As one of the premier two-way big men in the NBA, Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol has high standards for himself. That includes personal success as well as helping Memphis rack up wins in an unforgiving Western Conference, something he and point guard Mike Conley have excelled at in recent years.
This season though, the Grizzlies sit at the 12th seed out West with a lowly 7-12 record. As if the porous record wasn’t enough, the Grizz also lost Conley indefinitely as he works to recover from a troublesome sore Achilles tendon. With their floor general out for an extended period of time, a lot of the offensive responsibilities now fall on Gasol, who is an adept scorer and creator from that 5 spot.
However, those abilities can’t be utilized if he doesn’t play during the most crucial stretch of a ball game, something we saw just last night for some reason. Gasol, clearly the best player on Memphis, was benched for the entirety of the 4th quarter during Sunday’s 98-88 loss to the Brooklyn Nets. Understandably, Gasol had some things to get off his chest following the benching and bad loss.
Marc Gasol: "If I start venting, that would be counterproductive. But at the end of the day, I'm as competitive as anybody. I hate not playing, that's what I value most. If I'm not out there, I'm not valued. I'm sure they knew that would hurt me the most."
— Peter Edmiston (@peteredmiston) November 27, 2017
More Gasol: "I mean, anyone wouldn't like it, right? You don't put Mike back in? I'm sure they wouldn't do it to Mike. I don't know. It's just the way it is. You have to deal with it. But I'm not just gonna lay down and take it."
— Peter Edmiston (@peteredmiston) November 27, 2017
Gasol had posted 18 points and 5 rebounds in the first 3 quarters of action prior to the unusual benching. There’s no doubt Gasol is frustrated about what transpired last night as he should be. Though players such as Mario Chalmers and the rejuvenated Tyreke Evans have helped absorb the loss of Conley, Gasol is still the lifeline of this Grizzlies team, especially with their point guard out.
Whether this was an outlying occasion or something deeper, Marc Gasol and head coach David Fizdale need to get themselves on the same page soon, as this Grizzlies team appears to be sinking fast.
