It's no secret that Marc Gasol hasn't exactly adjusted well to life with the Los Angeles Lakers. Gasol's numbers this term have seen a significant dip from the last couple of seasons with the Toronto Raptors, and as it turns out, even his former coach in Nick Nurse is surprised by how Gasol hasn't found his groove in LA.
Prior to the Lakers' matchup against the Raptors on Tuesday, Nurse talked up Gasol and how important the former perennial All-Star was in Toronto's title run back in 2019:
“You guys know how much Marc impacted us and how much I think of Marc as a player,” Nurse said, via Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports. “He's got such a unique skill set, still. I don't know who's a better passer and his intelligence is way up there.”
Nurse then went on to say that while Gasol's contributions to the team may not reflect on the box scores, he believes that what the 36-year-old veteran brings to the table goes way beyond the statistics:
“He's a great player, tremendous amount of honours on his resume,” Nurse added. “Basketball means a lot to him. He's proud of what he's accomplished & always sees himself as a big contributor on a team, whether he's scoring or not. He plays to win.”
Now in his 13th season in the NBA, Gasol is averaging 4.9 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.2 blocks in 19.6 minutes per game for the Lakers. There's no denying that the former Defensive Player of the Year is now a shadow of his former self, but he is still expected to play a key role for LA the rest of the way.
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