The Spanish Armada

Marc 'El Hermano' Gasol is off to a very impressive start for Memphis (1-3). He is putting up 19 points and pulling down 12.3 rebounds per game. His offensive efficiency is flat out stupid. He's gone to the line 33 times in the first 4 games (which puts him in the top 10 for free throw attempts). He's shooting an unbelievably high - for a seven-footer - 84.8% from the charity stripe. He's taken 37 shots from the field and scored 76 points. That means he averages 2.05 points for every shot he takes. That is incredible. To put that in perspective here are a few big men that are NOT scoring 2 points per shot: Bosh, Howard, Duncan and Garnett.

On top of the offensive prowess he's also averaging 12.3 boards (6th best average in the league). At 7-1, 265 pounds, Gasol seems to be a decent defender - at least he's looked that way in the limited amount of games I've seen him play. I couldn't find anything - with a quick Google search - that says otherwise. So, I'm willing to say that at worst he's an average defender.

"El Hermano" will probably cool a bit from the offensive end as the season progresses. I wouldn't expect that he continue to average 2 points per shot. But, after a solid rookie campaign last year, and an incredible start to this season, I think it is safe to say that Marc Gasol has arrived. I wish he was a Piston.

--- Stats from NBA.com ---

~ Matt Penridge