The Misunderstanding of Marc Gasol: Part 2
In Part 1, I discussed the importance and value Marc Gasol brings to the Lakers’ offense. Here in Part 2, I will examine how his defense is also an integral piece and why, despite his flaws, he brings unique value.
Like on offense, Gasol is a specialist on defense. He is not the world-beater like Anthony Davis or even the versatile Swiss Army knife like LeBron James. But, he is arguably the Lakers’ third most valuable defensive player.
Dennis Schröder and Alex Caruso certainly have credible arguments for that mantle which I won’t argue against. It just depends on your perspective. Heck, even Kyle Kuzma is having a helluva defensive season. It’s no mystery why the Lakers are by far the best defensive team in the league. According to StatMuse, they are 3 full points per 100 possessions better than the second ranked defense (New York Knicks at 108.1 vs 105.1 for LAL).
Interestingly enough, the Lakers’ defensive rating is actually much better with Gasol OFF the court (102.6) compared to Gasol on the court (106.1), which is still elite. Caruso and Kuzma have been an incredible defensive tandem who come on the court when Gasol sits and are often paired with 1-2 of LeBron, AD, and Schröder with Montrezl Harrell and possibly Talen Horton-Tucker. That usually demolishes bench lineups as opposed to the starters whom Gasol usually plays against.
Without much further to do, let’s dive into the film on Marc Gasol’s strengths and weaknesses on defense.
Defending the Ball-Handler in Space
Gasol often gets critiqued for his slow feet which is valid. He certainly can get beat by some of the craftier ball-handlers in the league. Against the Wizards, he struggled to contain Bradley Beal, the league’s leading scorer.
Gasol has to hedge high because Beal is a very good shooter off the dribble. Gasol takes a poor angle and gives up the easy drive to the rim. He is way too upright which is bad for any slow-footed player.
He probably hedged too high because of this play earlier in the game. Instead of a hard hedge, Gasol is in a drop coverage here to protect the rim and defend the entry pass to the roll man (Moe Wagner). This gives up the easy floater for the all-star starter in Beal.
However, Gasol does have great hands at protecting the rim. Against this drive, Beal gets a decent angle and gets to the rim. Cunningly, Gasol just swipes the ball out of Beal’s hands despite barely jumping over a piece of paper.
Marc’s intelligence and anticipation are what made him the defensive player of the year back in 2013. He is so big and long with great hands so he can bait offensive players into taking shots they think are good looks.
Here, Damian Lillard gets a ball-screen from Enes Kanter and Gasol is in a bit of a drop coverage. Lillard annihilates these coverages because it allows jumpers off the dribble, which Dame is elite at. While he gets a decent look, Gasol with his size and length is still able to close and contest the shot.
Is this perfect defense? No. Dame can make this shot. But, Gasol still gets a pretty good contest. The same applies to the clip below against Donovan Mitchell who thinks he has a good look at an elbow jumper. Again, while not an ideal contest, Gasol still closes out well.
Plays like these are why Gasol is a better defender in space against a ball-handler than he gets credit for. Sure, he can be slow-footed and can get beat, but he is not incompetent.
Defending the Roll-Man and Rotating
Gasol’s positioning in PNR defense is really excellent. Even when he is not directly guarding the ball, he does the fundamentals to close out the possession to get the stop.
Here, Gasol hedges well to contain Lillard who then skips the ball to Gary Trent for the 3. Gasol quickly sprints (by his standards 😅) to box out Enes Kanter, an elite offensive rebounder, which allows Caruso to rebound the ball and secure the stop.
Plays like these for Gasol do not show up in the box score, but are still insanely valuable. He does an excellent job containing rollers. Below, he cuts off the passing lane to Kanter when he rolls and then puts himself in position to secure the rebound to end the possession.
Speaking of cutting off passing lanes, this is also where Gasol thrives. When the ball-handler tries to test him, he is great at creating deflections.
Below, Marc plays a great chess match against his former teammate, Mike Conley, who attacks in the PNR. After putting KCP in jail, Conley tries to read Gasol to decide whether to shoot the floater or dump it to Rudy Gobert. Conley’s indecisiveness allows Gasol to get his hands in the cookie jar and create a deflection. Unluckily for the Lakers, the ball happens to bounce off KCP and into Gobert’s hands for the easy dunk.
Deflections like these are why Gasol averages 0.9 steals per 36 minutes, which is excellent for a center. He has some of the best defensive hands for a Laker since Ron Artest, aka Metta World Peace. Below, he baits Conley into thinking Gobert has an easy lob. Gasol gets his paws on it using his length and throws an absolute dime of an outlet pass.
What Gasol lacks in athleticism he makes up for in smarts, size, and anticipation. Sure, supreme athletes and dynamic scorers can bother him, but he is still a plus at defending in space which will help in the playoffs.
Rim Protection
Gasol is a terrific shot-blocker. This season, he is averaging 1.3 blocks per game and 2.3 blocks per 36 minutes (best on the team which includes Anthony Davis at 2.0). Last season, Javale McGee averaged 1.4 blocks per game and 3.0 blocks per 36 minutes and Dwight Howard averaged 1.1 blocks per game and 2.2 blocks per 36 minutes. While he is not in that same athletic mold, Gasol makes up for it with excellent hands and anticipation.
Like his PNR defense, Gasol usually puts himself in a solid position to protect the rim. Caruso does a phenomenal job harassing Dame forcing him into the help. Gasol keeps his base and just puts his hands up to get the block.
Gasol just stays his ground. He doesn’t bite on a lot of pump fakes. Below is another example of how his verticality can disrupt a shot at the rim without registering a block.
This play is probably a perfect summation of Gasol’s strength and weakness on defensive. He is in great position to force Mitchell’s miss at the rim.
However, Mitchell is a terrific athlete and uses that Shawn Marion-like second jump to keep the basketball alive. Gasol slowly gets back into the play while the defense is scrambling. He probably should’ve sprinted to closeout on Bojan Bogdanovic because he had the best angle. He doesn’t and allows a wide open 3. He’s just too slow and not good enough of an athlete to get there.
Summary
Marc Gasol has his flaws on defense and is not perfect, especially at age 35. He is a below average athlete which limits what he can do. But, he is still a positive contributor on that end of the floor. You do not have the best defense in basketball with a weak link. He is often in good position, creates a lot of deflections, and does the intangibles you don’t see on the stat sheet.
I hope you enjoyed both parts of my series on Marc Gasol. He is truly a unique player. He is the type that you appreciate more when you go back and rewatch the film. I hope to bring more in-depth content like this in the immediate future. To stay updated, please subscribe. Thank you and I’ll see you next time!
(All stats via NBA.com)
