Marc Gasol vs. Joakim Noah (Poll Included)

aggo · Post #21 » by **aggo** » Fri Jul 22, 2011 3:17 am

fwiw, Gasol is rated MUCH MUCH higher in synergy.

he's top 100 in all offensive AND defensive categories. (and 32nd in the league overall in defending postups... noah is 170th)

tclg · Post #22 » by **tclg** » Fri Jul 22, 2011 3:19 am

I rather have Noah than Gasol. His passing and ball handling is what makes him unique he gets his hands on a lot of balls

That Nicka · Post #23 » by **That Nicka** » Fri Jul 22, 2011 5:50 am

Gasol... Beasted in the playoffs and crapped on Duncan.... Much better offensive player and solid defender

cool007 · Post #24 » by **cool007** » Fri Jul 22, 2011 7:19 pm

The way Noah played in the 2nd half and in the playoffs, I would rather have Marc Gasol.

This is as a Bulls fan.

Sebastian · Post #25 » by **Sebastian** » Fri Jul 22, 2011 7:38 pm

If healthy, Noah. His versatility defensively cannot be understated. This is a guy who was effective defending LeBron James and Dwyane Wade this postseason. While Gasol is better at some of the more "traditional" attributes you want from a center, Noah's skillset is pretty unique among big men in the game today.

ahonui06 · Post #26 » by **ahonui06** » Fri Jul 22, 2011 7:41 pm

Sebastian wrote:If healthy, Noah. His versatility defensively cannot be understated. This is a guy who was effective defending LeBron James and Dwyane Wade this postseason. While Gasol is better at some of the more "traditional" attributes you want from a center, Noah's skillset is pretty unique among big men in the game today.

LeBron destroyed Chicago in the postseason and had his way with everyone on that team. Noah only had to defend those guys on P&R when they switched anyways.

ahonui06 · Post #27 » by **ahonui06** » Fri Jul 22, 2011 7:45 pm

U-Borat wrote:
ahonui06 wrote:Gasol protects the rim just as well...Check out their respective BPG as a small piece of evidence. Noah is a slightly better rebounder, but Gasol proved he can pull down boards this year in the playoffs.

Gasol's significant offensive advantage over Noah is what sets him apart.

bpg seriously?

Strong lack of nba knowledge in this thread. Love the argument 'oh he's heavier and bigger therefore he's a better post defender!' by that logic eddy curry's the best post defender in the league!
Noah's bball iq far outstrips gasols, he's a far smarter defender and unless we're talking like prime shaq who would just overpower noah (and gasol would do a marginalyl better job), there's no way gasol is a better post defender than noah.

As I mentioned above BPG is a small piece of evidence. I didn't say it was the end all be all indicator of being a strong defender at the rim. There aren't many ways to quantifiable analyze defense so most of the time it is subjective on opinion. I tried to give a piece of evidence saying their defense is somewhat similar.

You are simply exaggerating people's claims and generalizing them when you say, "by that logic eddy curry's the best post defender in the league!". You need to keep things in perspective/context. Gasol's size helps him bang down low in the post. He is able to defend Centers in the NBA on the block and can also alter shots at the rim.

knicksosmoove · Post #28 » by **knicksosmoove** » Fri Jul 22, 2011 8:37 pm

Gasol. Way, way better scorer. He has that nice midrange shot to space the floor and way better touch around the rim. He's a good defender and rebounder when he's trying. Plus he's one of the biggest players in the league which means he's not getting bullied around on the court like Noah was at times.

Jvaughn · Post #29 » by **Jvaughn** » Fri Jul 22, 2011 8:57 pm

Can we stop with this thinking that Gasol is so much better offensively? I agree he has better touch, and is more polished in the post, but all that isn't putting that many points on the board. He averaged the same PPG on similar efficiency as Noah last season. Keep in mind this is after Noah started the season 16/13, but plummeted due to playing injured. Noah's jumpshot was going good, and he was automatic with the left hand hook shot down low.

Gasol is a more traditional C, but he isn't some guy you can continually throw the ball to and say, go get us some offense. Now Noah is a guy you can only ask to do this minimally (couple times a game), but he is a comparable offensive player IMO. His IQ and versatility allow you to do more with him. How many C's can grab the rebound and lead the break all the way down court. Numerous times last season, Noah was the one feeding Rose on fast breaks. Just my personal opinion, but I value his skillset more than Gasol.

knicksosmoove · Post #30 » by **knicksosmoove** » Fri Jul 22, 2011 9:02 pm

Marc Gasol is way better offensively. You can actually run pick and rolls for him and he spaces the floor much better than Noah with his shooting. A lot of Noah's points come from hustle plays that you can easily gameplan against in the playoffs. I don't see Gasol averaging 4 ppg in a playoff series like Noah against a team that didn't even have decent size.

Jvaughn · Post #31 » by **Jvaughn** » Fri Jul 22, 2011 9:08 pm

knicksosmoove wrote:Marc Gasol is way better offensively. You can actually run pick and rolls for him and he spaces the floor much better than Noah with his shooting. A lot of Noah's points come from hustle plays that you can easily gameplan against in the playoffs. I don't see Gasol averaging 4 ppg in a playoff series like Noah against a team that didn't even have decent size.

Before Noah got hurt he was knocking down his jumpshots with regularity. His percentages were great from there. After the hand injury he stopped shooting that shot. And Noah does get hustle points, but it's a fallacy that he's only a hustle guy. He has expanded his game, and in single coverage can make his shots on the block. I'd also like to know how you gameplan against hustle points. Can you predict where the ball is going to bounce, and beat Noah there everytime? And once again, Noah was injured in the playoffs, which is why he sucked. He's still hurt right now as a matter of fact. He failed his physical with the French team, and won't be playing this summer with them. Let's not act like the Noah we saw end the season is the normal Noah. At the beginning of the season, the consensus was that he was a top 3-5 C.

knicksosmoove · Post #32 » by **knicksosmoove** » Fri Jul 22, 2011 9:18 pm

you gameplan against hustle points by making sure to box him out like Miami did in every game after game 1 . . .

Whatever. Maybe "healthy Noah" will come back next season and dazzle me with his ability to knock down 15ft jumpers, but I still say he has no real scoring ability more than 5 feet from the basket.

Cultness · Post #33 » by **Cultness** » Fri Jul 22, 2011 9:41 pm

Too close to call at this point.

But I think I can almost answer for everyone here saying that either one of them is good enough.

Jvaughn · Post #34 » by **Jvaughn** » Fri Jul 22, 2011 9:49 pm

knicksosmoove wrote:you gameplan against hustle points by making sure to box him out like Miami did in every game after game 1 . . .

They boxed him out so well he still averaged 10rpg while being injured??? The only game they actually slowed him was a game he played 28 minutes. Rebounds are also not the only type of hustle points. Loose balls are also big. You can't gameplan for hustle points.

Worm 6 · Post #35 » by **Worm 6** » Fri Jul 22, 2011 10:07 pm

If health wasn't an issue, then I'd take Noah easily.

A bit unfair perhaps to be making generalizations about Noah's ability to stay on the court perhaps, but that's now 2 out of 4 seasons where he's missed significant time.

Hopefully it's just an early aberration.

I think people are letting Gasol's recent playoff performance sway them a bit too much. Gasol had stretches during the regular season where he was utterly forgettable.

Ruhiel · Post #36 » by **Ruhiel** » Sat Jul 23, 2011 4:02 am

Morten Jensen wrote:Just to set the record straight, Noah is not 232. That was his rookie weight. He's about 250 or more now. He gained a lot of muscle over the last two summers, and reported in at 245 last summer.

Carry on.

@Morten Jensen do you happen to have a link good sir?

andrewww · Post #37 » by **andrewww** » Sat Jul 23, 2011 4:16 am

marc gasol for me. while noah may be a slightly better defender and rebounder, gasol is the superior offensive player and that gulf imo is larger than noah's defense/rebounding.

EDIT: and i havent even mentioned that gasol is a legit 7 footer who doesnt get bullied around like noah w/ bigger players. also watched him play throughout the playoffs, id say his basketball iq is underrated as he rarely made bad decisions in the half court against the spurs/thunder.

ChiCitySPORTS#1 · Post #38 » by **ChiCitySPORTS#1** » Sat Jul 23, 2011 5:31 am

Noah is not just a better defender imo; hes a more versatile player defensively and offensively.

He can switch on players that Gasol would have no chance staying with, and can put the ball on the floor and run a fast break.

I do agree that Gasol's size and girth in general is appealing for a center, but Noah has been able to hold his own against any center in the league.

JordansBulls · Post #39 » by **JordansBulls** » Sat Jul 23, 2011 10:03 pm

KnickelandDime · Post #40 » by **KnickelandDime** » Sun Jul 24, 2011 3:14 am

Jvaughn wrote:
knicksosmoove wrote:you gameplan against hustle points by making sure to box him out like Miami did in every game after game 1 . . .

They boxed him out so well he still averaged 10rpg while being injured??? The only game they actually slowed him was a game he played 28 minutes. Rebounds are also not the only type of hustle points. Loose balls are also big. You can't gameplan for hustle points.

I think the idea that hustle players do worse in the playoffs has more to do with everyone hustling in the playoffs, and thus hustle players losing that edge over everyone else, moreso than gameplaning. From what I can tell, hustle players disappear a bit in the playoffs so I think its a valid point.

Anyway, I like both these guys. They're both high IQ, two way centers who are versatile enough to fit just about any system. I give the edge to NOah because as has been mentioned, when he was healthy he was a clear all-star Center, maybe even the second best in the league.

Which Center Do You Prefer?