ESPN’s Zach Lowe recently wrote an article I highly recommend reading, in which he selected his 2016 Marc Gasol All Stars – his favorite players to watch during this NBA season. He has a few rules, though, for his selection process.
Firstly, no All-Stars since pretty much everyone can agree that Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, et. al, are a blast to watch. Secondly, no high-profile rookie players such as Kristaps Porzingis, Karl Anthony-Towns, D’Angelo Russell, etc. Thirdly, one has to be getting regular minutes. And finally, no Warriors since they have been written about so much this year (Disclaimer: Marreese Speights would definitely have made my list otherwise).
Inspired by this, I decided to come up with my own list of the Marc Gasol All Stars – the players I seek out most frequently on NBA League Pass, and recommend you do as well – although this list does not feature Marc Gasol himself.
Starters
Ricky Rubio- The immediate adoration that greeted Ricky Rubio upon his entrance into the league has largely, and sadly, evaporated, but this does not mean that he is not worth watching anymore. Rubio makes the most complex and flamboyant passes look ordinary, finding lanes that only become apparent to me upon viewing the replay for the eighth time. He is a good defender too, being fifth in the NBA in steals per game. Barring an ill-advised trade, Rubio should be a fundamental part of the Timberwolves’ bright future. Having said all that, someone desperately needs to start a Kickstarter to hook him up with Dirk’s shooting coach or something.
CJ McCollum: McCollum has already scored more than twice as many points this season than in his first two seasons combined, proving himself to be one of the best young shooting guards in the NBA. What is most impressive though is the wide variety of ways that he can score. He is shooting over forty percent from three – able to score both off the dribble and on the catch and shoot – and he is also able to get inside, scoring on drives regularly. Perhaps most shocking has been his capacity from mid-range, where he can pull up at a moment’s notice, as his defender keeps moving away from him, leaving him open from 10-16 feet, where he is shooting almost forty-eight percent. Finally, his floater is just a thing of beauty. McCollum has really broken out this year and I cannot wait to see what the future has in store for this relatively young player.
Giannis Antetokounmpo: When the hype surrounding Giannis began to grow about two years ago, I was hesitant to jump on board. I’d been burned by tall, athletic, potentially multifaceted forwards before in the forms of Darius Miles and Anthony Randolph and was nervous that Giannis would suffer a similar fate, leading basketball fans to persistently ask, “What if?” Now in his third year, he is flowering into the player that every NBA fan hoped he would be and it has been fascinating to watch. He has improved every year thus far, and having just turned twenty-one in December, there is no reason to assume his development is over. In the last few weeks, he has been playing point guard and once you get past the novelty of seeing a near seven-footer run the point, you become overwhelmed by his court vision, his mobility, and ability to run an offense, accumulating four triple doubles in his last twelve games. He has made the Bucks appointment viewing and should continue to do so in the coming years.
Derrick Favors: These last two seasons Derrick Favors has began to showcase all the potential that he had when he entered the league six seasons ago. He has become absolutely lethal near the hoop, shooting over seventy percent from the restricted area. Favors also remains of the league’s better rebounders and interior defenders. I really don’t think people have realized just how good of a season he is having as he currently ranks sixteenth in PER (of course, Enes Kanter is tenth so it’s not a faultless statistic). Nevertheless, while fans were enamored with the seemingly sudden emergence of his teammate Rudy Gobert last season, they missed the flourishing of Derrick Favors, an equally rewarding development. Barring shocking development (and health) from the 76ers triptych of Joel Embiid, Nerlens Noel, and Jahlil Okafor, Gobert and Favors are bound to be the best young frontcourt in the NBA for the immediate future.
Hassan Whiteside: Whiteside is one of the more polarizing players in the NBA as writers and fans debate whether his defensive statistics are misleading and if the Heat are actually a better team with him off the court. Yes, he occasionally misses an assignment to go for an extravagant block or extra rebound, but while it may not be the most technically sound play, it is thrilling to watch when it works, which it does on a more than regular basis. I completely understand why many would find this more frustrating than compelling yet I nevertheless find Whiteside’s style of play engaging and intriguing. While I would like to see him develop more defensive discipline, the raw talent and intuition he displays every night is truly rare and a joy to watch. Also, as the only former Marshall player currently in the NBA, I feel somewhat obligated to pull for the guy.
Reserves
Zach LaVine- While most know him for his unparalleled abilities as a dunker, LaVine has began to display a variety of other skills this season, honing his admittedly still raw abilities, leaving fans excited for what may come next. LaVine is still, at this point, more a bundle of potential than anything else, his quickness and ability to find his own shot is extremely promising. He is shooting far better this year than last and has proven to be a much more natural shooting guard, despite his small stature, than point guard – a position he was forced to play much of last season. As if the Timberwolves didn’t have enough reasons to be excited for the future, LaVine provides yet another.
Manu Ginobili: Despite missing a bunch of time due to injury, Manu is putting together yet another quietly great season. While none of his numbers jump out at you, he is still the unspoken leader of perhaps the league’s best bench unit, being equally capable of creating for others and finding his own shot – both on the perimeter and in the paint, with the utilization of his unparalleled Eurostep. There is simply no one who plays quite like him, looking as if everything is going to fall apart at any second right before showing that it was all a feint to get the defender off balance. Even though I’ve been a huge Manu fan for years now, I just know that when he retires, I’ll still beat myself up for not appreciating him enough.
Kent Bazemore: Bazemore began his career more as a meme than a player, being best known for his over the top bench celebrations as a member of the Golden State Warriors. After a brief stint with the Lakers, Bazemore has found a home in Atlanta, filling the role that the departed DeMarre Carroll played so well for them last year, functioning as the team’s swiss army knife. He also plays with an infectious energy, seemingly overwhelmed with joy at his good fortune, going from an undrafted player to a key part of a playoff team. Bazemore is one of those players that I just feel compelled to root for and seeing him succeed brings me such inexplicable joy.
Jamal Crawford- Despite being a known entity in his sixteenth season, Crawford nevertheless finds ways to surprise by making highly contested shots and retaining the ability to take essentially anyone off the dribble at any time. He is in contention for his third sixth man of the year award and it would be tremendously well-deserved. Crawford brings a street ball sensibility to the NBA and while many of his decisions may be frustrating, they are never less than thrilling.
Ish Smith: Ish takes the term journeyman to a whole new level having played for nine teams in less than six seasons. He started out the season on the Pelicans, filling in admirably for the injured Jrue Holiday, but was then traded to the 76ers where he has done the seemingly impossible – make the 76ers somewhat watchable. With their best players being ones who play predominantly in the post, needing someone to set them up well, Smith has opened up the whole team’s offense. While he is far from an All Star, he is competent, and competence is something the 76ers have sorely lacked in the backcourt. Here’s hoping the 76ers don’t let him go for a second time this offseason.
Ed Davis: Ed Davis has long been one of the league’s more intriguing young talents, a great offensive rebounder who relies equally on intellect and athleticism in grabbing those rebounds that keep Portland possessions alive. He is equally adept at both throwing it back out to one of Portland’s many shooters on the perimeter or putting it back off the glass. Davis has been a player with a lot of nascent potential for years, bouncing around from Toronto to Memphis to Los Angeles to Portland, and it looks like he finally has found a situation that suits him and I couldn’t be more thrilled.
DeAndre Jordan: Okay, yes, I hate the whole hack-a strategy as much as the next person, which certainly makes Clippers games less enjoyable to watch than they would be otherwise. However, watch Jordan on the offensive end and you’ll see why seeing him play is such a treat. While his offensive skillset is very limited, what he does well, he does extremely well, and what he does better than any other big in the league is catch alley oops. His skill at catching passes from Crawford and Paul – however off, or far from, or close to the basket they may be – is really unparalleled. Watch a YouTube video of his best alley oops and you will be bound to see several that nearly no one else could have converted. While much of his success is admittedly due to playing with Chris Paul, he is nevertheless a marvel to watch at his best.
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