mandurugo wrote:C.lupus wrote:mandurugo wrote:
Is Gasol's defense good enough to have him start over Darko?
His DRtg is better than Darko's this year (and there is no comparison on offense):
http://www.basketball-reference.com/pla ... 01&y2=2011
Hmmm, better than I expected, but I guess I'd have to see Gasol play a few games this year to know if his stat's tell me what I need to know. The starting center for the wolves has a lot of defensive responsibility, which is generally true for all centers, but I think a bit more important on the wolves (yes, this is yet another shot at Love. I'm incorrigible.). Darko seems to be growing into the role of the defensive "quarterback", which along with his shot-blocking and help skills make him an important starter for the team. Still, he's only playing limited minutes at this point and he's only just starting to show signs that he might battle his way out of his offensive funk. I still think he's going to become a solid 32 minute a game center for the team, I'm not sure adding Gasol would be the right move. On the other hand, the combination of the two for limited minutes might work pretty well also. Interesting...
Gasol has improved his quickness and stamina since dropping a bunch of weight last year. That seems to have been a major catalyst for his jump in performance on both ends.
Of course, his performance would normally cause me to say that Memphis will never let him go, since 7 footers who can play like him are pretty rare. The only reason I think we'd have a shot is because of Memphis's history of strange decisions.