Everything Marc Gasol

[Chr1s1anL]

Marc will start next Siakam. We will see Ibaka and Gasol play together. Like others have said this isnt JV. Marc minutes will come down to around 30. Whereas I think Ibaka minutes will stay the same around 25-28mins/g.

Memphis has allowed the first points in the paint with Gasol playing 35+ minutes. Gasol also leads all centers in charges drawn. Gasol might not be the fastest or jump the highest but, he always knows where he is suppose to be and gets there a head of time. He also a great communicator. If you watch him is always talking. Thats what makes good defensive teams good communication. Marc was the best defensive center in the league for the first two months. To start the new year I believe he stop playing as hard because he realized that his team sucked.

Once people see Gasol grab a rebound and in one sequence make a full court pass to Siakam who has already beat his man down the floor for the dunk. People will see how much of a steal this deal is. JV and Marc should not be mention in the same light honestly. Jv is an energy big and Marc is an do it all center.

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[Chr1s1anL]

I wish Yak was here to learn from Marc. He has the potential to be same kind of defender.

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[golden]

Gasol can operate on the perimeter as a playmaker or a stretch big, so the spacing issue that JV & Serge creates isn't there and could actually be a potential advantage for the Raps in some matchups. The issue is more about if Gasol and Serge can stay on the floor together defensively when teams go small, or even against the Bucks with Giannis at PF. Can Gasol's ego handle not closing games?

[golden]

I wish Yak was here to learn from Marc. He has the potential to be same kind of defender.

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He's got Tim Duncan and Pau + Pop. I think he'll be okay.

[DanH]

So every analyst and fan is just "perceiving" Ibaka's season to be a significant turnaround from last season. It's not really happening. it's just that everyone (other than you) is "perceiving" that. Ok then.

Correct. He's doing better, but not dramatically so. Him playing a third of his minutes at PF and still getting most of them at C will not impact him much.

[DanH]

Ibaka’s 2017-2018 season is criticized for several reasons mainly his playoffs being terrible. In terms of playoff performance last season was bad or among the worst of his career.

He’s clearly playing better this year. Points/rebounds/assists per game all better. If you don’t like those stats his Fg% is better his TS% is better his AST% is better his OFFRTG and NETRTG are better.

Serge has a higher usage role this year (which is leading to his higher raw totals) because he's not playing beside a scoring C but a playmaking PF. The C/PF part is not the difference, it's the scorer/playmaker. Gasol is a playmaker. So no reason to expect Ibaka's usage to suffer much.

His FG% is better because he's taking more shots at the rim and from mid-range. Playing beside Gasol, a high elbow, good passing, floor spacing centre, should not impact Serge's opportunities to operate in much the same way.

And yes, Serge's individual scoring collapsed in the playoffs. Which is something I'm still concerned about this spring, because it kinda came out of nowhere. But it's worth noting the team still has more success with him at PF beside JV in the playoffs than in any other look, and that's what matters, right?

[Quirk]

DanH you have completely lost the plot if you think Serge is only playing marginally better at C than PF.

DanH is right, if you disagree, make your case with numbers. Otherwise, stop it with the pointless posts.

[JimiCliff]

One thing to consider: Gasol was 24 in his rookie season. So he's 34, but it's a young 34. I'd love to know exactly what the Raptors' sports science dudes think about this.

[Puffer]

One thing to consider: Gasol was 24 in his rookie season. So he's 34, but it's a young 34. I'd love to know exactly what the Raptors' sports science dudes think about this.

He played professionally for 5 years in Spain as well as . I believe that would have resulted in a lighter load of work, but it's not like he hasn't been playing for a while.

[DanH]

Since 2008-09, Gasol has played the 5th most total minutes league wide. Hard to say he's had an easy load to date.

[BadDinosaur]

Since 2008-09, Gasol has played the 5th most total minutes league wide. Hard to say he's had an easy load to date.

When he was in Spain, they played 2-3 games per week in the national ACB league + 1 or 2 games in the euroleague. Also, he's played for the national team like almost every summer thoughout his career. So no, I don't think he's got less wear and tear over the years. If anything, I think he played much more than the average star player in the NBA.

[golden]

Correct. He's doing better, but not dramatically so. Him playing a third of his minutes at PF and still getting most of them at C will not impact him much.

Not so. Increasing both efficiency while increasing USG is not an easy feat, per Dean Oliver (father of basketball analytics) - which is what Serge has done. Where is Serge's efficiency boost coming from? He's taking almost 20% less 3-pters and more shots closer to the basket. And Ibaka's almost doubled his assist rate from the average of the last 2 seasons, which is also helping the offense. That's what I think inthepaint is talking about - the perception that Serge is being used more effectively this year by eye test, which is backed up by the numbers. Take that for data.

Playing Serge with Gasol shouldn't be a problem because Gasol can operate out at the perimeter, unlike JV, so Serge can keep the same role. It might even be more effective in some matchups, because of Gasol's passing ability.

[inthepaint]

DanH is right, if you disagree, make your case with numbers. Otherwise, stop it with the pointless posts.

It has been pointed out with numbers. Ibaka has career-high numbers in points and assists, near career high in rebounding, second highest scorer on the team, 3rd highest FG% league-wide from the right elbow, and as Rudy pointed out improved TS% (even with 3-ball down), better AST%, better offrtg, higher PIPM.

Now here's the thing with with numbers/stats. There's a lot of them, so no individual metric will tell the whole picture (including the ones I just pointed out). A lot of them have statistical noise, small sample, doesn't account for quality of opponent, doesn't account for injuries to teammates, etc.. So anyone with the time and knowledge (not saying this is what's happening here, but I've seen before), can often (not always) find some metric that will support their theory. It's called confirmation bias: rather then looking at the numbers to form a theory, one already has a theory (as passionate fans we all are), and go digging for numbers to support it. (again not saying it's what's happening here, but it's not uncommon)

Thats why the good ol' eye test will never be out. Because of that, and also because a ton of stuff in ball doesn't get picked up in the boxscore/stats. By the eye-test, and by the numbers, Ibaka is having an excellent season compared to last year. That said, he didn't all of sudden re-learned to play ball on his 10th year in the league. A big part of it was his move from PF to C, because yes, that will give him better spots on the offence, better positioning on D to grab the board and block shots (rather than chasing quick PF's in the perimeter fouling on closeouts), or getting offensive fouls/turnovers on uncontrolled drives like last year. He functions significantly better at C than as PF, and this season and last highlight that, even if his raw talent as a player hasn't changed.

Having said all that, this is all a moot point. It doesn't really matter how improved Ibaka is a C vs PF, because Gasol is the better C, and as such, will start there. What matters is what's better for the team, not it's what's better for Serge. However, there's nothing wrong in contemplating the individual impact this will have on Serge (a move back to a position where he struggled last year (PF), from a position he's doing well at this year (C)). I do agree that Gasol as a playmaker will keep that transition back to PF smooth (they also played together before), and most of Serge's minutes will still be at C anyway, so in the end I think they'll be great.

[Truth Teller]

One thing to consider: Gasol was 24 in his rookie season. So he's 34, but it's a young 34. I'd love to know exactly what the Raptors' sports science dudes think about this.

Lebron is also 34, but hes played 2 seasons worth of playoff games. But hes still a beast. With the technology and level of fitness they have today, the early 30 dudes can continue to play well if they keep at it.

[Zainab]

Shootaround talks from NYC.

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