Defending Marc Gasol from Los Angeles Lakers fans
Marc Gasol is still valuable for the Los Angeles Lakers no matter how much he gets criticized
The Los Angeles Lakers fanbase would stop hating on Marc Gasol if they only listened to LeBron James and not to Skip Bayless. Skip’s tweet on Gasol sounds a lot like what many Lakers fans are saying right now.
As I said before the season, the Lakers are going to miss Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee. Ground-bound Gasol moves glacially now. Strikes fear in no foe. Only paint he can command now would be a can of Sherwin Williams.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) February 5, 2021
Has anyone ever thought most Lakers fans would be agreeing with Skip Bayless right now? The same Skip Bayless who always hates on LeBron and the Lakers?
Yes, it has gotten this far. Skip Bayless is wrong though. Gasol’s demise has been greatly exaggerated.
Why the numbers say Marc Gasol is not a defensive liability for the Los Angeles Lakers:
The Lakers rank first in defensive rating and points allowed per game. Marc Gasol has started all 25 games this season, so it is fair to say he plays a part in that great defense. Per Basketball-Reference, Gasol ranks fifth in individual defensive rating while Anthony Davis ranks second and Montrezl Harrell ranks eighth.
In other words, Marc Gasol is rated as the fifth-best defender in the NBA. As much as I love Gasol, that is too good to be true. Defensive rating is not the most reliable metric because it does not take into account an individual player’s contributions to the team’s defense. It also skews very heavily towards big men because it takes rebounds and blocked shots into consideration.
Defensive win shares are a better metric to use because it tracks how a player’s defense leads to the team winning games. The formula is way too complex to explain here, but it all adds up because all-time greats Bill Russell and Tim Duncan rank first and second in all-time defensive win shares, respectively.
This season, Gasol ranks twenty-first out of hundreds of players in the entire NBA in defensive win shares. To suggest Gasol is a defensive liability is simply not true.