Marc Gasol injury comes at worst possible time for Grizzlies
In NBA A to Z Diaries, insiders Sam Amick and Jeff Zillgitt will provide insight, analysis and revelations from around the league in a free-flowing attempt to make sense of this 2016-17 season. The latest looks at Marc Gasol's ankle injury and how it may slow the Memphis Grizzlies big man's tremendous season.
SACRAMENTO — If Marc Gasol knows what’s good for him, he’ll spend the next few days with his ailing left ankle in the sands of Manhattan Beach and his mind in the California clouds.
The Memphis Grizzlies have been through enough this season as it is, what with point guard Mike Conley breaking his back and all while free agent addition Chandler Parsons continues to work his way back from knee problems. So the notion of losing their beloved big man after he turned his left ankle in a win over the Sacramento Kings on Saturday is simply not acceptable.
Especially considering how good he has been this season.
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For anyone sleeping on Gasol’s season amid this flurry of triple-doubles from the Russell Westbrooks and James Hardens of the NBA world, take a brief moment to appreciate what the 31-year-old center has done. Not only is he on a career-high pace in scoring (20.1 points per game) and assists (4.2), but the former Defensive Player of the Year is anchoring a defense that — yet again — is as good as they come.
The Grizzlies, who had a top 10 defense for five consecutive seasons before falling to 19th during an injury-ravaged 2015-16 campaign, are currently the top ranked defensive unit in the league (100.5) under first-year coach David Fizdale. They have now gone a league-high 177 games without allowing a triple-double — as good a sign as any that they’re simply more dominant than the rest on the defensive end.
As Gasol reminded me in a brief chat on Saturday night, that’s the stuff he cares about. Not the other nonsense about how he’s having arguably his best individual season a pro.
"I never really care about numbers," Gasol, who is day-to-day and has time to rest before a Tuesday game against the Los Angeles Lakers, told USA TODAY Sports. "To me, numbers, they’re just not important. Numbers is something easy. It’s how can you get the team to win and the result, you’ll get the numbers. If you shoot the ball enough times, you’re going to get numbers. To me, numbers is an easy way to explain something. It’s just a part of it."
Still, it’s quite clear that Fizdale has helped Gasol take his offense to a new level by extending his range.
Gasol had never taken more than 17 three-pointers in an entire season before this 2016-17 campaign, yet here he sits with a total of 117 attempts and 49 makes for a 41.9% mark that, by the way, is better than that of back-to-back MVP Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors (currently 40.3%). It is part of Fizdale’s plan to spread the floor and open up the offense, one that still needs plenty of work (Memphis is 23rd in offensive rating).
"Now, obviously when (the three-pointer) goes in, you feel more comfortable with it and you trust it more," Gasol said. "You see it working. ... You see other teams hesitant about what to do (defensively). ... It’s working, and I like it because — more than anything — it creates space for the other guys."
When healthy, Gasol and these Grizzlies are fully capable of serving up a few surprises in this coming postseason. They’re currently 22-14, with home court advantage for a first-round match-up well within reach considering how quickly the Los Angeles Clippers are falling. Conley is back, and Parsons is slowly attempting to find his way while playing on a minutes restriction (and sitting on the back end of back-to-back sets). Gasol, as always, is the man in the middle who makes it all work.
So long as he's able to stay on the floor.
Follow Sam Amick on Twitter @sam_amick.