[Bird_YearsParticipant]

I wanted to give a shout out to Marc Gasol who’s stepped up his game since the Rudy Gay trade and in my opinion is now the 2nd best centre in the league (behind Dwight)

Since the trade he’s now averaging 16.7 PTS, 7.9 REB, 5.0 ASTS on 50.3% shooting and is a big reason Memphis has kept on winning. (they’d be on a 15 game win streak right now if they hadn’t visited Miami on March 1st.

Those stats are improvements on his already great season averages of 14.3 PTS, 7.7 REB and 3.9 AST on 49.6% shooting

He now looks like a complete two way player. Hopefully Ed Davis becomes that player they can use to guard the pick and roll (how Clippers killed them last year) and this Memphis team has the potential to be a legit contender. (Probably need a swingman that can get his own shot but who knows)

[franfranParticipant]

Marc is the most versatile center in the league

[JunkYardDogParticipant]

don’t sleep on Noah too…

my two favourite centers for years (with bogut if healthy).

[Forte IVParticipant]

He should have been Memphis’ all-star. Not Randolph.

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

Isn’t amazing what happens when you get rid of a guy who plays hero ball and you start playing inside outside basketball?

Memphis made smartest move in the league bringing in Prince and Davis for Gay. Cut money and get better. Nothing better.

[theprophetParticipant]

while i agree with gasol being this good as a center, i thought he has been this good for about three years. i have to agree though that joakim noah is right there with gasol and so is brook lopez and yeah a healthy bogut. tyson chandler is nothing to sneeze at either. i have to say though, the best center in the league (even better than dwight) should be demarcus cousins. he has so much talent and no discipline. i know this is a thread about gasol, but i didn’t want to make some new thread about the character problems of demarcus cousins again. but cousins has issues mentally. he needs to go to a team that does not just have a good coach, but as football coach herm edwards put it before referring to nfl players, he needs a coach that also encourages him to be a better man. i’m not talking losing his nastyness, but rather making better off the court decisions. the kings don’t have the right staff for cousins. what should they do with him or there staff? where could cousins go to make this a reality? or is it a lost cause? san antonio would be a good destination, but i don’t see how they could acquire him. any thoughts on that? as of now, i would much rather have marc gasol than demarcus cousins because gasol has a good game and character, but if you were to go on potential alone based on solely game play, cousins without the bad decisions is better.

[thparadoxParticipant]

Marc Gasol is the No. 1 center in the league. Dwight isn’t even close right now.

I’d say No. 2 is Tyson Chandler.

Then some arrangement of Brook Lopez, Duncan, Horford, and Noah. I think Noah is tough to rate because he’s so good defensively. It’s hard to say how much of that is playing in Thib’s system.

Cousins is nowhere near best center in the league. He’s very talented, but he’s not even remotely efficient. It’s a fruitless argument.

[theprophetParticipant]

yes duncan and horford are that good also. i just overlooked them because sometimes my mind them as powerforwards still even though they are considered centers. al jefferson can use some work defensively but he could even be mentioned by some. but as for cousins, i think you might have misunderstood what i was saying about the guy. he is not the best center in the league. i’m saying he is so talented that he should be the best center in the league if he wasn’t such a head case.

[Ny2daDeathOFmeParticipant]

Is balling. But i don’t know if he’s number 2 center maybe , 3 or 4 though.

1.Duncan is playing like he’s still in his twenty’s
2.Brook Lopez is top 5 in per and is probably the best post scorer in the league
3.Dwight Howard even in a down year he leads the league in rebounds and he’s starting to pick up his play
4.Marc gasol is balling. Playing great on both ends
5.is a toss up for me between Noah and Chandler. They both have about equal impact on their teams

[Meditated StatesParticipant]

In support of that trade. I feel they are better without Gay. They have been showing that.

[Prime TimeParticipant]

I feel like Horford, Monroe, and JJ Hickson fly under the radar. Andre Drummond is the future.

[NYK2010Participant]

I like Chandler a lot but he can’t be 2nd best with his limited offensive game and he doesn’t finish enough outside of lobs.

His rebounding has been better but defensively he hasn’t been the same player this year.
Hurts him that the Knicks PG’s get beat off the dribble and Melo at PF is too undersized.

As for Memphis making the smartest move in the league trading Gay for Prince and Davis that was only because of the tax.

They only made it because they had to or else no way would they move Gay.
Right now they don’t feel his loss but when they get in the playoffs they will.

Also what top teams have the Grizz beat since beginning of February the Warriors and Clippers thats it.
When your beating the Cavs, Blazers, Wolves, Pistons, Kings that doesn’t mean your an elite team.

Gasol couldn’t even handle Koufas and Gasol plays next to Zebo thats huge.

Look what the Nuggets are doing winning 11 in a row the hottest team in the league outside of Miami.
They beat OKC, Memphis, Clippers, Knicks, Lakers and every other team too.

[RUDEBOY_Participant]

I Think Marc Gasol has been 1 of the top 3 centers in the nba for the past 2 seasons..And with Dwight Howard still trying to get comfortable in the Lakers offense,you can make a case for Gasol being the best center right now..

Memphis havent missed a beat since trading Rudy Gay,thanks to the strong play of Gasol & Randolph,Hollins great coaching and the team following Tony Allen’s defensive leadership…Prince and Davis have adjusted well ,both players have fit in nice…Nobody is talking about Mike Conley’s improvement on defense…

But teams dont fear them as much as they did when Rudy was there..Gasol and Randolph’s grind it out style will cause them to wear down when teams turn up their play come playoff time..Having that guy that can easily give you 25 points and cause double teams,give Gasol and Randolph a chance to take a breather..Now each and every time down the court,Memphis is looking for them to score..The trade was good for team chemistry,but they failed to add consistent outside shooting on the team..

Teams will be much happier to face this team,then the team that had the best frontline in the nba…..

[Author]

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