain this past summer? I'm guessing more or less the same as he has with the Raptors...

[slaw]

The Raptors have a 111 ORTG with Gasol on the court. No real problems to fix there. His shooting will come around with time, and in the meantime they are scoring just fine with him passing more than he shoots. That 111 ORTG would rank 4th in the league if they scored like that all 48 minutes. Sadly when Gasol sits the offence drops to a 99 ORTG, which would rank 28th.

It's not so much about the aggregate ORTG but more about: (a) what is happening in particular instances where the team needs Gasol to be a willing shooter/scorer and he's either not in position to do so or is passing up shots, and (b) how much better they are when Gasol becomes a scoring threat, even if he's not a center of gravity on offense.

In particular, I think people are looking at that 4th quarter in Milwaukee where the game was there for the taking and the offense went AWOL in the fourth quarter. Now, you can't blame it all on Gasol but perhaps he can help address that issue going forward.

[DanH]

The Raptors have a 111 ORTG with Gasol on the court. No real problems to fix there. His shooting will come around with time, and in the meantime they are scoring just fine with him passing more than he shoots. That 111 ORTG would rank 4th in the league if they scored like that all 48 minutes. Sadly when Gasol sits the offence drops to a 99 ORTG, which would rank 28th.

[G__Deane]

https://torontosun.com/sports/basket...e-more-selfish GANTER: Raptors want Gasol to be a little more selfish

It appears change is afoot for Raptors centre Marc Gasol.

And it does not feel like it will be an easy transition.

Gasol is 35 years old and has been playing the game of basketball one way throughout his career.

He is a ‘pass the ball, share the ball, make everyone around him better’ kind of offensive player. Much more facilitator than scorer, though he has been a scorer in this league already with an average over 15 points a night over 11 years in Memphis. He just hasn’t been that kind of player in Toronto yet.

“You can’t take it upon yourself,” Gasol said of kick-starting an offence when it’s sputtering like it was Saturday. “You have to continue to execute the offence, be patient with it, move the ball side to side especially against a long and athletic team like the Bucks are. So you have to have that patience and trust your offence and the shot it will create. Let the ball go through your hands a couple of times and make somebody else drive and collapse and move it.

“You just have to trust it and move it and run and move your body and create separation from the action and get open shots.”

That part of Gasol’s game, where he battled down low for position and then scored inside, isn’t gone but it isn’t what it once was. At the age of 35, expecting it would be isn’t rational.

But having said all that, the Raptors, to a man, believe if they are going to maximize their success, Gasol has to be a bigger scorer within the offence.

Never was that need more apparent than Saturday night in Milwaukee.

Other than Kyle Lowry, just about every Raptor normally relied on to score was having issues getting the ball in the net.

Fred VanVleet was off. Pascal Siakam was way off. Even Serge Ibaka, who isn’t counted on for a ton of scoring but has been a steady double-digit producer in that department, was off.

Gasol attempted just five shots in the first half.

He did amp it up somewhat in the second half with seven more, but on a night when the ball isn’t falling for most of his teammates, Gasol had to be looking for his shot more than he was, even if he felt like he was looking for it quite a bit as it was.

“I thought I was looking at the rim when I had it,” Gasol said when he was asked about the need to be looking to score more. “Sometimes you just don’t have the ball as much. You can’t have five guys out there who are shot-first mentality. It’s like I said, when you are out there at the top of the key, you have to let the ball go through (your hands) and swing side-to-side and create some other action. But trust me, the last few games I have been looking at the basket a lot more and I have been conscious of it. Sometimes it just doesn’t happen right away but you have to stick with it but I think I’m getting back into it for sure.”

That Gasol is even talking about this speaks to how much behind the scenes he has already been prodded to look to score.

Head coach Nick Nurse is at the forefront of that campaign.

He was asked post-game in Milwaukee if he needed to see Gasol become a little more shot happy than he has been. Nurse began by pointing out that Brook Lopez, the man guarding Gasol for the most part on Saturday, is sort of he Bucks’ designated roamer on defence, so there were definitely opportunities there for Gasol to impose his will offensively on the game more than he did.

Initially, it sounded like Nurse was going to avoid a direct answer on the question of needing more scoring from his centre. It didn’t stay that way for long.

“Yeah, we want him to be a focal-point offence scorer at some point this year,” Nurse said.

Gasol’s teammates also see the opportunities and like the coach seem willing to bring Gasol along slowly towards becoming that guy who more assertive offensively.

“Just time,” VanVleet said of what it will take to get Gasol fully on board with this. “Everyone goes through it, his is right now. He’ll figure it out. Marc’s played a lot of basketball in the last few months and we trust he’ll figure it out.”

But VanVleet said some of the onus is on himself and the rest of the Raptors too to ensure Gasol feels good about the shots he’s taking.

“We have to do a better job of getting him involved and putting him in situations where he’s not just a playmaker or just in a catch-and-shoot,” VanVleet said. “We have to give more options, more flexibility. He’s got to do a little better job being more assertive. We’ll figure it out, we’re not worried about it. Over time, we trust he’ll be good.”

No one is suggesting Gasol has forgotten how to play basketball. His defensive IQ is off the charts, as is his role as a facilitator. But his role on this team since arriving has changed with the departure of all that offence when Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green left.

Before, he could be facilitator and spot-up three-point shooter and that was enough to fill his offensive responsibilities. But now they need more on the offensive end from him and if it means being a little more selfish, then that’s how it has to be.

The issue is selfish basketball, even within a team concept goes against everything Gasol believes about the game.

SIAKAM WORKING ON FOUL TROUBLES

Pascal Siakam is leading the Raptors in scoring and rebounding. He’s third in assists and Saturday night, following his first really lukewarm game of the year, he was beating himself up pretty good.

Siakam’s issue with himself is his inability to stay in the game because of foul trouble.

In addition to his team-best 26 points a night and 8.5 rebounds, he also leads the team with 4.5 fouls per game. Saturday marked the second game in six that he has fouled out.

“I have to be better at that, I don’t know what I need to do,” Siakam said after suggesting he might need to attend a few referee’s meetings. “I need to do something. Just make sure that I’m smarter and on the floor to help my team win. If I’m not on the floor, it’s a problem.”

Kyle Lowry, with the benefit of his 13 years in the league, says he’s confident Siakam will figure it out.

“He missed some shots tonight,” Lowry said. “He still got his points but he missed shots and he’s going to go through things like that. He’s our best player and he’s going to have nights where he gets double teamed and every time he drives two or three guys are on him. So he’s going to miss some shots and that’s about it. He’s going to learn and get better.”

Asked if he had any particular advice for Siakam, Lowry ignored the question.

“He’ll be all right,” he said.

[G__Deane]

Maybe in womens hockey they're our equals. Mens nhl participated tournaments, weve won 5 out of the last 6 golds in Olympics and world cup. Canada still runs this shit.

I'm with you but the gap is considarably narrowed. The top goaltenders are now both Russian, and ours are in the mix with American and Finnish to round out the top 10. We're a step away from our best goaltenders (I just don't trust Price) being Brandon Holtby and Jordan Binnington, a far cry from the days of unquestionnable number 1's in Brodeur, Patrick Roy or even Luongo. We usually had two numbers ones on the team and a 3rd guy who thought he was. We're just not developing great goaltenders any more.

Out top D men are either well into their 30's or really just OK in terms of historical perspective. We're still stacked in forwards but our overall advantage and competitiveness gap has shrunk in the last decade. We're not winning 5 of the next 6 Olympics and world cups imo.

This may have to do as much with more kids playing soccer and basketball as anything mind you.

[KeonClark]

Agree.
No one would care as much about Olympic hockey here if we didn't have a great chantheyre ce to win it all. And the Yanks have become just about our equals in that now.

Maybe in womens hockey they're our equals. Mens nhl participated tournaments, weve won 5 out of the last 6 golds in Olympics and world cup. Canada still runs this shit.

[G__Deane]

Are we drawing the conclusion that Spain loves basketball more than Canada from that brief parade clip? I seem to remember a pretty substantial parade on Canadian soil not so long ago?

I mean, yeah, Canadians are not huge fans of Team Canada basketball because it's never been more than a complete disappointment and debacle, perhaps now more than ever given the no-showing of our top talent. Spain has built that fandom through winning. And not just winning once, but sustained winning on the international stage. Hopefully our boys (and girls) will step up and begin to create that kind of legacy here. If we start winning, I think a substantial portion of the population will start to give a shit. Just as was the case with our Raps.

Agree.
No one would care as much about Olympic hockey here if we didn't have a great chance to win it all. And the Yanks have become just about our equals in that now.

[GOLDBLUM]

Are we drawing the conclusion that Spain loves basketball more than Canada from that brief parade clip? I seem to remember a pretty substantial parade on Canadian soil not so long ago?

I mean, yeah, Canadians are not huge fans of Team Canada basketball because it's never been more than a complete disappointment and debacle, perhaps now more than ever given the no-showing of our top talent. Spain has built that fandom through winning. And not just winning once, but sustained winning on the international stage. Hopefully our boys (and girls) will step up and begin to create that kind of legacy here. If we start winning, I think a substantial portion of the population will start to give a shit. Just as was the case with our Raps.

[SkywalkerAC]

I love how much Spain loves basketball.. wish our country was into it as much as other countries are.

One has to wonder if its Canada's relative lack of nationalism/patriotism outside of hockey. Usually I think not being overly nationalistic is a good thing, but maybe not when it comes to caring about things like the National Basketball Program.

[Hotshot]

Injury report for Gasol to start the season: "May need a new liver" 😂

[planetmars]

I love how much Spain loves basketball.. wish our country was into it as much as other countries are.

[KeonClark]

That can looks like one of those coors cold shots in his bear paws.

I love how marc is embracing the drunk uncle stage of his career

[golden]