Marc Gasol: Grizzlies Darkhorse MVP Candidate?
By David Ramil
Could Marc Gasol be the Memphis Grizzlies’ darkhorse MVP candidate?
It’s easy to blast overreactions based on early returns for a season that has yet to begin for a number of teams. But following the Memphis Grizzlies’ 105-101 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night, it’s clear that Marc Gasol is at full strength and ready to lead the team once again.
Gasol has been the Grizzlies’ anchor for years now, even as the team has fallen short of their title expectations during that same span. His 32 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks make for arguably the most impressive stat line so far. Will he be able to match this level of production and be a darkhorse candidate for the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award?
Based on his career numbers, it’s difficult to make an argument in favor of this assessment. A career scoring average of 13.5 points per game is well short of the standard for most MVPs. While Gasol is a multi-faceted scorer, mixing mid-range shooting with solid footwork in the painted area, he’s never been the focal point of the offense. The Grizzlies rarely highlight any one player, instead relying on their team defense to squeeze out victories while getting the points – or sometimes falling short – from a number of players. With other players (namely Zach Randolph and Mike Conley, Jr.) at a borderline All-Star level, sharing the ball is a function of necessity. His career usage rate of 18.4 percent is nearly half of previous MVPs like Kevin Durant (33 per cent last season) and LeBron James (30.2 in 2012-13).
There hasn’t been any public assertion from Memphis’ coaching staff or front office that there’s a concerted effort to feed Gasol more this season. Rather, his strong game against the Timberwolves was an anomaly that might not be duplicated regularly.
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The challenge of winning this individual award is two-fold. A team-wide mandate to make Gasol the team’s leading scorer has to be implemented. That means less touches for Randolph, Conley and other complementary players. The team must also eclipse their past regular season success and be a top-3 seed in a brutal Western Conference for the big man to receive serious consideration.
All of this doesn’t take away the responsibility that falls on Gasol himself. He missed 33 games last year and, obviously, has to avoid any prolonged absence. His production has to also regress to a more manageable mean that would still give the Grizzlies a chance at team success; a stat line of 24 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists a game are realistic averages to consider.
Sharing the responsibility of improving as a team while sacrificing individual numbers to enable this type of gaudy production is rarely seen in the NBA. But the Grizzlies have long embodied a team-first work ethic that has helped them in the past. Learning how to bend just a little bit while Gasol handles and increased scoring load, could reap success for the individual and the franchise.