Marc Gasol has lost significant time this season due to injury, but the Toronto Raptors can trust him to be healthy in the postseason.
Marc Gasol can be trusted by the Toronto Raptors to stay healthy during the 2020 postseason. At the moment, Gasol is recuperating from a recurring hamstring injury that in total has seen him miss 21 games, as he has played and started just 35 of Toronto’s 56 games this season.
Splitting the center duties with Serge Ibaka when healthy, Gasol has been an integral last line of defense for an outstanding Toronto Raptors unit. His positioning, ability to alter shots and rebounding make this former defensive player of the year invaluable to the success of the Raptors’ defensive schemes.
Offensively, Gasol does not provide much in the way of scoring, averaging 7.8 points per game. However, Gasol is a great passer out of the center position and can space the floor by making 40 percent of the three-point attempts he takes.
The team has managed to amass a 41-15 record due to depth and despite a myriad of injuries. The roster is flawed as the Raptors lack size at the center and power forward positions. Therefore, if Gasol or Ibaka were to miss a significant number of games at the wrong time, the Raptors 2019/20 campaign could be derailed prematurely.
Chris Boucher has done a nice job of filling in at the center position when called upon. However, at 6-foot-9 and just 200 pounds, where Boucher electrifies with athleticism and energy some nights he will be overmatched physically.
Depth at the center position is a concern for the Raptors but Gasol staying healthy in the postseason shouldn’t be an issue until it is. Marc Gasol is a grizzled veteran who has managed the grind of the NBA for 13 years, the Raptors can manage Gasol’s minutes the rest of the season to keep him fresh for the playoffs along with his personal quest to stay healthy.
Marc Gasol has been through the NBA grind for 13 years
The Toronto Raptors can trust Marc Gasol to stay healthy through the playoffs. He has been banging his near seven-foot and 255-pound frame against NBA competition for 13 years. He started his career with Memphis in 2008 and has played in 830 NBA regular-season games. It has all added up to 27,539 minutes of playing time.
He has also played in 83 playoff games including the 24 the Raptors needed to secure the Larry O’Brien Trophy last season.
When you add up his multiple appearances for his home country Spain, including helping them win a FIBA World Cup of Basketball just months after the Raptors won the NBA title in 2019, Marc Gasol has played his fair share of basketball.
He has missed games along the way but has avoided any major injury or becoming known as injury-prone. At age 35, Gasol has likely learned a thing or two about caring for his body and staying fit. It’s unlikely he would have survived over 800 NBA games if he didn’t.
A hamstring injury can become a problem and this is Gasol’s second stint away from the roster because of it. While that is worrisome for the Raptors’ fanbase, Marc Gasol has not been ruled out for the remainder of the season. His true value to the club is measured once the postseason begins and he appears on track for that to happen.
Toronto Raptors need to manage Gasol’s minutes
Marc Gasol can be trusted to stay healthy through the postseason as the Raptors prepare to finish their final 26 regular-season games. As a 13-year NBA veteran its equally about managing your minutes as it is about quality of play.
Last season the Toronto Raptors introduced us to “load management” to help get their superstar and eventual NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard through the playoffs and secure the club’s first championship.
While “load management” seems like a fancy new thing, it’s not. At the turn of this millennium, the Los Angeles Lakers would rest star Shaquille O’Neal in the latter stages of the season on their way to a three-peat as NBA Champions. Head coach Gregg Popovich, of the San Antonio Spurs, was known to do the same for his star players like Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, and Tim Duncan.
The Raptors have 26 games left and are a sure bet to win at least half of those games meaning they will secure a fifth consecutive 50 plus win season. Defending their title is more important than seeding and staying healthy goes a long way to the potential of a successful return to the finals. A healthy Marc Gasol helps them achieve that goal.
It’s highly probable that head coach Nick Nurse eases his starting center back into the lineup slowly and limits his minutes where possible.
This should have been baked into the Raptors calculations earlier in the season as a 24 game 2019 NBA playoff run to the title and then the late summer FIBA World Cup of Basketball Championship has added a high level of wear and tear to Marc Gasol’s stamina that is taxing his durability. He simply needs rest.
Should Raptors management enter the waiver market or find an unclaimed free-agent at the veteran minimum salary they could help Gasol stay healthy. A third-string center who can play 10-12 minutes would be ideal.
Right after the February 7th, 2020 trade deadline there were reports that Charlotte might waive former Raptors’ center Bismack Biyombo. He is an energy guy who can rebound and defend and could give the Raptors another athletic big man coming off of the bench.
At basketball.realgm.com, there is a list of free-agents and, as far as centers are concerned, a quick perusal of the options includes former Raptors’ Amir Johnson and Greg Monroe (playing for Bayern Munich), Timofey Mozgov, Marcin Gortat or even Miles Plumlee.
Marc Gasol’s personal quest to stay healthy
Marc Gasol can be trusted to stay healthy through the 2020 NBA Playoff season because he takes care of his physique. At age 35, he is in shape and does the things off-court that keep a player in the mix as a starter even though he may be past his prime.
In a Wall Street Journal article published in 2015 while Gasol was still with the Memphis Grizzlies:
"Most people go to Barcelona, one of the world’s great food cities, and forget their diets. When Marc Gasol, the Memphis Grizzlies star center, was there last summer, he lost 20 pounds. Gasol stopped eating refined sugar and processed foods and cut back carbs and red meat."
While that was five years ago Gasol has a similar attitude now and understands the desire to play has to be balanced with good health. After his physically taxing summer of winning Championships for the Toronto Raptors and his country Spain, Marc Gasol, in late September, sat watching a Raptors training camp workout in Quebec before this season began.
Afterward, Gasol stated two things:
"“I’d love to be back out there.” and “I think you have to trust the medical team,” the Spanish centre said after the NBA champions went through their first training camp workout at the University of Laval. “Obviously as a player, you always want to play (because of) your competitive nature, but you have to protect yourself from yourself a little bit. Let the guys who are professionals make those decisions.”"
Marc Gasol is known as a high IQ player and that translates to picking his spots of when to play vs ego. Considering his latest injury is a recurring left hamstring issue for the second time this season, it would be foolish to ignore it or battle through it. Gasol’s value to the Toronto Raptors is much more integral once the regular-season ends.
At this stage of his career, Gasol is not playing for accolades, statistics or fame. He is on a strong contending team and it’s about winning the prize when it’s all said and done. He knows it and the team knows it. Gasol is taking all the right steps to manage his health to ensure he can do battle in 2020 as the Raptors starting center during the playoffs.