If you missed the Memphis Grizzlies-Los Angeles Clippers game last night, for whatever reason, you missed a virtuoso performance from Marc Gasol. The Spanish big man dropped 30 points (13-18 FG) and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the Grizz to a 107-91 victory.
So how exactly was Marc Gasol so successful last night? Well funny you should ask, because I have it all broken down right here. Let’s get into it.
It’s well known by now that Gasol is a very versatile offensive player. He can score in the post or out on the perimeter, and he showed that off last night. Here’s his shooting chart, so you can see where his shots came from.
Okay, now that we’ve looked at where he scored from, let’s take a closer look at how he did it.
Marc Gasol left all alone:
On two possessions early in the game, the Clippers and DeAndre Jordan decided, for some reason, that they were going to disrespect Gasol’s mid-range game and sag way off of him. Gasol took full advantage of that mistake, drilling two easy jumpers.
Marc Gasol played close, goes straight to the basket After Gasol burned him with those two jumpers, DeAndre Jordan is forced to leave the lane and come out to the extended post to guard.
Gasol isn’t just a shooter from the outside, however, and takes advantage of the space in the lane to drive the ball right around Jordan and get to the rim. The weak help defense from the Clippers makes life easier for Gasol, but this is still impressive for a man his size to drive to the basket from 18 feet.
Gasol pick-and-pop
Next, we see Gasol’s shooting ability on display again, as he gets an easy look on a pick-and-pop opportunity. First, the Grizzlies clear out one side of the floor to give Gasol and Beno Udrih room to work.
Now, the Clippers have a few options. They can either switch, which would leave Chris Paul on Gasol–a huge mismatch. Or, they can do what they did, which is to have Jordan own the ball screen and wait for Paul to get back, at which point he will recover to Gasol. Since Gasol sets a good screen, and Paul is held up for a second, this forces Jordan to stay on Udrih for too long. By the time Paul gets back, Jordan is already to the other side of the lane. Udrih throws back to Gasol, who nails the wide open jumper. The great spacing by the Grizzlies contributes to this open shot, because none of the other Clippers are in a position to help on Gasol.
Gasol in the post
Finally, let’s look at how Gasol took the Clippers apart from the post.
First, we have Gasol bullying DeAndre Jordan and hitting a tough and-one runner. The play starts with the Grizzlies running a little back screen to try and make Gasol’s job easier. Jordan actually does a nice job fighting through it and bumping Gasol, but Gasol bullies him out of the way and gets position anyway.
Once the Grizzlies get the ball into Gasol, he surveys his options, then goes to work. Like he did earlier in the game, he faces up and tries to go right to the basket. This time Jordan does too much in trying to defend him, which leads to a foul, and an and-one after Gasol hits a crazy runner.
Next, we see an example of Gasol’s shooting ability and just overall being a problem on offense. Here, Jordan actually does a rather good job of forcing Gasol to catch the ball out away from the basket. Still, the Grizzlies do a good job spacing the floor, leaving Jordan on an island.
Gasol once again goes for the face up, and Jordan is right there with a hand in his face. Except it doesn’t matter. Gasol doesn’t really care and decides to shoot it anyway. Jordan couldn’t have played much better defense; Gasol was just on another level last night.
Last, we’ll see how Gasol took advantage of some poor defense from Big Baby Davis.
First of all, this is a mismatch. Big Baby cannot guard Gasol one-on-one. There’s no shot. The Grizzlies realize this, and so they enter the ball into Gasol on the block and clear out to give him plenty of room to go to work.
Big Baby knows he can’t guard Gasol one-on-one, so he keeps reaching, hoping that he can poke the ball away for an easy steal. Meanwhile, the Grizzlies have continued to do an exceptional job spacing the floor, giving Gasol all the time in the world to operate. Any Clipper who tries to go double on Gasol will have to go too far, leaving Gasol plenty of time to pick the open pass.
Eventually, Big Baby gets too far up the lane line. At this point, he’s no longer between Gasol and the basket, and so Gasol spins on him, driving to the basket for a nice reverse layup. Big Baby reaches, Marc Gasol teaches.
Inside, outside, wide open, or with a hand in his face, Marc Gasol destroyed the Clippers last night. He showed off his wide array of skills by knocking down jumpers, driving to the basket, and putting on a clinic in the post. All year Gasol has been doing this, and he’s a huge reason the Grizzlies have the best record in the league at 12-2.