While Marc Gasol is no longer the perennial All-Star caliber player he once was, he can provide immense value to the Los Angeles Lakers this season. His IQ, defense, and shooting are all things the Lakers need, especially from the center position.
Cerebral players like Gasol also tend to be perfect fits alongside LeBron James. This was further evidenced with someone such as Alex Caruso, who brings the same grit and intensity to the game as Gasol. And even though the team has only been practicing together for a few days, they already seem to have good on-court chemistry.
Gasol spoke about his early impressions of James as a teammate, explaining that he’s thankful for the communication more than anything. “How well he communicates at all times. I really respect that and I’m very thankful,” Gasol said.
“Me as a new guy, having him tell you the things they’re looking for and the things you can do better or are doing really good, it’s good. It speeds up the process of being part of the team and being effective. How well he communicates is very positive.”
Gasol also had endless praise when discussing the team as a whole. The last remaining barrier is figuring out some of the terminology the Lakers use. “It’s a different team for me. I have to adjust to certain stuff, but with the right mindset, putting in the work and trusting your teammates and what they say, how they try to lead you, that’s what I’m here for,” he noted.
“Once I get all the terminology and timing of things on the defensive end, especially in transition, I’m going to be able to be more much more effective defensively once I understand a little bit more. My impressions are really good. Very fast-solution mindset team, they find triggers so easily, obviously they’re very talented, everyone knows their role, very deep team, very good coaching staff. What else do you want me to say? (laughs) They’re the champions.”
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope calls Gasol ‘perfect fit’ with Lakers
Another positive sign about the early stages of the Lakers training camp is that Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is already seeing just how well the team fits together. He was particularly complementary of Gasol, who he called a perfect fit.
“I feel like he fits perfectly,” Caldwell-Pope said. ” He’s basically doing the same as JaVale and Dwight, but a little more. He can shoot the ball in that midrange, very efficient there, screen and roll, pick and pops. He’s mixing it up a lot and showing us a little bit of everything. He’s been amazing.”
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