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Memphis Grizzlies: The Impact Of Marc Gasol’s Season-Ending Injury

By Gerald Bourguet

Feb 8, 2016; Memphis, TN, USA; Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol (33) walks off the court after the first half against the Portland Trail Blazers at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 8, 2016; Memphis, TN, USA; Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol (33) walks off the court after the first half against the Portland Trail Blazers at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports /
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Memphis Grizzlies
Jan 2, 2016; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol (33) leaves the court after the game against the Utah Jazz at Vivint Smart Home Arena. The Jazz won 92-87 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports /

Big Spain’s Road To Recovery

Before we start diving into all the possible ramifications of this season-ending injury, it’s important to address what it means for Marc Gasol himself. Obviously it’s frustrating to be deprived of the chance to lead your team and prove the critics wrong that the grit-n-grind era was just one fortuitous break away from entering championship territory, but the sting goes deeper after he just re-signed that max contract with Memphis last summer.

Though Big Spain might not have any regrets about his decision to remain loyal to the Grizz, and though he’s expected to make a full recovery, there’s no doubt this injury casts a shadow of doubt on the future of the franchise.

After all, this is the kind of foot injury that requires screws being inserted, and we’ve seen both successful (Michael Jordan) and wildly unsuccessful (Yao Ming) examples of star players coming back from this exact same surgery. The gentle reminder that Gasol has been a step slow this season at age 31 years old does little to reassure fans that he’ll ever regain All-Star form.

Not that long ago, Gasol was an elite center. He won the Defensive Player of the Year Award for the 2012-13 season and he was First Team All-NBA last season as the indisputable best player on the Grizzlies.

But even if he’s still the team’s best player, his reputation as its defensive anchor may have been slightly exaggerated this season, due in no small part to massive early season losses at the hands of the Warriors, Cleveland Cavaliers, Portland Trail Blazers, San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder that skewed the team’s overall defensive numbers.

The Grizzlies currently rank 15th in defensive rating, surrendering 102.9 points per 100 possessions. They’re also giving up 44.5 percent shooting from the floor (15th) and 35.9 percent shooting from three-point range (20th) to the opposition. Believe it or not, Memphis’ defense has actually been (ever so slightly) better with Big Spain off the floor:

You can obviously expect those numbers to regress back to the norm and reflect Gasol’s defensive importance now that he’s done for the season, but his absence for the regular season and playoffs — if the Grizzlies even make it that far — puts this team’s ceiling at a first round playoff exit.

With no timetable for his return, Big Spain will miss the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro for Team Spain and, depending on how long his recovery process takes, may even be late to return for the start of the 2016-17 season. Gasol earned every penny he signed on for last summer, but the timing of this injury — right before one of the biggest offseasons in franchise history — could not be worse.

Next: No Incentive To Tank

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