Locker Room Access: How Marc Gasol unleashed his inner Curry
Of all the accolades you could shower Marc Gasol with over the first eight years of his career - All-NBA center, two-time All-Star, Defensive Player of the Year - "great shooter" wasn't one of them.
How quickly things change.
The 7-foot-1 Spaniard - who made just 12-of-66 3-point attempts through 569 career games entering this season - has gone 29-of-67 from deep through the campaign's first 19 games.
In fact, of the 95 players who had attempted at least 60 3-point attempts going into Thursday, Gasol's 42.2 percent conversion rate ranked 14th, just ahead of a fellow by the name of Steph Curry.
Gasol hasn't just added the long-range threat to his arsenal - he's evolved into one of the NBA's best 3-point shooters, seemingly overnight, without sacrificing the overall game that's made him one of the league's premier two-way forces when healthy.
"He's the best post player in the NBA. He can do everything," Grizzlies guard Andrew Harrison said of Gasol Wednesday in Toronto. "When he starts making threes, he's literally unstoppable."
Here's what Gasol and Grizzlies' first-year head coach David Fizdale had to say about the big man's evolution.
Making it look easy
Marc Gasol: You work at it (3-pointers), you get comfortable with it, and you keep going. Obviously when it goes in, you see the effect it has on other teams (defensively). You also don't want to fall in love with it, because that takes away from your aggression, and paint touches, so you want to mix it up (Gasol's paint touches are down from five per game to 3.5 year over year, despite his total touches rising from 68.2 per game to 71.7).
Depending on the moment, you want to step outside, then you want to go inside. You've got to keep mixing it up so that you keep the defense on their heels.
Exactly what his new coach envisioned
David Fizdale: When we first discussed it, my whole vision for him was to be not just a guy shooting threes, but a shooter. I wanted to challenge him to shoot more threes than he's ever shot before. He's answered that challenge while still maintaining a potent post-up game.
On pushing Gasol to let it fly
Fizdale: There were times I actually had to tell him to stop passing up shots, just in general, because he's an unselfish player. He was always trying to get other guys involved and move the ball, but I want him to be a little bit greedy when it comes to getting an open look, take it. He's so efficient. We know that he's still going to make the right pass when we need it.
What convinced Fizdale this was possible
Fizdale: He was already a great long-range shooter (Gasol's mid-range efficiency of 43.4% last season was just shy of savants like Al Horford and LaMarcus Aldridge), so why not open up the ceiling for him and develop him as a player? I really believe that a guy can always get better at something, and I thought that if he got better at that, it would affect Mike Conley's game in a positive way. Because Marc's bought into that, because Z-Bo's bought into it, Mike Conley's been having his best year.
How Gasol's shooting helps Grizzlies' guards
Fizdale: It pulls a shot-blocker away from the rim. Once that shot-blocker has to make a decision on whether to stop Conley at the rim or give up an open three, that's a tough position to put a five-man in (Conley's actually shooting worse than he ever has within three feet of the rim, but his restricted-area-shooting does improve with Gasol on the court, jumping from 50 percent to 51.1 percent).
Harrison: As good as he is, everyone (on the opposing team) has an eye on him and always needs to know where he is. That makes it easier on everybody.
Gasol: I don't care who I'm helping. I want to win. If the coaches think we have a better chance to win playing this way, I'll do it. Everything is great, but you've got to win basketball games. The way we always played, we always won 50-55 games. That's proven. This, we're trying to prove now.
Adapt or die
Gasol: Obviously the big guys don't want to leave me (unguarded), because I've been able to shoot it pretty efficiently. You can see they're adjusting to that, so now we have to make another adjustment. That's how you get better - adjusting to the things that they're trying to do to you as a team. The NBA is unforgiving. You have to keep adjusting. You have to learn on the fly. You can't plan to just keep going your way.
Fizdale: That's where the bigs are going now. You look at these young guys - (Joel) Embiid and all these guys, Karl-Anthony Towns - these guys can shoot the three, still protect the rim, and guard and switch defensively. The position of the five-man is really evolving.
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