By Michael Wallace
Grind City Media
PORTLAND – Stretching Marc Gasol outside the boundaries of his comfort zone has been a season-long, team-wide operation for the Grizzlies.
The 32-year-old center has extended his shooting range beyond the three-point line for the first time and is producing the most prolific numbers of his career in that department. Having been appointed the Grizzlies’ sole captain by first-year coach David Fizdale, Gasol has been essentially forced to find his voice as a leader among a stubborn and prideful cast of veteran teammates.
But the one thing that’s taken Gasol the longest to adapt to this season has been the Grizzlies’ collective push to keep the NBA’s most versatile center aggressively establishing his offense.
Fizdale has even tried reverse psychology in recent days and criticized Gasol for being selfishly unselfish. Point guard Mike Conley, the only player on the roster who has been in Memphis longer than Gasol, insists he’s constantly in Big Spain’s ear pleading for him to keep shooting and stop fretting.
Apparently, it’s starting to sink in.
“If that’s what we need, then that’s what I’m going to try to do every game,” Gasol concedes. “Obviously, it’s going to require a different mindset. But I think the last few games, I’ve been trying to do that a little bit more. And I’m going to keep doing it.”
The Grizzlies (27-20) will need Gasol to maintain that selfishness as they embark on a season-long, six-game road trip that starts Friday in Portland and continues Saturday at Utah. Gasol, who earned his third All-Star selection on Thursday, is in the midst of the biggest scoring binge of his nine-year career. Having scored a career-high 42 points in Wednesday’s victory over Toronto, Gasol has amassed 154 points the past five games to set a franchise total scoring record for a five-game span.
Marc Gasol reacts to being selected as an NBA All-Star for the 3rd time in his career.
During that stretch, Gasol has averaged 30.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.4 blocks while shooting 53.5 percent from the field and 41.4 percent on threes in 37.4 minutes. It hasn’t yet proved to be a formula for overall team success, with Memphis just 2-3 in those five games. But what’s clear is that Gasol has gotten back to the MVP-level form he showed earlier this season when injuries and other issues thrust him into a go-to role while playing alongside rookies and first-year rotation guys.
It was back in late November and early December when Gasol went on a similar tear as the Grizzlies went 7-2 while key veterans in Conley, Zach Randolph, Vince Carter, James Ennis and Chandler Parsons were sidelined. Gasol has been more erratic and the Grizzlies have been largely inconsistent since the team has gotten closer to full strength.
But teammates have seen a different approach from Gasol in the last two weeks. He’s taken 25, 20, 19, 16 and 21 shots from the field the past five games. The out-of-body experience came Wednesday, when Gasol scored the Grizzlies’ first 16 points on the way to a 101-99 win against the Raptors.
It’s taken a team-wide effort to ensure Gasol stays unselfishly selfish.
“It’s a big part of our job to keep him motivated to score,” Conley said. “He’s the best all-around big in the league, and he can do everything. So we want him to go out there and look for his shot first, then make plays second. If you keep giving him positive reinforcement, just constantly making him aware that I don’t care if I only shoot four times or finish with seven or 10 points. I’m constantly telling him, ‘If you’re hot, just keep shooting and shooting and shooting. We’re playing through you. And that’s fine.’”
Conley believes Gasol still isn’t completely comfortable with his recent uptick in offense.
“But you have to make him understand this is what we need from him,” Conley said. “Don’t worry about us. Don’t worry about me. Don’t worry about Zach. Don’t worry about anyone needing touches just so they can feel like they’re involved on offense at any point. I think he’s seeing that.”
It’s also a message Gasol is frequently hearing from the coaching staff.
“We’re trying to build a habit,” Fizdale said. “So it’s constantly just reinforcing what I want, reminding him to stay aggressive, because when that’s not a guy’s nature, they tend to drift back to the unselfishness. So we just show him the film and encourage him to keep playing with reckless abandon. He knows good shots from bad shots. I don’t worry about him just jacking stuff up. I just want him to think ‘score’ and that will open everything else up for us.”
Fizdale said he’s also calling plays more often for Gasol to get early looks from the outset of the games. If Gasol takes pride in any part of this resurgence, it’s with how his body has responded through the midpoint of the schedule coming off season-ending foot surgery last February.
“It’s good that my legs feel good and my rhythm feels good,” Gasol said. “I’m in a very good place. I’m able to take a lot more of a load on my legs than I have in the past. That gives me confidence to know my body will take anything that I try to do. It’s getting better and better as we go through the season.”
HEALTH REPORT
Chandler Parsons (knee) and JaMychal Green (knee) both missed Wednesday’s game against Toronto but are listed as probable to play in Portland. Both went through shootaround Friday morning and Fizdale said he expects his starting forwards to be back in the lineup. Troy Daniels (knee) missed the past two games but also went through parts of Friday’s shootaround and remains questionable. Brandan Wright (ankle) is out but is progressing through conditioning workouts and remains hopeful to make his season debut during the six-game trip.
NUMBERS WATCH
2007. The Grizzlies start their longest trip of the season Friday and will remain on the road over the course of 10 days, which also includes stops in Utah, Phoenix, Denver, Oklahoma City and Minnesota. That’s four time-zone changes along the way. It’s Memphis’ longest trip since March 2007.
KEEP AN EYE ON
Tony Allen. Although it’s been relatively quiet and peaceful on the social media front for Allen in recent days, the Grizzlies’ perimeter defensive stalwart certainly won’t go unnoticed on the court against the Blazers. Portland boasts one of the highest-scoring backcourt tandems in the league in Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum, who nearly average a combined 50 points and 10 assists. Add to the equation that both were snubbed when coaches selected All-Star reserves, and that provides even more motivation to come out with a vengeance. Allen got himself back on track in the win on Wednesday, when he finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds after he went scoreless the previous game against Houston. The Grizzlies will need Allen’s disruptive energy to spearhead the collective effort it will take to contain the Blazers’ duo.
GRIZZ-TAKE
Conley on missing out on the All-Star game selection process once again – It’s another year with the same result. But for me, it’s the same motivation every year. I continue to believe that I’ll be an All-Star. I’ll continue to put myself in position to be let down because I believe so much. But this makes me better and a stronger person. I’m thankful to be in this situation.
The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Memphis Grizzlies. All opinions expressed by Michael Wallace are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Memphis Grizzlies or its Basketball Operations staff, owners, parent companies, partners or sponsors. His sources are not known to the Memphis Grizzlies and he has no special access to information beyond the access and privileges that go along with being an NBA accredited member of the media.