Everything Marc Gasol

[Puffer]

I'm beginning to look at the trade in a different light. Of course the trade was JV, Delon, and CJ for Gasol. But really it was JV, Delon, CJ, Malachi and Moose, for Gasol, Lin, Meeks (for now), Boucher and another player yet to be determined.

That looks way better. I'd much rather have Lin and Meeks plus any other talent that might come up before Friday than CJ, Delon, Malachi and Moose.

I think most people would agree that JV is super efficient and that when he got back on the court it would be a positive. However looking at as though we got to exchange, Delon for Lin, CJ for Meeks and Boucher for Malachi, it looks much better IMO.

That wasn't the trade, but the trade opened up slots to slip the new guys into. So you're not wrong. The Raptors are a better team for it I believe, and I think game play is starting to demonstrate.

[planetmars]

Here's the problem with that logic. Bench success doesn't translate to the playoffs, because in the playoffs you don't play a full bench. You stagger your starters with the bench so you always have a star or two on the floor. The two guys the Raptors should be using most with the bench are Siakam and Lowry, and using those guys with the bench is exactly what led to the bench success in the Celtics game. Gasol with the bench without those guys has also been a disaster thus far, and I doubt reps fix that - we saw even a dominant JV struggling to keep the bench afloat when he was healthy early in the season.

Serge vs Gasol won't make much impact to the bench without those stars, and if those stars play, it won't matter which C is out there. But for the starters, there is every indication that the Gasol version has a far higher ceiling for performance than the Ibaka version, which is far too reliant on hitting jumpers and has been spotty defensively all season. We need to build a significant sample with Gasol to really make a assessment, and as such he should be starting a LOT between now and the end of the season, IMO.

I would look at moving Gasol to the starting unit as more of an experiment than something they should stick to when the playoffs start. I do think Gasol matches up better against certain teams/clubs. I wouldn't want Ibaka defending Drummond for example. As for staggering starting units with the bench.. sure in the playoffs that makes a lot of sense. Yet for the next 20 or so games, we still have to ensure the starters (especially Lowry and Kawhi) are fresh. So lessening their load now will come a long way. The 5 man bench unit may be a necessity for that reason even if we only have 2 more b2b's and our schedule is lighter.

Last thing we want is Kyle to play 35-38 mpg. He's better IMO when he plays then when he rests. But if we can get him under 30mpg that would be ideal. With Fred out until probably the playoffs.. we should use McCaw or Norm or more Lin without Lowry there. And when Kawhi takes games off it becomes even harder. In those instances I prefer Gasol over Serge with that bench "mob".

[S.R.]

I'm beginning to look at the trade in a different light. Of course the trade was JV, Delon, and CJ for Gasol. But really it was JV, Delon, CJ, Malachi and Moose, for Gasol, Lin, Meeks (for now), Boucher and another player yet to be determined.

That looks way better. I'd much rather have Lin and Meeks plus any other talent that might come up before Friday than CJ, Delon, Malachi and Moose.

I think most people would agree that JV is super efficient and that when he got back on the court it would be a positive. However looking at as though we got to exchange, Delon for Lin, CJ for Meeks and Boucher for Malachi, it looks much better IMO.

I'm looking at the trade in a much different light after the Celtics game than I was after the Magic game

[LJ2]

Well Nurse as much as said that all of the in game tinkering and the last couple of days of practice have been focused on getting effective D and O out of the new guys and old guys so they can put together a complete game, and they almost got that against the Celtics. I'm paraphrasing of course.

The weird lineups were not simply desperation measures but many times were to see particular combinations.

Certainly Marc was used the way we have been expecting him to be used. And it looks good.

I agree with other posters who have said Marc looks somewhat out of shape. I wonder if the Raptors training guys are working with him to help him round into playoff shape. Certainly Toronto runs a more up tempo game that Memphis. We could see an improvement over the next 4 weeks.

I don't know if it's as much that Gasol is out of shape or if that is what he is at this age and with as much wear and tear on his 7-1 frame. He's played a tonne of basketball in over his NBA/Euro/Olympic career. Just another reason for him to come off the bench where he may not need to run as much, as with the starters.

I hope Gasol and Lowry with the bench playing other benches is going to be a thing here on out.

[DanH]

I would look at moving Gasol to the starting unit as more of an experiment than something they should stick to when the playoffs start. I do think Gasol matches up better against certain teams/clubs. I wouldn't want Ibaka defending Drummond for example. As for staggering starting units with the bench.. sure in the playoffs that makes a lot of sense. Yet for the next 20 or so games, we still have to ensure the starters (especially Lowry and Kawhi) are fresh. So lessening their load now will come a long way. The 5 man bench unit may be a necessity for that reason even if we only have 2 more b2b's and our schedule is lighter.

Last thing we want is Kyle to play 35-38 mpg. He's better IMO when he plays then when he rests. But if we can get him under 30mpg that would be ideal. With Fred out until probably the playoffs.. we should use McCaw or Norm or more Lin without Lowry there. And when Kawhi takes games off it becomes even harder. In those instances I prefer Gasol over Serge with that bench "mob".

I have zero interest in over-working the starters and there is absolutely no need to over-work the starters to stagger their minutes through the bench minutes. Kawhi will take games off and otherwise play about 35 MPG. Lowry will play 30-35 per night. Gasol probably around 30 if that. Siakam I'm not worried about, though he'll probably stay in the low 30's. None of that needs to change to stagger the starters' minutes more. It's exceedingly easy to build a rotation with zero minutes where none of Lowry, Siakam or Kawhi are playing, and keep their minutes the same.

[Puffer]

I have zero interest in over-working the starters and there is absolutely no need to over-work the starters to stagger their minutes through the bench minutes. Kawhi will take games off and otherwise play about 35 MPG. Lowry will play 30-35 per night. Gasol probably around 30 if that. Siakam I'm not worried about, though he'll probably stay in the low 30's. None of that needs to change to stagger the starters' minutes more. It's exceedingly easy to build a rotation with zero minutes where none of Lowry, Siakam or Kawhi are playing, and keep their minutes the same.

There should be some blowouts in the final 20 games that allow rest for whoever they determine needs it and playing time for the guys further down the rotation. And minutes for Fred to get his timing and flow back.

The starters need minutes together, but I agree 100%, they don't need 35 minutes a game together.

[Beneperez]

Just another reason for him to come off the bench where he may not need to run as much, as with the starters.

I think that's a matter of how you look at it and also let's be cautious not to judge too quickly as I think we're still a few weeks away before really judging Marc once he's fully integrated. Gasol is no doubt going to help guys like McCaw, OG, Powell get their baskets. He would be a valuable asset to the bench. On the other hand, can you really have too much creativity on a starting line up? The way I see it Gasol is a better all around player than Ibaka. I'm pretty sure you'll find very little argument in these forums on that. I just think that come playoff time, Gasol will be the x-factor in making everyone else better.<--- Thats is where he's maximized. He might not be as fast as Ibaka or get as many baskets but the facilitating (key word) for other guys is what makes me think he wins the debate for the starting spot.

I think last night perfectly summarized the low end of what you get from Gasol. A tad slow getting back on defense, a mediocre shooting night yet other than that he's tremendously productive to team chemistry. He rarely misses a pass and is always positioned correctly. That's as bad as it's going to get with him which makes me wonder how good a starting line up could be with him in rhythm.

[planetmars]

I have zero interest in over-working the starters and there is absolutely no need to over-work the starters to stagger their minutes through the bench minutes. Kawhi will take games off and otherwise play about 35 MPG. Lowry will play 30-35 per night. Gasol probably around 30 if that. Siakam I'm not worried about, though he'll probably stay in the low 30's. None of that needs to change to stagger the starters' minutes more. It's exceedingly easy to build a rotation with zero minutes where none of Lowry, Siakam or Kawhi are playing, and keep their minutes the same.

We currently have 2 PG's in Kyle and Lin though. I don't like Lin with Ibaka (unless Kyle or Siakam are on the court too). Mainly because Ibaka is a poor play maker, but also because he needs someone to create for him (and Lin is still getting acclimated). So if you think we can get Kyle less than 30 minutes and not produce a lineup with Ibaka (without 4 other bench guys) than that would be fine with me. I just think that would be a difficult task.. especially if Kawhi is taking a day off.


That's why I prefer Serge to start with Kyle and then have Gasol play more with the bench.

[DanH]

We currently have 2 PG's in Kyle and Lin though. I don't like Lin with Ibaka (unless Kyle or Siakam are on the court too). Mainly because Ibaka is a poor play maker, but also because he needs someone to create for him (and Lin is still getting acclimated). So if you think we can get Kyle less than 30 minutes and not produce a lineup with Ibaka (without 4 other bench guys) than that would be fine with me. I just think that would be a difficult task.. especially if Kawhi is taking a day off.

That's why I prefer Serge to start with Kyle and then have Gasol play more with the bench.

Lin running PnP with Serge is basically the ideal usage for both players - Serge's raw scoring is of less value with the starters but could buoy the bench much like JV did all year, except he's less dependent on spacing to do so (which is good because the spacing is not there right now).

But I 100% agree that Lin should never be the lone ball handler, he needs a Lowry or Siakam on the floor with him. Which is kind of the whole point. Him and Gasol is not enough, IMO. Gasol needs shooters around him to be able to wreak havoc offensively and the bench does not offer him that.

Lowry won't get less than 30 minutes no matter what they do, unless it's a blowout. Low-to-mid-thirties is reasonable.

[KeonClark]

I'm beginning to look at the trade in a different light. Of course the trade was JV, Delon, and CJ for Gasol. But really it was JV, Delon, CJ, Malachi and Moose, for Gasol, Lin, Meeks (for now), Boucher and another player yet to be determined.

That looks way better. I'd much rather have Lin and Meeks plus any other talent that might come up before Friday than CJ, Delon, Malachi and Moose.

I think most people would agree that JV is super efficient and that when he got back on the court it would be a positive. However looking at as though we got to exchange, Delon for Lin, CJ for Meeks and Boucher for Malachi, it looks much better IMO.

You could also add mccaw who was added a week prior because masai was preparing to send more rotation players out

[DanH]

One thing that we have yet to see but given more time together we might see a lot more of is Gasol throwing hail mary passes to a streaking Siakam in transition after a defensive rebound. Having both Lowry and Gasol able to make that pass off a defensive rebound could really leverage Pascal's speed and scare teams into completely bailing on the offensive glass.

[LJ2]

I think that's a matter of how you look at it and also let's be cautious not to judge too quickly as I think we're still a few weeks away before really judging Marc once he's fully integrated. Gasol is no doubt going to help guys like McCaw, OG, Powell get their baskets. He would be a valuable asset to the bench. On the other hand, can you really have too much creativity on a starting line up? The way I see it Gasol is a better all around player than Ibaka. I'm pretty sure you'll find very little argument in these forums on that. I just think that come playoff time, Gasol will be the x-factor in making everyone else better.<--- Thats is where he's maximized. He might not be as fast as Ibaka or get as many baskets but the facilitating (key word) for other guys is what makes me think he wins the debate for the starting spot.

I think last night perfectly summarized the low end of what you get from Gasol. A tad slow getting back on defense, a mediocre shooting night yet other than that he's tremendously productive to team chemistry. He rarely misses a pass and is always positioned correctly. That's as bad as it's going to get with him which makes me wonder how good a starting line up could be with him in rhythm.

Yeah I can see it that way as well. In the playoffs if opposing teams are able to take away their quick transition offense then Gasol definitely helps in half court. But I get the feeling if the Raptors have a choice they want to get out and run... they are one of the league leaders in points off transition I think.

Great to have both options and Nurse will probably use the remaining games left to figure out which player to use in which match up. He may also be concerned with disrupting what has been working really well thus fare this season. You don't want to go into the playoffs with Ibaka unhappy about a role change. It's one think if he's been hurting the team, but he's been generally contributing to the teams success this season.

[Truth Teller]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJUTofopdWs

Im watching this and I noticed that Marc introduces himself to his colleagues as "Hi I'm Marc".
I guess its manners, but I assume everyone in the NBA knows each other.

[Machine]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJUTofopdWs

Im watching this and I noticed that Marc introduces himself to his colleagues as "Hi I'm Marc".
I guess its manners, but I assume everyone in the NBA knows each other.

In Danny Greens podcast Jeremy Lin said it took him a while to learn everyone's names. No one pays attention to the raps and maybe other players assume we are on our own planet and don't know who they are either lol

Sent from my SM-N960W using Tapatalk

[TrueTorontoFan]

One thing that we have yet to see but given more time together we might see a lot more of is Gasol throwing hail mary passes to a streaking Siakam in transition after a defensive rebound. Having both Lowry and Gasol able to make that pass off a defensive rebound could really leverage Pascal's speed and scare teams into completely bailing on the offensive glass.

Here is the thing with that. I always thought the idea was to have Siakam help push the break so that the opponents have to run back on defence quickly. I am not sure if it would have the same affect with Gasol just leaking out. I almost think Gasol is better with half-court set style offense.