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NBA Awards Watch: James Harden vs. Stephen Curry For MVP

By Gerald Bourguet

Dec 6, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden (13) drives the ball on a fast break during the first quarter against the Golden State Warriors at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 6, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden (13) drives the ball on a fast break during the first quarter against the Golden State Warriors at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 25, 2015; Memphis, TN, USA; Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol (33) drives against Cleveland Cavaliers forward Tristan Thompson (13) as guard Kyrie Irving (2) looks on at FedExForum. Cleveland defeated Memphis 111-89. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports /

8. Marc Gasol

74 games, 33.5 MPG, 17.5 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 3.8 APG, 1.6 BPG, .490/—/.808 shooting, 21.5 PER

Last week: 7 (⇓‡“1)

The Memphis Grizzlies are certainly picking an interesting way to enter into the playoffs (sleepwalking). They’ve lost seven of their last 14 games, they hold a meager half-game lead over the Houston Rockets for the second seed in the Western Conference and at the moment, they’re alarmingly close to a nightmarish first round matchup with the San Antonio Spurs.

Remember back in 2011, when the eighth-seeded Grizzlies upset the No. 1 Spurs in the first round of the playoffs? This wouldn’t be quite as historic, but my, how the tables are turning. The shooting struggles of Mike Conley, Courtney Lee and Vince Carter are evident, but Memphis’ hopes of contending really depend on Marc Gasol.

Big Spain has been downright passive for large stretches of games lately. He failed to score 20 points in any of his four games over the last week, his team went 1-3 over that stretch and the leader of the Grizz really can’t afford to disappear once the playoffs start. Gasol and his team have a few more weeks to get their season back on track, but their recent struggles have reached jersey-ripping levels of frustration:

Next: No. 7 - LMA