From Big Burrito to Big Spain

By Eric L. Taylor

The Memphis Grizzlies and their rabid "Whoop that trick" fan base are on cloud nine today after dispatching the OKC Thunder last night to advance to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history.  There are many contributing factors to the Grizzlies dazzling success this season (most wins in franchise history) and postseason (first WCF).  From the "addition by subtraction" Rudy Gay trade to the presence of Z-Bo on the low block to the "Grind Father" Tony Allen to the emergence of Mike Conley Jr. as one of the top point guards in the league to the steady leadership of Coach Lionel Hollins, there is no shortage of reasons why this team knocked the bark off both the Clippers and Thunder in NBA playoff action.

With all of those reasons listed above being true and important, I contest that there's no bigger reason for this magic carpet ride than the development of "Big Spain" Marc Gasol into the best center in the NBA.  That's right; I said he's the best center, better than Dwight Howard, Tyson Chandler, Brook Lopez and any other center you can name.  There are many reasons why I believe this to be true.  Gasol is the best passing center in the game.  How many times has he hit a cutting Tony Allen at the bucket for a dunk or threaded the needle on a bounce pass to Z-Bo for a layup?  When Gasol has the ball in triple threat in the high post, he's truly a "triple threat" because he can shoot over the top of the defender, put the ball on the deck for a sweeping hook across the lane or zip a pass to a teammate for an easy score.  Last night in game 5 of the Grizz/Thunder Western Conference semifinal, Gasol had a poor offensive night going into the 4th quarter.  However, that did not prevent him from hitting multiple big baskets down the stretch to save the win for the Grizzlies. 

Defensively, Gasol was named the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year this season, and advanced stats bear this out.  The Grizzlies gave up 95.4 points per 100 possessions with Gasol on the floor this season and 102.2 points per 100 possessions with him on the pine.  To the untrained eye, that may not look like a significant difference, but it is.  In addition, Coach Lionel Hollins has compared Gasol to legendary big man Bill Walton (Hollins & Walton were teammates in Portland) in regards to the way both men quarterback the defense from the center position.  Gasol is always communicating with his teammates, helping position to best defend certain players and specific plays/sets.  From film study and enhanced perception, Gasol recognizes plays quickly and barks out orders accordingly.  His help defense is superb, and he is a great defender of his own position.  Add all of this up, and it completely justifies his DPoY award.

 Now that we've completely established the greatness of Marc Gasol in 2013, let's take a trip way back.... back... back into time (Yes, that was a Blackstreet reference).  In the early '00s, I worked for the Tennessee Sports Radio Network covering high school sports, including the TSSAA boys state basketball tournament on the campus of MTSU at the Murphy Center.  The 2003 Division II Tournament featured Brentwood Academy and Freshman sensation Brandan Wright; the other heavyweight (literally) was 2003 Division II Mr. Basketball, Marc Gasol and his Lausanne Lynx.  I missed the first day of the tournament due to previously scheduled business meetings, but I made it to Murfreesboro the next day.  All of the chatter was about Corey Brewer and his eleven or so dunks in a first round loss, but I wanted to know about Marc Gasol.  I had heard so many good things about the younger brother of Memphis Grizzlies superstar Pau Gasol that I was very intrigued.  I had heard that the younger Gasol was a stronger player (than his brother) with a Hakeem-esque array of post moves to compliment his bullish strength.

When I reached my TSRN cohorts, I immediately asked about Gasol and how he looked in the opening game.  What I got in return was a look of disgust.  Per my coworker, Marc Gasol looked "pathetic".  He was "fat, out of shape", and it was "miserable to watch".  My heart immediately sank.  Could the mythical Marc Gasol be just that, a myth?  Was he more "chunk" than champ?  I would find out in the championship game vs. Brentwood Academy where BA throttled Gasol's team by a final tally of 68-49.  Here's how the game played out:  Gasol's teammates would shoot up the floor and wait for him to amble down the court.  Once he got his massively overweight frame down the court, he would post up and put up a shot.  If he missed the shot, the younger and slimmer Brandan Wright would do his best Usain Bolt by sprinting down the court and throwing down a massive dunk.  About the time he would tear down the rim, Gasol would reach halfcourt only to turn around to plod back down on the low block.  I was crestfallen and nauseated watching such a waste of seven feet.  Gasol was out of shape at the end of the season.  It was truly sad.

I only bring up the high school Marc Gasol to show how far he has come over the past 10 years.  Through hard work getting in shape, polishing his game and his experience on the Spanish national team, he has made himself into the best center in the league.  He may never wow you with his athleticism, but his skill set and smarts set him apart.  If someone would have told me during that state tournament game that in 10 years Gasol would be the best center in the league and DPoY, I would have laughed hysterically and bet my entire net worth against it.  In fact, I would have thought Wright would turn out to be the NBA superstar and Gasol the vagabond when it has turned out to be the exact opposite. 

I heard a recent interview with Gasol where he referenced his high school days, and he mentioned his opponents in Memphis used to mockingly call him the "Big Burrito".  That's when it hit me that Gasol has truly gone from Big Burrito to Big Spain.  He was overweight and an afterthought as a NBA prospect, and now he's an All-Star.  That's a life lesson.  Just because you're not great at something right now doesn't mean you can't get there through grit and grind (see what I did there?).  It sounds cheesy, but going from Big Burrito to Big Spain in any avenue of your life is a choice made daily by doing or not doing the little things to get better. 

Here's hoping Big Spain leads the Grizzlies to a Larry O'Brien Trophy.

The Chicago Bulls are the New York Knicks

I love the NBA playoffs (What a simple introductory statement).  I know I'm in the minority, but I prefer the NBA playoffs over the NFL playoffs, MLB playoffs, NCAA Tournament, UFC and basically any other sporting event you can name (other than UT football and maybe U.S. Open tennis).  There's something mesmerizing about a best-of-seven series featuring the greatest athletes in the world.

As a born and bred Tennessean, I have often been asked, "How in the world did you become a New York Knicks fan?"  Well, let me recite the story.  As a youngster, I enjoyed NBA games, but I went into the '90s without a true "favorite" team.  Just about all of my friends jumped on the Michael Jordan/Chicago Bulls bandwagon, and I didn't want to go down that road.  Jordan was clearly the best player in the world, but I didn't see the joy in rooting for that Bulls bunch.

Going into the 1992 NBA playoffs, the Chicago Bulls were the defending champions and #1 seed while the New York Knicks were the #4 seed.  In the '91 playoffs, the Bulls swept the Knicks 3-0 in the opening round in the 1-8 match up.  One year later, the teams met up in the Conference Semis, and there weren't many pundits who expected any different of a result than the beat down that had occurred the year prior.  What actually resulted was a tough, testy 4-3 series win for the Bulls.  In fact, I would argue that series was the toughest the Bulls faced in their first 3-peat.

The '91-'92 Knicks were hard-nosed and tough as nails.  They were led by Hall-of-Fame Center Patrick Ewing who played a tough, defensive brand of basketball.  Ewing's toughness was supplemented by mean, front line players in Charles Oakley, Anthony Mason and Xavier McDaniel.  At guard, the Knicks were led by Mark Jackson at the point and the up-start John Starks at the two-guard.  Starks was as volatile as any player in the history of the league.  Pat Riley coached this bunch, and Riley didn't allow his players to show any mercy (Cobra Kai style).  The volatility, passion and lunch pail mentality are what drew me to the New York Knicks.  Most of the other teams in the league seemed to hold Michael Jordan and the Bulls in some sort of reverence where they almost conceded defeat before the ball was even tipped.  The Knicks didn't get that memo.  They challenged, fought, clawed, scratched and competed vs. the Bulls with complete disregard for the reverence of Air Jordan.  Although the 1992 Conference Semis series didn't end with the Knicks as the victors, I decided during the battle to hitch my fandom wagon to the New York Knicks.

Now let's fast forward to right now.  I'm currently watching game 3 of the Heat/Bulls as I type this.  The '12-'13 Miami Heat are the '92 Chicago Bulls.  They are the prohibitive favorite and clearly the most talented team in the NBA.  LeBron James is the NBA's current version of Michael Jordan,  D. Wade is their Scottie Pippen, and Chris Bosh is their Horace Grant.  The Miami Heat are coached by Erik Spolestra, but make no mistake, Pat Riley is the driving force behind that entire franchise.  The six championship Bulls teams boasted the greatest coach in NBA history on their side in Phil Jackson.

This year's Bulls team is undermanned due to injury, and even at full strength, they're clearly not as talented the Miami Heat.  That notwithstanding, this Bulls team reminds me of the early '90s Knicks.  Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson and Carlos Boozer are their Oakley, Mason and McDaniel.  Jimmy Butler is not as crazy as John Starks, but he's their hard-nosed two-guard so the comparison works.  Nate Robinson has a ton of Starks in him as well, and he's instant offense.  The Bulls head coach is defensive-minded Tom Thibodeau who actually was an assistant for the Knicks from '96-'03.  Finally, Derrick Rose is their Patrick Ewing (best player), but he's not involved in the series due to a long absence from an ACL tear.

This Bulls bunch doesn't take any of LeBron's crap, and they don't hold him in any special regard.  The Bulls and Heat didn't shake hands before tonight's game, and Nazr Mohammed has already been ejected tonight for shoving King James.  I don't expect the Bulls to win this series, but I love watching their competitive fire and grit.  A few days ago, Colin Cowherd called this Bulls team "the most likable team in professional sports", and as a basketball fan who loves defense and rebounding, I have to agree.  That doesn't mean I am now a Bulls fan by any stretch (Knicks and Grizz, baby), but if I were a youngster looking for a squad to all in love with, this Bulls team would be tops on my list.

Time to drive the stake

As someone who used to regularly burn up the keyboard with sports related blog posts, my Twitter feed has been eerily absent of original material over the past few months.  Between juggling responsibilities and relationships (my "real world" job, grad school, lovely wife and a two-year old little boy); my opportunities to blog have been few and far between.  However, leave it to tonight's NBA slate to wake me from my slumber. (I only have a few minutes so this won't be the most well-written piece I've ever crafted, but who cares?)

As a bona fide fantasy sports nerd, I am the commissioner of a NBA league aptly named "Knicks vs. Grizz Finals".  Judging from that name, it's not hard to see where my loyalties lie, and both the Knicks and the Grizzlies have prime chances tonight to drive the stake into the hearts of their opponents (vampires are all the rage so this metaphor works).  The beautiful aspect for both the Knicks and Grizz is that they are facing off vs. fierce rivals so punching tickets to the second round will be extra sweet.

Living in New England, I get all the Celtics love and Knicks bashing I can handle on sports talk radio.  Articles such as this one show that the belief the Celtics will win four straight to come back from 0-3 down is a common sentiment from Celtics fans and media types alike.  Most folks in Boston believe the Knicks to be a flawed jump shooting team led by a paper tiger in Carmelo Anthony.  According to Boston media types, the Knicks, who haven't won a playoff series since 2000, will pucker when it's time to seal the deal.  Maybe that's how it will play out, but I don't think so. 

The Celtics don't have a true point guard, and the Knicks have three.  Raymond Felton has outplayed Avery Bradley in this series, and I think the Knicks will get stellar point guard play tonight at TD Garden which is one of the reasons they will get over the hump on the road in six games. 

Anther reason the Knicks will tonight is Carmelo Anthony will come out a man possessed.  He will not play as poorly as he did in game five.  The key will be making quicker decisions once the ball is in his hands and not getting the majority of his shots from isolation plays.  If the Knicks can execute crisp ball movement and get Carmelo the ball in his spots, he will shoot much better from the floor than he did in game five.  Plus, Melo will have extra motivation to bust the Celtics' ass thanks to Jordan Crawford; way to wake a sleeping giant, moron. 

Speaking of Jordan Crawford, this is par for the course from this Celtics bunch (i.e. KG and Honey Nut Cheerios).  God bless the city of Boston, and I am a big proponent of "Boston Strong".  However, the fact that the Knicks wore black suits to game five because they "were going to a funeral" is not a disrespectful swipe or ill-timed gesture towards the city of Boston.  It was simply a failed motivational technique that obviously didn't help get the Knicks over the hump in game five.  It's nothing more or nothing less.  Since we live in a crazily obsessed PC society, many in the Boston media feel this was a classless gesture.  This comes from the same media that covers Jordan Crawford and sees Kevin Garnett and his Honey Nut Cheerios as just an "intense team player". 

Here are some numbers and items to consider:  The Knicks are a tremendous 3-point shooting team, and they are shooting a paltry 23.1% the last two games from downtown.  I don't think that trend will continue; for such a great shooting team, it just can't. 

The Celtics are old and running a 7-man rotation (Jason Terry & Terrence Williams off the bench).  Can KG and Pierce hold up for two more games at a high level?  They both have tons of heart and are champions in this league, but I think the C's slim rotation catches up with them tonight. 

To  conclude my thoughts on this series, I know the Celtics are going to be tough to bury because they have future Hall-of-Famers in Pierce and Garnett and one of the best coaches in the league in Doc Rivers.  The Knicks haven't won a playoff series in so long it's going to be hard from a mental aspect to seal the deal.  That being said, the Knicks are the more talented and complete team of the two (They actually have a PG).  Also, it's Carmelo Anthony's time to step up and get this team deep into the playoffs.  I'll never forget this game and hope to see the same result tonight. 

In regards to the Grizz, I don't have as much to type.  I will say that I loathe "Flop City" and love the post combo of ZBo and Gasol.  All Heart, Grit, Grind will be rocking in the Grind House tonight, and with Blake Griffin hobbling on a bum ankle, the Grizz will close it out.  I was 10 rows up at Game 2 last year in Memphis, and the sheer hatred these two teams have for one another is palatable. 

I know that a Knicks vs. Grizzlies NBA Finals is a true long shot because of the Miami Heat.  I believe if the Grizz can beat the Clippers, they can win the West.  The Thunder are simply not the same bunch without Westbrook, and the Spurs can be beaten by Memphis (as evidenced by two years ago).  So here goes tonight....  I'm be watching with bated breath.  It's time for the stakes to be driven.