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Midseason NBA Player Rankings: Steph Curry vs. James Harden

By Bryce Olin

Jan 21, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) shoots the ball against the Houston Rockets during the third quarter at Oracle Arena. The Warriors won 126-113. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 21, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) shoots the ball against the Houston Rockets during the third quarter at Oracle Arena. The Warriors won 126-113. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /
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Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol (33) and Memphis Grizzlies guard Mike Conley (11) during the game against the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol (33) and Memphis Grizzlies guard Mike Conley (11) during the game against the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports /

7. Marc Gasol

19.2 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 1.7 BPG, 22.5 PER

After battling a flu-type illness that drained a lot of his energy in late December and early January, Marc Gasol is finally starting to bounce back to where he was before he got sick.

Against the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday, Gasol had his best offensive effort since Dec. 26 and scored 26 points on 56 percent shooting.

After their win against the Raptors, the Memphis Grizzlies are 30-12 and are just a half-game back of the Portland Trail Blazers for second place in the West. I’m not going to reduce the Grizzlies good first half of the season to Gasol’s play, alone, but there’s few players more valuable to their team than Gasol is to Memphis.

The addition of Jeff Green and Zach Randolph’s solid play has relieved some of the pressure on Gasol. And, that’s great for the Grizzlies.

In the last few seasons, Memphis simply couldn’t score enough points to make that next step and win the Western Conference. This season might be different. I’ve got a good feeling for the Grizzlies.

Of all the team’s out West, and there are some really good ones, Memphis is going to be the toughest out, and that’s partly because of Gasol’s toughness.

Next: Blake Griffin

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