NBA Daily: 2-27-10

NBA Stars Of The Night

Zach Randolph, Memphis. Randolph had a monster game with 31 points and 25 rebounds to help the Grizzlies beat the Knicks. Over the last five games he is averaging 23 points and 13.6 rebounds. Lets just say he has justified his All Star selection. Teammate Marc Gasol almost had a triple double with 25 points, 13 rebounds and 8 assists.

Deron Williams, Utah. Williams led the Jazz to a blow out of the Rockets with 35 points, 13 assists and 7 rebounds. He hit all four of his three point shots and it was his fifth straight game with at least 11 assists.

Nicolas Batum, Portland. Batum came out of nowhere with 31 points in a win over Minnesota. He also had 7 rebounds and 7 assists. The point total was more than his previous two best performances this season combined.

NBA Dud Of The Night

Richard Hamilton, Detroit. Hamilton shot 6-of-19 from the field in a loss to the Warriors. This comes a game after a 5-for-17 shooting night. His field goal percentage for the season is dangerously close to the 40% mark. The question is whether his drop in performance has more to do with age or the fact that he no longer has Chauncey Billups to set up his shots.

International Player Of The Night

Marc Gasol, Spain. Gasol just missed a triple double for the Grizzlies with 25 points, 13 rebounds and 8 assists. He seems to be alternating between great shooting nights and poor ones. The game before this 10-15 shooting, Gasol shot 3-for-10 against Charlotte.

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NBA Daily: 1-22-10

Tim Duncan became the latest to hit a milestone (20,000 points). There were 13 NBA games last night and a lot of  great performances to choose from. Oh how will I possibly be able to whittle my list down to three stars.

NBA Stars Of The Night

Dwyane Wade, Miami. After a horrible effort against Charlotte, Wade came back strong with 32 points and10 assists. The problem is that he can’t possibly maintain this pace without some help from his teammates. No one else in the league has to carry his team quite like Dwyane.

Stephen Curry, Golden State. I had to pick Curry for two reasons. First he scored 32 points with 7 assists and 4 steals while playing all 48 minutes. Second, it’s not very often that the Warriors hold an opponent to under 80 points. Stephen Curry played some pesky defense last night helping cause 19 Nets turnovers.

David Lee, New York. The Knicks may have lost, but that was not because of Lee. He ended up with 31 points, 17 rebounds and 4 assists. He needs to be an All-Star this year. He is averaging over 19 points, 11 rebounds and 3 assists per game.

NBA Dud Of The Night

Antawn Jamison, Washington. Jamison has to be about ready to get out of town. He has to be frustrated by his team and it’s starting to show in his performance. Last night he had 8 points on 14 shots with only five rebounds. Please get him on a contending team.

International Player Of The Night

Pau Gasol, Spain . Gasol rebounded from a lackluster performance against Cleveland with 20 points, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks and 5 assists against the Knicks. He also donated $1,000 per point to Haiti last night ($20,000 if you can’t do the math).

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Pau Gasol Signs Extension with Lakers

The best big man in basketball, at least according to Kobe Bryant, has been locked up by the Lakers until 2014. The deal could be worth as much as $20 million dollars per season.

This a huge deal because it means that they will have the nucleus of their team together for next few seasons. It also means that Kobe is almost sure to sign an extension himself.

Gasol  is a versatile player that can play center or power forward. He can play with his back to the basket or use head fakes in addition to his footwork to score easily in the paint. He is a very solid free throw shooter and can pass very well for a seven footer. His rebounding has been huge this year as he hasn’t had to shoulder a huge amount of the offensive load.

Gasol struggled at times for Memphis because he was expected to be the number one player on the team. Although he is one of the top twenty players in the league, he prefers to defer leadership to someone else. He gladly plays the number two role to Kobe’s number one.

For Spain Pau Gasol is the symbol for their international success. Along with his brother Marc, Rudy Fernandez of Portland, Jose Calderon of Toronto and Ricky Rubio Spain is a powerhouse in the Olympics and the World Championships.

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Marc and Pau Gasol start 2009 strong

If Pau Gasol had any rust from missing the first 11 games of the season, he must have gotten a new paint job right before his season debut. Pau is on pace to have a career high in rebounds and have his second best year in assists. He is simply playing better than any other time in his career and the fact is that he is the perfect all around big man for Kobe and the Lakers.

Marc Gasol is an up and coming center who is also a beast on the boards (9.8 rpg) and gives out a solid  2.2 assists per game (good for a second year center). He is also one of the league leaders in field goal percentage. He is the right kind of player to mix in with a bunch of young guys, he knows his job and he does it.

The Spanish brothers have a lot in common. Most importantly the desire to do whatever it takes to win, a trait common in most European basketball players. Spain is a powerhouse in international basketball, these two are the cornerstone for that.

Pau has found his home in LA. I really see him ending his career there. What else could he want for. He doesn’t enjoy being the number one guy on a team. He is paid very well. There is no reason for him to leave.

Marc on the other hand could be a very nice piece for a contending team needing a little more muscle inside. Memphis also has Hasheem Thabeet. The Grizzlies will want to give their number two pick an opportunity at some point, that could make Marc Gasol the odd man out.

If they do decide to part ways with Marc, who is currently averaging a solid 14.5 points and 9.8 rebounds per game, I really hope it is a playoff team that takes him. He seems to be too good of a guy to get traded around from one perennial loser to another.

Keeping with a trend of NBA players from Spain, I will profile Jose Calderon on Monday December 21st.

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