Marc Gasol is the Raptors' unsung hero

ORLANDO — Kyle Lowry and Kawhi Leonard naturally dominated headlines after the Toronto Raptors walloped the Orlando Magic in Game 2.

Marc Gasol, with his modest stat line of nine points and five assists, was a minor footnote by comparison. But his impact was obvious by the plus-minus. Toronto outscored Orlando by 22 points in his 22 minutes, and the Raptors held the Magic to 40 per cent shooting from the field for a second straight game thanks in large part to Gasol’s lockdown defence against Orlando’s lone all-star.

Through two games, Nikola Vucevic is stuck on 17 points on 6-of-21 shooting with five turnovers against six assists. This is the same man who pummelled Serge Ibaka to the tune of 30 points, 19 rebounds, and eight assists earlier this season, but he’s fresh out of ideas against Gasol.

“I’ve just gotta figure it out,” an exasperated Vucevic said after Game 2.

He might just be flat out of luck. Gasol looks every bit the part of a former Defensive Player of the Year, and he’s putting the clamps to his counterpart. Gasol refuses to give up ground in the post, he’s carefully positioned to deny the pick-and-roll feed from Orlando’s guards, and he’s not falling for any tricks. The only option available to Vucevic is his inconsistent jumper, and the Raptors will happily concede those in exchange for Vucevic clearing the paint.

Gasol held Vucevic to 3-of-14 shooting in Game 1, but the big Spaniard still came under fire for a defensive gaffe on D.J. Augustin’s game-winner. Gasol thought the plan was to stick with their original assignments, while Kawhi Leonard assumed they would switch. Both players went with Vucevic on the play, and Augustin capitalized on the confusion to finish with 25 points in the win.

“He gave me a little bit of space, and I took what the defence gave me,” Augustin said of Gasol after Game 1.

To atone for his untimely error, Gasol assumed an even bigger share of defensive responsibilities in the rematch. Despite not being the fleetest of foot, Gasol was effectively able to play higher up the floor and trap Augustin while still keeping a lid on Vucevic. And in doing so, Gasol cut off the Magic’s entire pick-and-roll attack, as Augustin shot 1-of-6 from the floor while Vucevic shot 3-of-7.

On the flip side, the Raptors scored at will on their own pick-and-rolls, especially when it involved Gasol screening for Leonard. Aaron Gordon doesn’t lack for hustle nor athleticism, but Gasol is a mountain of a man and his screens are not easily scaled. That has left Vucevic on an island against Leonard, and he’s just helpless in that matchup. Vucevic is too slow and he doesn’t elevate for shot contests, so Leonard can get just about any look he wants if he comes around a high screen or works around a pin-down involving Gasol.

The pick-and-roll with Gasol was effective in Game 1, but a simple adjustment made Leonard unstoppable in Game 2. Gasol stationed higher up the floor - even going as far as setting picks at halfcourt - so that Leonard could gather momentum going downhill against Vucevic, which only tilted the mismatch further in Leonard’s favour. And when the defence collapsed inside to help Vucevic, Gasol made the Magic pay by knocking down a trio of open three-pointers.

Gasol’s role with the Raptors is to make life easy for everyone else. He’s handling the toughest assignment, while also setting the table on the other end. Not only is Gasol averaging 4.5 assists from the centre position, he’s also chipping in with an additional five screen assists per game.

So what does Gasol want in exchange for doing the dirty work? Not more shots (he only took five), not the glory (he’s aggressively deferential to his teammates), nor the recognition (he already has that). Gasol’s focus is just on helping the team win, and doing his best to fill whatever role the Raptors need from him.

“To me, fun is not laughing and smiling and throwing up 25 shots. To me, having fun is doing your job. It’s making your team be the best out there and winning games. That’s what’s fun to me: creating a group game plan, going out there and executing and not allowing other teams to do what they want to do” Gasol said before the series began.

“That might not be what’s fun for everybody, but it’s fun to me. Being on a team like this allows you to do those things. Everybody being on the same page, it’s really fun.”

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