Lakers lean on Marc Gasol to ignite passing game

LOS ANGELES -- Marc Gasol held off Los Angeles Clippers big man Serge Ibaka as he waved his arms in front of his face.

Gasol’s patience allowed teammate Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to wrap around him and cut to the basket, with Gasol threading a crisp, overhead pass to the Georgia product for an easy bucket.

It’s a scene that played out over repeatedly for the Lakers in Gasol’s first game action in his team’s second preseason game against the Clippers over the weekend.

Even older brother Pau noted the nice pass by his brother Marc via twitter.

👀 https://t.co/K8BN1kFYEn
— Pau Gasol (@paugasol) December 14, 2020

“I think NBA players, and basketball players in general, when they know they have a guy that’s going to throw them the ball, their cutting and aggressiveness just picks up,” Lakers head coach Frank Vogel said. “We came into the game knowing we were going to play through Marc a lot at the top the key.

“Our guys had a mindset to really move aggressively without the basketball, and Marc will find you, especially in the paint. And we got a lot of great looks in the paint that led to lay-ups. Marc is dynamic, and it’s going to make us that much more difficult to guard.”

The Lakers used Gasol at the top of the key on offense at the high post to spread the floor, then ran screens and cuts off the ball to free up other players around the perimeter, getting easy looks at the basket.

It’s a preview of how they will use Gasol with frontline players like LeBron James and Anthony Davis, making it easier for them to score during the regular season.

“It’s just having another option, another tool,” Gasol said. “I think when teams are worried about the high post and that top of the key area -- normally the guy is going to pressure me -- and then so much of the action is going on, on the side, so they’re going to have room to operate. So, I’m just trying to help in any way possible. That’s what I’m here for.”

Along the assists, Gasol finished with six points and four rebounds in 22 minutes of work. While he did not get to experience a nice ovation with no fans on hand at Staples Center, Gasol said he did welcome at home wearing the purple and gold for the first time as a pro.

“It felt great,” he said. “It felt very natural. It felt like it made a lot of sense. Obviously, we’re missing a huge part of the Lakers, which is all the fans that we know are watching. But hopefully I did a good job of representing them, and they are watching at home in a safe environment.

“But to me, it obviously felt great and I’m looking forward to playing many more games with the Lakers.”

Gasol said his focus is getting in better shape and developing more chemistry with his teammates over the next week in his team’s final two preseason games against the Phoenix Suns, with the first matchup taking place on Wednesday.

“Continue to work as a team and finding solutions on both ends of the floor, building that chemistry,” Gasol said, when asked what the Lakers need to do over the final two preseason games. “To be vocal, and to be solution-based teammates. Also building your conditioning as players as well. In this situation we’re going to be missing different guys at different times, so we do have to adapt, mentally and physically.”