StopitLeo wrote:Jcity08 wrote:Gasol is playing a different role on Toronto than in Memphis, he's a pass first big playing behind Kawhi(number 1 option), Siakam(number 2 option), Lowry(3 option). The Raptors don't need him to hold the ball and rack up field goal attempts. His primary job is to space the floor and keep the ball moving on offense.
Some of the strawman arguments are getting absurd, he doesn't have to be doing everything on the court to be a success on this twam, he just has to excell at the role he's been given and thus far he's done that.
If you want a traditional back to the basket big, who is given the green light to be the number1 scoring option on the team, there are plenty of other teams in the league that can satisfy that thirst.
People get caught up in basic boxscore numbers without recognizing the role change and minutes reduction. Yes, Jonas is putting up 19/10 in Memphis but his rate of production is the same as it was here in Toronto.
If the JV fans actually looked at Gasol’s per 36 or per 100 stats they would see that Gasol is basically putting up the best numbers of his career with Toronto. His 3P%, assists, rebounding, blocks, steals, etc....are all above his career best. His 2FG% is down (still good for 4th best of his career and his eFG% right now would be 2nd) and his FT% is down (but still above his career average in Memphis) but otherwise he is playing at a very high level.
I pointed out his per 36 twice in another thread yesterday. The ONLY difference is that he's averaging the lowest FGA he's had in 10 seasons! (11.1 FGA per 36), otherwise he's getting career highs in assists and boards, and he's right inline with all categories (including scoring if you bump up the FGA).
What happens is most people have never seen him play and they just now watched some highlights and sporadically have seen him on nationally televised games, I owned the guy in fantasy and he's one of my favorite players so I always tuned into Memphis games. This is who he's always been. If anything he needs to get a little bit more physical but I think that will come playoff time, there's no incentive for him to do that because our surrounding cast is much better than what he had in Memphis.
He can just relax here and play a team based role, and even with that he's putting up great per-minute numbers.
It's like these people don't understand that he's regularly playing anywhere from 18-26 minutes. This guy was a 33-35 minute guy most of his career, he's in a timeshare now where he's mostly being asked to be a facilitator and his value comes in intangibles (pick setting, positional defense/verticality defense, deflections/steals, timely blocks, and the presence of being on the 3 point line pulls other bigs out which spreads the floor and helps our other players drive and kick and move the ball).
They just see "JV get 20 point, Gasol get 8, JV better". They don't look beyond that. It would make Corey Maggette look like MJ (and no I'm not saying JV gets empty stats). Gasol's biggest value to this team is as stated above, the perceived threat of having him on the 3 point line completely stretches out the defense and forces all 5 players to be out on the perimeter. A Brook Lopez can't dive and hang back on a pick because Gasol will burn him, which means you get lots of mismatches and switches and much more open looks both inside and outside as a result. JV could never offer this, teams were willing to let Ibaka and JV pop as long as the rest of the team was stagnant, it was the best choice from that perspective. You can't do that with Gasol because he'll bury 3's.
People naturally gravitate to cutting around him, I've seen Siakam/Powell/Lowry regularly make backdoor cuts when playing 2 man games with him or when he's in the high/low post, and he gives them great looks.
There is also a value which you won't understand unless you've actually played basketball, and this will be hard to fathom for people who only observe and don't play. If you've ever played with someone on your team you're comfortable with, and is unselfish, they actually give you this boost of confidence and you make shots at a higher rate. I've played with selfish people and people that I dislike and it doesn't matter if I get good looks, it doesn't go in nearly at the same rate as when I'm with a teammate I enjoy playing with and have chemistry with. Gasol has that type of pull/aura, quick passes engage players, it gets them primed and ready and in shot-mode already, as opposed to sitting with your hands down in the corner watching DeMar post and repost for 20 seconds and then you finally get your shot and people are surprised you're clanking it.
Momentum/flow is really important, it's why motion offenses are so successful with crisp/quick passing.
. Their next step is to learn how to catch and shoot