Marc Gasol
In the last 15 games, Marc Gasol has really made his impact felt for the Toronto Raptors. This week, Gasol went one step further to prove his value to the team.
Gasol averaged 10 points, 6.5 rebounds, and five assists on 54-percent true shooting. While his overall field goal percentage was poor, Gasol made up for it from three-point range, shooting 50-percent on 3.5 attempts per game.
As a center that is a 35-percent three-point shooter, Gasol hadn’t been taking too many threes since joining the Raptors. Big Burrito has only averaged two threes per game since joining the Raptors, but the past few weeks, he’s looked to change that. Gasol is too good of a shooter from the great beyond to not use that strength.
Defensively, Gasol has added another dimension to the team. The Raptors have a net rating of 37.5 when he’s been on the court this week, with a defensive rating of 92.6. He held his opponents to 42-percent from the field across the four games, matching up with Jarrett Allen, as well as Nikola Vucevic, who had 10 points against Gasol on 37 possessions.
As a facilitator, Gasol is as good as they come. He had two games with six assists this week, coming against the Bulls and the Nets. His ability to see the court, whether he’s passing out of the post or dishing out dimes at the top of the key, only one center is averaging more assists than Gasol this year, and that’s Nikola Jokic.
Gasol is finding his stride with the team at the perfect time, the playoffs are nearing and having a player of his quality on the court can only benefit the Raptors.