Memphis Grizzlies: 2017-18 player grades for Marc Gasol

Strengths

Mike Conley‘s injury makes analyzing Gasol more challenging. When Big Spain shared the floor with Conley, his effective field goal percentage, rebound rate and shooting around the basket all were better. When Conley played, Gasol got to play more like vintage Gasol; moving around in the paint and restricted area while moving the pawns of the Grizzlies offense.

Conley is the best pocket passer on Memphis’ roster. He and Gasol have tremendous pick-and-roll chemistry. Gasol went from a pawn mover and basket-attacker to a more generic shot creator without him. These types of looks were always there for Gasol in the 12 games Conley played:

So Marc still had some of his pep and talent when he played with Conley on offense.

Defensively, Marc Gasol was his normal self. He is the quarterback of the Grizz scheme, calling out all the actions and pointing out where to be. He posted a positive defensive box plus minus again this season, and his defense will always be one of hits strengths so long as he remains a cerebral player.

His rebounds and blocks per 36 minutes were up from the last two seasons too. Gasol can still do the dirty work on D even without useful teammates.

Gasol’s strengths are still there, they are just different without Conley. Let’s talk more about that…