Bishop of the Abyss

Chapter 238 238. Marc Gasol shines, is he the best passing center in the league?

On February 2, local time in the United States, the 17th NBA All-Star Weekend officially began.

Every year, the All-Star is not only an entertainment for fans to feast their eyes on, but also the last carnival before each team enters the sprint stage.

During the Timberwolves period, Luke hated participating in the All-Star Weekend the most. Whether he was the All-Star Coach or the players participated in the All-Star Weekend, Luke would feel helpless.

The gold content of the All-Stars in this period is still very high, and players are proud of being selected for the All-Stars.

But as the head coach, Luke is very clear that the All-Stars can't escape it is just an entertainment game.

Instead of wasting more energy and time on the All-Star Weekend, it is better to use these few days to take a good rest so that they can perform better after the All-Star Weekend and lead the team one step closer to the championship.

This is why when Luke coached the Timberwolves, no player under him had ever participated in the dunk contest, three-point contest, or even a skill contest.

After all, everyone is an independent individual. Luke has no right to reject the All-Star Game for players, but for other games, Luke always refuses if he can, and lets the players get as much rest as possible.

Even if you come to watch the game live as a spectator during the All-Star Weekend, it is still much better than trying your best on the court.

However, the Grizzlies coached by Luke this year is an excessively young team. The three core players of the team, Paul Gasol, Kevin Martin and Gerald Wallace, are all under 30 years old.

Even the oldest Pau Gasol is only 27 years old. This age is when NBA players are full of longing for the future.

The young lineup also allows the Grizzlies to show a super competitive state this season, and every game is like a headache for opponents.

Coaching such a team makes Luke's mentality much younger, so for this year's All-Star Weekend, Luke has no plans to interfere with these young people at all, and even took the initiative to help Swift sign up for the slam dunk contest.

You know, this kind of thing is like the sun coming out from the west when it comes to Luke, which makes Lambiel, who has been with Luke for two years, surprised.

Otherwise Lambiel would not have put so much pressure on Swift before the game.

In addition to some performances on the first day of the All-Stars, the main event on the scene is the Rookie Challenge.

With the intention of putting the good show on the finale, the All-Star Game will only be played on the last day of each year, which also leads to the fact that the ratings of the All-Star Game held for three consecutive days have always been stable and will climb upwards in a curve.

For so many years, the league has also thought about ways to save the ratings of the All-Stars. From the very beginning, there was only the Rookie Challenge, and later invited many famous singers and public figures to perform. From this point of view, the league has put a lot of thought into it .

It's a pity that although a series of reforms have improved the overall ratings on the first day of the All-Stars, due to the mechanism of the Rookie Challenge, the chances of the second-year rookie team winning will be as high as 75%. Lack of interest.

It is said that the alliance is discussing the reform of the Rookie Challenge, but encountered some resistance in the middle, and no one knows how it is.

Most of the fans who are willing to come to the scene to spend tickets to watch the rookie challenge are fanatics who have bet on the bookmaker, or are loyal fans not far from the venue.

Otherwise, according to the data, most fans still choose to watch the All-Star Weekend at home through live TV broadcast, and only a small number of fans are really willing to attend the scene in person.

In this year's Rookie Challenge, from the lineup point of view, the second-year rookie team still has a crushing advantage.

Especially when No. [-] pick Oden was reimbursed for the season and didn't play a game, there were very few first-year players who could really make a move, and the only players who were considered capable of rewriting the game were Durant, Conley, with individual players like Marc Gasol

On the other hand, the depth of the second-year lineup is much more luxurious. The starting lineup is led by the last best rookie "Yellow Mamba" Roy. Enter the ranks of the league's top combat power.

Roy alone is enough for the outside world to look down on the rookies of the first grade. Even if Durant's performance has also reached the historical level, in front of Roy who is in full swing, Durant is just a scorer with excellent offensive ability That's all.

In addition, the second-year rookie team also has Aldridge, Kyle Lowry, Rondo, Gay, Millsap, Novak, Bargnani and many other outstanding players.

Even Novak, who has the worst personal data, averaged 8.1 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game, and his 44.1% three-point shooting percentage ranked third in the league, second only to his two teammates Kapono, and Mike Miller.

Judging from the rosters on both sides, the first-year team has already been labeled as a loser by the fans in advance, and even more than 60% of the fans believe that the first-year rookie team will lose by more than 20 points this year.

And those who think that the first grade can win by surprise only accounted for a poor 10.2%. This also includes individual fans of certain players, otherwise the support rate of the first grade will never reach double digits.

This was indeed the case. Once the game started, the second-year rookie team had always maintained the lead in the score. Due to the lack of offensive firepower on the first-year side, Durant had to stand up and provide firepower in many cases.

Throughout the first half, the first-year rookie team was behind the second-year team by a full 25 points. Even if Durant scored 24 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists in the first half, he still led the team without much trouble.

Apart from Kevin Durant, the only thing that surprised fans in the first half was Marc Gasol from the Grizzlies.

In half a season, Gasol has already proved to the outside world his excellent basketball IQ and defensive ability. Many people are praising Gasol for his youth and maturity, and his stability does not look like a rookie at all.

But in this Rookie Challenge, Gasol, who was calm, even sent wonderful passes for his teammates many times, sending the ball from various positions to his teammates with his hands like magic.

Marc Gasol's imaginative pass made many people think of the magnificent Kings back then, but in terms of passing imagination alone, Marc Gasol's viewing ability is even higher than that of Divac.

During the regular season, although Gasol also showed his extremely high basketball IQ to the outside world, his average assists per game ranked among the best among center players.

However, the state of Gasol in this game is different from that of the regular season. If Gasol played very steadily in the regular season, then Gasol in this game is like an inside wizard , Completing juggling coordination with teammates many times.

In the end, the whole game ended. Although the first-year rookie team lost the game without dispute, under the joint efforts of Durant and Gasol Jr., the first-year rookie team narrowed the point difference to 14 points in the final stage.

In the case of being completely unfavorable by the outside world, both Durant and Gasol have contributed to a high level of performance.

其中凯文杜兰特作为一年级队的主要得分手，全场轰下38分6篮板3助攻以及2次抢断，用接近60%的投篮命中率彰显出自己恐怖的进攻能力。

As for Gasol, he assumed the role of "inside magician" when Durant was targeted by the opponent.

Throughout the game, Gasol conquered the fans with 13 points, 5 rebounds and 16 assists, perfectly showing the outside world what an "inside magician" is.

Marc Gasol, who was born in the European League, has outstanding basic skills. In addition, he has received some systematic training under Luke. Today's Marc Gasol has become more mature than his previous life.

Although Gasol's first-year rookie team still lost the game, Gasol's personal limelight overwhelmed Lowry and Novak of the second-year rookie team.

Even though Lowry's 17 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists are excellent, but under the shocking performance of 16 assists by the center player in a single game, others are destined to be only a foil.

After the game, Kevin Durant, who also experienced a loss, took the lead in finding Gasol Jr., and while sending him a farewell hug, he also said from the bottom of his heart, "You are an excellent player. I will fight you as a teammate." It was very easy, and I hope we will have the opportunity to work together in the future.”

Durant was able to score 38 points even though he was alone and was being taken care of by the opponent. Marc Gasol's support pass can be said to be indispensable.

Durant, who switched to off-ball offense in the second half, was obviously much less stressed. Gasol was able to reach the ball many times, and sent the ball as soon as Durant had the opportunity.

No scorer would not like such a comfortable offensive environment, even Durant is no exception.

"Some people said yesterday that it was a depressing game, but today it secretly shines."

"Sure enough, you know people, know faces, but don't know your heart. You guys are really shameless."

After Durant left, Kyle Lowry jokingly patted Gasol's ass.

As Kyle Lowry said, even if the first-year rookie team loses this game, and because of Durant's outstanding performance, it is impossible for the league to share the MVP among three people.

Judging from the results, Marc Gasol seems to have gotten nothing, but from the perspective of the process, Marc Gasol can be said to shine in the audience.

"I just think I'm going to lose anyway, so it's better to relax a little bit in this game. I can only blame Kevin for being too strong in offense."

"As long as you pass the ball into his hands, it's really not difficult to get an assist."

"Damn it! I actually had a very bad premonition that Kevin would be better than Greg in the future!"

"That's Greg, the No. [-] player in the United States, a talented center that is rare in ten years. It seems that I am really crazy."

Marc Gasol rubbed his head in disbelief, and took the lead in denying his thoughts.

You know, the whole of America is now waiting for Greg Oden's comeback, especially when the same rookie Durant played an efficient personal performance. Oden's fans have begun to tear Durant's forces like mad dogs on the Internet.

If Marc Gasol's words just now come out, it is still unknown whether the outside world will think he is a lunatic, but Oden fans will definitely spit out Gasol.

After all, before Oden really debuted, no one dared to deny his potential. Even Durant, who averaged 20+ per game in his rookie season, was not enough to change the outside world's expectations for Oden.

On the contrary, the better Durant performed, the crazier Oden fans became.

They even often post some sand sculpture remarks on the Internet, "Durant, who is second in the list, has performed so well, so how scary will a healthy Oden be?"

…………

In the Rookie Challenge, Marc Gasol's 16 assists in a single game undoubtedly made headlines, and Durant even scored more than 38 points to shock the fans.

Every year in the Rookie Challenge, there are players who usher in an explosion in scoring. It is no longer shocking news to score 30 points in a single game, but 16 assists in a single game not only set a record in the history of the Rookie Challenge, but also Marc Gasol His identity is a center forward!
Although this era is no longer as barbaric as the 90s, the league's positioning of big players is still very clear, and even in the draft, there is a slogan that only big players can choose small players.

At present, NBA center players can be roughly divided into three categories. One is strong offensive and weak defensive players, similar to Al Jefferson and Hawes, who have excellent low-post footwork and offensive awareness, but are not efficient on the defensive end.

There is also a blue-collar center who is strong in defense and weak in offense. People like Daben, Perkins, Hayes and others can all be classified into this category.

And the last one is centers like Yao Ming, Howard, and O'Neal who are both offensive and defensive.

Among them, players like Jazz center Okur who have a three-point range on the offensive end and excellent defensive ability can already be called alternatives.

At least compared with other centers, Okur is like a bug.

Due to the epitome of the times, outstanding center players have always been popular in the league. Once they enter the free market, they will definitely be looted by teams.

Whether it is a blue-collar center or an offensive center, as long as he has excellent personal ability, he will not worry about getting a contract in the NBA.

However, there are so many centers in the league, but there are only a few players with support capabilities. There have been several excellent support centers in NBA history.

Whether it is the old Sabonis or Olajuwon, the coping ability of these two can be called the ceiling of the center player.

As for Chamberlain, who once won the assists king as a center, and Divac, who had good assist data during the Kings period, the two mainly benefited from the team's tactical system.

If you only talk about passing ability, there is still a certain gap between Olajuwon and Sabonis.

Especially Chamberlain, who was almost blown into God by modern fans. Although Chamberlain's physical fitness was excellent, the basketball rules of that era were not perfect.

100 points in a single game sounds scary, but if the "big shark" O'Neal is placed in Chamberlain's era, O'Neal also has the opportunity to cut such shocking statistics.

If judged according to the current rules, at least half of Chamberlain's blocks are interference balls.

The excellent assist data means that the entire team revolves around Chamberlain on the offensive end, and all shots and offenses must go through the hands of Chamberlain, which is a bit similar to Westbrook's triple-double.

In this case, it is not difficult to win the assists king as a center player.

In the 67-68 season, that was the season when Chamberlain won the assists title. That season was Chamberlain's last year playing for the Philadelphia 76ers. All the team's focus was on Chamberlain, and the average of eight assists per game was a bit bluffing. , but the moisture in it is also self-evident.

Otherwise, after joining the Lakers next season, Chamberlain will not have his assist data shrunk by half.

Gasol's excellent support ability made him the focus of the league for the first time, because everyone knows what a center with shooting range, excellent defense, and offensive support ability represents.

Adelman, who is keen on Princeton, was already crazy about Gasol's performance. After the Rookie Challenge ended, Adelman immediately posted a message on the Internet, "This is really a hair-raising personal game. Performance."

During the regular season, due to the existence of his brother Pau Gasol, there are not many opportunities for Gasol to really support the ball. To a large extent, Gasol's advantages cannot be perfectly displayed in this Grizzlies.

But this rookie challenge exposed Gasol's advantages to the public view, allowing many teams to discover the potential hidden in Gasol, and let fans discover that Gasol is not just a meat shield The center, on the contrary, is a treasure with both offense and defense.

Some fans even think that Gasol's playing style is more and more like Sabonis. As the most passing center player in the current league, the Grizzlies should increase Gasol's tactical status in the team in the second half of the season.

Let the Gasol brothers, like the Kings' Chris Webber and Divac, become the league's best passing inside combination.

(End of this chapter)