Memphis Grizzlies: 5 goals for Marc Gasol in 2017-18

2. Let it fly

Gasol’s development into a threat from beyond the 3-point arc was one last year’s more remarkable transformations. He hit 38.8 percent of his 3.6 3-point attempts per game — a remarkable rate for a big man with no real prior experience shooting from that distance.

Gasol had attempted just 66 total triples in the eight years leading up to last season, a year in which he pulled the trigger on 268 eight of them. He proved he can hit that shot at volume. Now it’s time to up the ante.

Even with his migration beyond the 3-point stripe, Gasol still hoisted a little over three long two-point shots per game. He hit both at an identical rate. If he could cut that number in half, swapping twos for threes, and maintain his percentages, Gasol would add more than a half a point per game to his average.

That may sound trivial, but everything counts, and there are ancillary benefits to firing from deep that won’t be captured in Gasol’s scoring average as well. More 3-point attempts means more spacing, longer closeouts and greater opportunity to attack scrambling defenses. The Grizzlies need all the help they can get on offense. A few more threes from Gasol could go a long way in that regard.

We’ll set the goal at 5.0 attempts per game.