Marc Gasol vs. Joakim Noah (Poll Included)

[Trader_Joe]

Which is the better player?

Or, I guess another way to ask this....

Starting a team from scratch, which C do you take?


Please vote and defend your opinion as well.

[ahonui06]

Marc Gasol

He is the better two way player.

[Dr Positivity]

Definitely Marc Gasol

[Saciid11]

Noah .... defense, energy, hustle, can guard more then one position and plus the guy is winnner and leader.

[Jvaughn]

Noah.

Defense, hustle, heart, intensity, and high basketball IQ. I don't know if people realize it or not, but Noah was still playing hurt even when he came back at the end of the year. At the beginning of the year before injury he was averaging 16/13 before he injured himself in the Sacramento game. I understand if the health issues force him down on some people's lists.

[CousinOfDeath]

Marc Gasol because he actually has offensive skill while also providing protection for the rim and rebounding almost as well (sometimes better) as Noah. Noah's defensive versatility doesn't equal Gasol's vastly greater impact on offense.

[Jvaughn]

Marc Gasol because he actually has offensive skill while also providing protection for the rim and rebounding almost as well (sometimes better) as Noah.............

WHAT???? In what world does Gasol protect the rim or rebound as well as Noah?

[ahonui06]

Marc Gasol because he actually has offensive skill while also providing protection for the rim and rebounding almost as well (sometimes better) as Noah.............

WHAT???? In what world does Gasol protect the rim or rebound as well as Noah?

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.

[Jvaughn]

Marc Gasol because he actually has offensive skill while also providing protection for the rim and rebounding almost as well (sometimes better) as Noah.............

WHAT???? In what world does Gasol protect the rim or rebound as well as Noah?

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.

Blocks and steals aren't a good end all measure to defense. Derrick Rose got more blocks this year than Lebron. Do you think he's a better defender? Noah protects the rim and is the best big man defender on the perimeter in the league. It's a big reason the Bulls are able to switch on screens with him on the perimeter. There's not a big drop off in it. And Gasol is nowhere near as good a rebounder as Noah. Don't give me a 13 game sample as evidence. Noah has a significant edge in that department. Before the injury he was almost averaging twice as many rebuonds as Gasol.

I also find it interesting that Gasol's "significant offensive edge" results in the same PPG and nearly the same efficiency.

[Trader_Joe]

Blocks and steals aren't a good end all measure to defense. Derrick Rose got more blocks this year than Lebron. Do you think he's a better defender? Noah protects the rim and is the best big man defender on the perimeter in the league. It's a big reason the Bulls are able to switch on screens with him on the perimeter. There's not a big drop off in it. And Gasol is nowhere near as good a rebounder as Noah. Don't give me a 13 game sample as evidence. Noah has a significant edge in that department. Before the injury he was almost averaging twice as many rebuonds as Gasol.

Block shots is a good indicator of protecting the rim, plus Gasol is bigger and stronger and doesn't get backed down or pushed around in the paint. I'd say Gasol is the better post defender, while Noah the superior overall defender.

[Jvaughn]

Blocks and steals aren't a good end all measure to defense. Derrick Rose got more blocks this year than Lebron. Do you think he's a better defender? Noah protects the rim and is the best big man defender on the perimeter in the league. It's a big reason the Bulls are able to switch on screens with him on the perimeter. There's not a big drop off in it. And Gasol is nowhere near as good a rebounder as Noah. Don't give me a 13 game sample as evidence. Noah has a significant edge in that department. Before the injury he was almost averaging twice as many rebuonds as Gasol.

Block shots is a good indicator of protecting the rim

Must be why Amare and Al Jefferson are such great defenders.

[Trader_Joe]

Must be why Amare and Al Jefferson are such great defenders.

We're talking about protecting the room are we not?
And seemingly to you a blocked shot is not protecting the rim.

Meanwhile, again it doesn't shock me so many Bulls fans pick Noah, yet so many objective 3rd party fans pick Gasol.. coincidence?

[Jvaughn]

Must be why Amare and Al Jefferson are such great defenders.

We're talking about protecting the room are we not?
And seemingly to you a blocked shot is not protecting the rim.

Do Amare and Al Jefferson protect the rim? They are top 10 in bpg. Getting blocks here and there doesn't mean you're a good defender. There's a reason that Amare has never been on a good defensive team even though his bpg have always been decent.

[xRapHeadx]

While Noah is the better rebounder....Marc does everything else better.

[MarJJMar]

Noah is the better player but not by much. Gasol is the better all-around player. Really depends on what the team needs.

If you go past Howard and probably Bogus or a healthy Bynum. There are really 7-9 centers that are roughly on the same level.

[koogiking]

Marc Gasol is a bigger girthier body to clog the lane and protect the rim than Joakim Noah.

Noah has the body and skillset of a power forward more than a Center. He's only 232 pounds. Gasol is 7 feet 1 and 270 pounds so it's tougher to drive inside against Gasol than Noah, regardless of howmany shots they block.

Rebounding wise Noah has been consisteny better.

He's also a better pick and roll perimeter defender and he has higher IQ on the defensive end.

Marc Gasol is a better post defender just because of his size strength and toughness. They are equal shotblockers.

Offensively they both a great passing bigs. Noah is a better ball handler for a big man. Gasol is much much much better at scoring though.

Marc Gasol is the better play and is more well rounded.

I'd rather have Noah on my team though because he is a high energy, mobile athletic, rebounder Center that the Knicks need. He'd be the perfect type of center for this team if he could hit a 15 foot jumper consistently.

[ahonui06]

Marc Gasol because he actually has offensive skill while also providing protection for the rim and rebounding almost as well (sometimes better) as Noah.............

WHAT???? In what world does Gasol protect the rim or rebound as well as Noah?

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.

Blocks and steals aren't a good end all measure to defense. Derrick Rose got more blocks this year than Lebron. Do you think he's a better defender? Noah protects the rim and is the best big man defender on the perimeter in the league. It's a big reason the Bulls are able to switch on screens with him on the perimeter. There's not a big drop off in it. And Gasol is nowhere near as good a rebounder as Noah. Don't give me a 13 game sample as evidence. Noah has a significant edge in that department. Before the injury he was almost averaging twice as many rebuonds as Gasol.

I also find it interesting that Gasol's "significant offensive edge" results in the same PPG and nearly the same efficiency.

Gasol averages 12.6PPG for his career while Noah is at 8.5PPG.

In Gasol's first playoffs this year he averaged 15.1PPG while Noah's average is 10.1PPG with career high of 14.8PPG in 2010.

Efficiency wise, Gasol has TS% of 59.6% and eFG% of 54.6 while Noah has TS% of 56.7% and 51.6eFG%. That's a 3% difference in both categories. In the playoffs, Gasol has a TS% of 56.3% and 51.1eFG% while Noah has a TS% of 52.6% and an eFG% of 46.1%. A difference of 4-5%. Their efficiency isn't nearly the same.

As I mentioned earlier, I agree with you that Noah is the better rebounder. However, Gasol has more size and is just as adequate at protecting the rim as Noah.

The offensive advantage for Gasol is what sets them apart.

[jax98]

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.

[Sunk Cost]

Marc Gasol because he actually has offensive skill while also providing protection for the rim and rebounding almost as well (sometimes better) as Noah.............

WHAT???? In what world does Gasol protect the rim or rebound as well as Noah?

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.

Blocks and steals aren't a good end all measure to defense. Derrick Rose got more blocks this year than Lebron. Do you think he's a better defender? Noah protects the rim and is the best big man defender on the perimeter in the league. It's a big reason the Bulls are able to switch on screens with him on the perimeter. There's not a big drop off in it. And Gasol is nowhere near as good a rebounder as Noah. Don't give me a 13 game sample as evidence. Noah has a significant edge in that department. Before the injury he was almost averaging twice as many rebuonds as Gasol.

I also find it interesting that Gasol's "significant offensive edge" results in the same PPG and nearly the same efficiency.

Gasol averages 12.6PPG for his career while Noah is at 8.5PPG.

In Gasol's first playoffs this year he averaged 15.1PPG while Noah's average is 10.1PPG with career high of 14.8PPG in 2010.

Efficiency wise, Gasol has TS% of 59.6% and eFG% of 54.6 while Noah has TS% of 56.7% and 51.6eFG%. That's a 3% difference in both categories. In the playoffs, Gasol has a TS% of 56.3% and 51.1eFG% while Noah has a TS% of 52.6% and an eFG% of 46.1%. A difference of 4-5%. Their efficiency isn't nearly the same.

As I mentioned earlier, I agree with you that Noah is the better rebounder. However, Gasol has more size and is just as adequate at protecting the rim as Noah.

The offensive advantage for Gasol is what sets them apart.

His regular season stats do show an advantage offensively, but I still wouldn't put too much weight into those playoffs stats since Noah was playing injured for 16/28 of his games and he was improving every year otherwise

[MambaTime]

I'd go with Gasol. He's more polished offensively.

Noah is a beast on the boards, but when you have Boozer alongside of you in the frontcourt...