Gasol vs. Horford?

[Popeye]

Put this one to bed, once and for all!!!

Gasol (Marc) is a terrible player! I realy don't know where do you dig these ideas from?????

Marc plays on Spanish national team only because of his bro Pau, whose been dragging his sorry *ss throughout his career!

Sometimes I think you must be joking, but this is too much...

I don't even feel like elaborating on this subject! But in few words, I've seen Gasol in so many games in Europe and with Memphis... Horford is better center (in his soph year) then Gasol is ever going to be! He's soft, doesn't play D... He was simply a little lucky to play on a terible team, where he had the chance... In such circumstances Al would have averaged 15 and 10 easily, with good D and good pcts, plus Grizz would have won at least 5 more games!

Marc Gasol is soft? Did you watch the Spain - Usa game? Marc Gasol was pushing Dwight out of paint with ease.... That's one thing he is not... Pls if you never watched the guy play, don't make some nonsense up...

[T21]

Marc Gasol is soft? Did you watch the Spain - Usa game? Marc Gasol was pushing Dwight out of paint with ease.... That's one thing he is not... Pls if you never watched the guy play, don't make some nonsense up...

Dear Popeye, I know very well what I'm saying... and I'll repeat it for you anytime, Marc Gasol is soft and terrible defensive player!

P.S. I understand that you may have fallen in love with the Spaniard, but one game where 300 pound yetti had a push or two (extra motivation against USA) doesn't make him Evander Hollyfield!

[buckeye242424]

Trading Al Horford for Marc Gasol would be giving up on this team. if you do this might as well trade JJ/Smoove/etc.

I was reading a column from Bill Simmons:

The best thing about basketball -- really, the single best thing, what I miss over everything else combined -- is the interaction between players. I spent hundreds and hundreds of hours playing pickup in college; to this day, I can rattle off an extended list of everyone I loved playing with. Basketball is about connections. You connect with teammates, reach an advanced form of ESP with them, start moving in rhythm, and then it's magic. The more you play with someone, the better you know them. Same goes for opponents. Play with someone enough and you learn every head fake, every stutter step, everything. I played with my buddy Bish so many times in high school that we just started swallowing up each other's favored moves. That's basketball. It's like chess crossed with ballet.

Horf's personality and positive attitude, winning mentality is important to this team. He is the "glue". His demeanor is a positive influence on a team that lacks this type of leadership.

[tbhawksfan]

Got to get more from Memphis. They have #27. Would that pick even things a bit. I still don't do it.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

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I remember that game. That was the same night in which I think JJ dropped 40 on the Bulls. I remember that game because I thought the Hawks-Bulls game was going to be shown on SportSouth, but they showed the Spurs-Grizzlies game. Luckily, the Hawks game was on WGN. ( In Tennessee, we get most, but not all of the Hawks games on SportSouth . . and maybe 1 - 3 Hawks games when they show them on FSN South ) I was flipping back and forth in between commercial breaks of the Hawks game, to watch the Spurs.

Having said that, Gasol is NOT a bad player at all. He's MUCH BETTER than Zaza. Not even close, in my opinion. And I watched about 15 Memphis games last year. I wouldn't trade Horford for Gasol, but I'm not sure if many Memphis fans would trade Gasol for Horford right now either.

I haven't read the rest of this thread yet, but I'll just throw out some comparative numbers, via 82games.com

Jumpshot percentage

- Horford: 40.8% eFG

- Gasol: 40.3% eFG

Inside percentage

- Horford: 67.4%

- Gasol: 62.1%

Free Throw Percentage

- Horford: 72.7%

- Gasol: 73.3%

Ability to draw a foul on shot

- Horford: 14.5%

- Gasol: 20.4%

Passing Rating

- Horford: 3.6

- Gasol: 3.3

Rebound Rating

- Horford: 29.4

- Gasol: 27.4

Shot Blocking Rating

- Horford: 5.6

- Gasol: 5.5

Turnovers and Ball Handling ( higher rating is better )

- Horford: 10.2

- Gasol: 8.4

Best game of last season:

- Horford: 27 pts - 17 rebs - 6 blks ( Horford also had a 21pt/22reb game last year )

- Gasol: 27 pts - 16 rebs - 3 blks ( Gasol also had a 30pt/13reb game last year )

So like I said, I'm not sure if Memphis fans would jump all over a Horford - Gasol trade. Marc Gasol is a very solid player, just as Al is.

Edited May 30, 2009 by northcyde

[TheNorthCydeRises]

The one distinct advantage that Horford does have over Gasol, is in the speed department. With Horford at center, it does give us the ability to really get out and run, with our bigs filling the lanes. Al finishing on the fast break, from the center position, is a lovely thing to see.

People have to remember that the Al Horford we saw in most of the playoffs, is not the REAL AL HORFORD. That ankle injury killed his effectiveness, and killed us as a team. Come next year, he'll be that near double-double guy every night, that he's always has been.