Marc Gasol is having a career season after shaping up his body with a summer regimen. Through 31 games, the 7-0 center from Barcelona, Spain is averaging 15.1 points, 10 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.4 blocks – all career highs if he can maintain them.

(Talk Spanish Basketball in our forum)

The following article is courtesy of GrizzTime, the official program of the Memphis Grizzlies – volume 9, issue 3:

Marc Gasol takes it to the next level
There was a buzz at the Grizzlies home offices this summer that center Marc Gasol’s training regimen during the offseason was going to take his game to another level when the 2009-10 regular season rolled around.

He supposedly had a new chiseled frame that made him look like a different player.

When Gasol arrived for media day at the start of the season, it became quickly apparent that not only were the rumors true, but he also seemed to be making a statement by cutting his trademark shaggy locks from last season.

The hair, according to Gasol, does not make the new man, however. Taking the next step as a player by being the ultimate teammate, well that’s a different story.

“I just want to work with my teammates towards our goal, which is winning basketball games,” said Gasol. “I’m not into hair or fashion. I’m just into basketball.”

Gasol’s brilliant play this season has proven that he doesn’t have many distractions. His emergence has solidified him as a major building block for the Grizzlies, right alongside the other young pillars of the team, O.J. Mayo and Rudy Gay.

“As a team we are more mature than we were last year,” said Gasol. “We have to come with a mental toughness every night, and we are doing a better job of that.”

The aspect of Gasol’s game that fits in so well with what the Grizzlies are building is the fact that he is so effective when he has the ball in his hands. Last season the All-Rookie Second Team member set a team rookie record by hitting .530 of his attempts from the field.

As impressive as the feat might be for a rookie, in his second season Gasol has become even more efficient from the field.

Gasol’s game has improved so dramatically, that it’s almost a surprise when the league’s leader in field goal percentage for much of the season actually misses. This was never more evident when he broke a franchise record by making 15 consecutive field goals over a two game stretch against the Bucks on Nov. 14 and Los Angeles Clippers on Nov. 18.

“The only thing that I care about is that when I made all those shots we won both games,” said Gasol. “If I would have gone 1-of-10 in those games I would have been happy if would have won.”

Not only has the center for the Spanish National Team seen his field goal percentage take a meteoric rise this season, but he’s also seen a spike in his rebounding numbers, going from single digits during the 2008-09 campaign to one of the top ten rebounders in the game this season.

His improved effort on the glass has helped the Grizzlies dominate the boards after being last in the NBA in rebounding in 2008-09. In typical Gasol fashion, he won’t take any of the credit and would rather defer to his new frontcourt partner for the Grizzlies emergence as a dominant team in the post.

“Zach (Randolph) has a lot to do with our success this season,” said Gasol. “He does a great job. He just makes the game a lot easier for me.”

For Randolph, who has seen his share of frontcourt partners over his eight-plus years in the NBA, the feeling is mutual.

“Marc is a very smart player, and he’s improved a lot this year,” said Randolph. “He’s going to keep getting better.”

The improvements in Gasol’s game should have him in most All-Star conversations, as his collective numbers at the center spot rival those of any other player in the league.

Gasol has played so well, in fact, that his numbers this season stack up against some all time greats.  If Gasol can manage to average at least 15 points and 10 rebounds a game, while hitting .600 of his shots he would join Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Artis Gilmore, Shaquille O’Neal and Dwight Howard as the only players in NBA history to achieve the feat.

Many would think that a spot on the All-Star team would validate his development and establish that he has taken the next step as a player, but he’s more concerned with the Grizzlies’ progress as a team than his own.

“What we’re trying to do is improve on last season and take the next step,” Gasol said. “We have to take small steps as a team that take us to the next level, and then from there we can take bigger steps to the next level.”

If Gasol’s play this season is any indication, he’ll be one of the major reasons when the Grizzlies get there.

From the crew @ Interbasket (and Pau Gasol), we wish you a very Merry Christmas, a super Hannukkah; a happy holidays.  Whatever you you do, however you are celebrating, whoever you are with, wherever you are in the world – we sincerely hope you have a safe and happy holiday season.

Pau Gasol walks up the court in the Laker’s game vs. the New Jersey Nets.

Merry Christmas or Merry Christmas translated in the many different languages around the world:  Veselé vánoce (Czech), Vrolijk kerstfeest (Dutch), Joyeux Noël (French), Frohe Weihnachten (German), Kala Christouyenna (Greek), Buon Natale (Italian), Linksmų Kalėdų (Lithuanian), Feliz Natal (Portuguese), С Рождеством (Russian),  Vesel Božič (Slovenian), Feliz Navidad (Spanish), God jul (Swedish), Maligayang Pasko (Tagalog – Philippines), สุขสันต์วันคริสต์มาส (Thai), Mutlu Noeller (Turkish)…

No doubt the Los Angeles Lakers are a better team with Pau Gasol in the lineup, but just how good?  The Lakers went a respectable 8-3 in their first eleven games without Gasol in their lineup, and have only lost one of fifteen since his return.

The other big stat is the Lakers’ opponents FG%. With Gasol helping to anchor the Laker’s defense, the differential has been significant. Opponents are averaging just 91.7 points since Pau returned, almost a 7 point difference.  (Courtesy of NBATV)

Los Angeles Laker’s all-star forward Pau Gasol recently revealed whether he would participate in next year’s World Championships of Basketball.

The 7-0 Spaniard called his chances “remote” in a short interview with Eurosport, a popular sports magazine in Europe.

(Talk Spanish Basketball in our forum)

“The possibility that I will play is remote.” Gasol told Eurosport correspondent Gonzalo Vazquez after the Los Angeles Lakers played the New Jersey Nets.

“There comes a moment when I have to consider things seriously. The national team is one of the most important things for me, but if I want to be fit and be able to continue to play I can’t continue doing what I’ve been doing so far. There has to be a moment to rest and for sure this should be it.”

Even if Gasol ultimately decides to sit the tournament out, Spain is still a very tough team.  Without their main player, Spain still fields a very competitive team that features the likes of Ricky Rubio, Juan Carlos Navarro, Rudy Fernández, his brother Marc Gasol, among others.

Spain is still a team that can reach the medal rounds.

It’s been a busy week for FIBA as they announced the four wild cards on Saturday, and determined the top four seeds for the World Championships of Basketball on Sunday.

Now the federation that overseas international basketball has announced the draw results that will determine the groupings for the 2010 world basketball event in Istanbul, Turkey.

The 24 participating nations were drawn into four groups of six teams each:

• Group A: Serbia, Argentina, Australia, Jordan, Germany, Angola
• Group B: Croatia, Brazil, Tunisia, Slovenia, Iran, USA
• Group C: China, Turkey, Russia, Puerto Rico, Ivory Coast, Greece
• Group D: Lithuania, Lebanon, France, Spain, Canada, New Zealand

(Discuss the draw results in our forum)

The draw was held at the the Ciragan Palace Kempinski Hotel, Istanbul, on 15th December 15th, 2009 at 11:30AM local time.

The draw was conducted jointly by FIBA and the LOC in the presence of participating nations’ representatives, “National Federation members, prominent public figures and members of the international media.”

The FIBA World Championships are held every four years and determines the world’s top country in basketball.

From the bottom to the top.

With the four final wild cards handed out yesterday, the World Championships of Basketball continue to take shape from the bottom up. FIBA has now decided the four countries that will lead the four groups: Argentina, Greece, Spain and USA.

These four federations will be the number one seeds in their group and are currently the four top basketball nations, according to FIBA’s world rankings – Argentina is ranked #1, USA #2, Spain #3, and Greece is ranked 4th.

For the full explanation on how the seedings will pan out, go to Talkbasket.net.

Rudy Fernández has been complaining of leg pain lately and has missed the last two games as team doctors diagnosed and analyzed where the pain was originating.

(Discuss Rudy Fernandez in our forum)

It was discovered that a pressure on a nerve in his back was causing him leg pain. So the 6-6 Fernández is scheduled to have a microdiscectomy Tuesday to alleviate that nerve pressure.

Fernández, the second-year player from Spain, will miss between four and six weeks as he recovers from the surgery. The timetable targets his return in mid-January, meaning he’ll miss roughly 20% of the season, or 17 games.

The news comes on the heels of the season-ending broken kneecap injury suffered by third-year player Greg Oden.

Without Oden and Fernández, who is averaging 8.6 points, 2.2 assists and 2.7 rebounds in 23.3 minutes a game this season, Portland is down to just nine available players for their game against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday.

Ricky Rubio, the Barcelona player who turned 19 years old in late October, recently posted six photos on his website, RickyRubio9.com. The basketball phenom and heart teenage throb posed for what looks like a fashion shoot with actress Clara Lago. Lago is also 19 years old.

[Show as slideshow]

The photoshoot was done by Photographer Sergi Pons and Stylist Juan Cebrían. The two young Spanish stars posed for Spanish Magazine El Pais.

Lago starred in both television and movies, while Rubio was the youngest player to ever play in the ACB, the Spanish Basketball League. For more of the article, click here.

• The Toronto Raptor’s José Calderón has already missed four free throws this season, that’s more missed free throws in 3 games this season (9-13), than he had missed the entire last season (151-154). On the night Calderon was presented with an award for recording an NBA single-season record of 98.1% from the line, he missed two free throws.

• Calderon’s teammate, Andrea Bargnani has shot the most free-throws so far without a miss this season having hit all 12 of his free-throws. The Italian big man is averaging 22 points and 5 rebounds through three games.

• Through three games, Carmelo Anthony has been unstoppable on the offenseive end; scoring 30 points, 41 points, and 42 points. He is averaging a league-high 37.7 points per game on 53% shooting from the field, gone to the free-throw line 41 times and adding 7.0 rebounds for good measure. The Denver Nuggets are 3-0 with wins over Utah, Portland and Memphis.

• It hasn’t been a rough start for Hasheem Thabeet, the first NBA player from Tanzania. After playing a fruitless debut in which he missed all his shots (0-2 FG, 0-2 FT) and sitting out the next game with a DNP, Thabeet scored his first basket, blocked 4 shots and grabbed 6 rebounds in his third NBA contest, but also committed six fouls; fouling out in just 11 minutes of play.

• It’s going to be tough for Thabeet to uproot 7-0 starting center Marc Gasol, who has been playing great early in his Sophomore season. Through three games, Pau’s younger brother has put up averages of 20 points, 11 rebounds, 1.3 blocks, shooting 73.1% from the floor (19-26), and 84.6% from the line.

• I’m interested to see how many three-pointers Danilo Gallinari takes tonight as the New York Knicks look for this first win against New Orleans. As mentioned yesterday, the 6-10 Sophomore is attempting a league-leading 12 three-pointers this season, having hit 50% of those long-range attempts (18-36).

• Sasha Vujačić looked terrible in 12 1/2 minutes of play in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 94-80 trumping by the Dallas Mavericks. When he wasn’t committing ill-timed fouls, he was losing his defensive assignments, and complaining to the referees about every single call that went against him. What happened to that player that actually looked like he belonged in the NBA, much less the Slovenian National Team?

Spanish guard guard José Calderón accepts an award for having the best free throw percentage in NBA history for single-season from Bryan Colangelo, the Toronto Raptors General Manager.

Calderón was presented with the award prior to the Raptors’ opening game vs. Cleveland Cavaliers in Toronto on October 28, 2009 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Calderón hit 87 straight free-throws before finally missing; ten short of the NBA record held by Michael Williams.  However, Calderón hit 98.1% of his free-throws last season, 151-154, an NBA record for single-season free-throw percentage.

The Raptors defeated the newly-minted Shaq-LeBron union 101-91. Oddly, Calderón would miss his final two free-throws in the game, going 3-5 from the line – and coach Jay Triano would take the blame for his two missed.

“I left him in too long because I’m trying to find a way to keep two of (Bosh, Bargnani, Turkoglu and Calderon) on the floor at all times. I’ll take credit for his two missed free throws because he had no legs. I gassed him out. Our coaches were saying we had to get him out but I didn’t want to go with four subs at that point in the game.”

In his first game against his old Euroleague club DKV Joventut, Ricky Rubio dishes out 10 assists, in spectacular fashion, and several of those assists were to Barcelona teammate Fran Vázquez.

The first dime is pretty amazing. Worth the four replays.

As you recall, Rubio and DKV didn’t depart on the best of terms.

Rubio totaled 10 assists, 6 points, and 5 steals in just 21 minutes of play, leading his new club Regal Barcelona to a dismantling of DKV Joventut, 92-59.

I don’t know what it is about Pau Gasol, but the man seems to be very photogenic in an odd way. He’s had, by far, the most “Pic of the Day(s)”.

Even his wax doppleganger gets into the mix.

A worker holds the wax head of Spanish basketball player Pau Gasol as wax statues of Spanish sports stars are taken out from Madrid’s Wax Museum to show support for Madrid’s 2016 Olympic bid.

The 2016 Olympic host city will be announced today between four finalists: Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Tokyo (Japan),  Chicago (USA), and Madrid (Spain)

Check out a couple other Gasol’s image honors: Joyriding with the Lakers,  Take Cover!, Pau Scowls, Pau + Rudy, and The Long Arm of the Pau

(Photo courtesy of Reuters)

Spain‘s Pau Gasol was chosen as Eurobasket’s Most Valuable Player and also named to the All-Tournament team.

After coming into the tournament as the favorites, Spain was upset by Serbia and Gasol played terribly; scoring a tournament-low 9 points and shooting 1-8 from the free throw line.

(Discuss: Who’s on your Eurobasket All-Star Team?)

Gasol and Spain would eventually bounce back. Throughout the tournament, Gasol led Spain in points, rebounds, blocked shots, including 18 points 11 rebounds and 4 blocks in the 85-63 finale win over Serbia.

Gasol also shot a team-high 66.3% from two-point range in the tournament.

Gasol’s 18.6 points per game made him the tournament’s leading scorer while also grabbing a second-best 8.3 rebounds, and leading all players in blocked shots (2.2).

The Spanish center highlighted the All-Tourament Team, which featured his teammate and Portland Traiblazers shooting-guard Rudy Fernández, who averaged 13.6 points and led all the field with 2.1 steals per game.

Serbian guard Miloš Teodosić, Slovenian center Erazem Lorbek and Greek guard Vasileios Spanoulis rounded out the remaining positions on the 2009 Eurobasket All-Tournament Team..

Kotawice – Spain ended the tournament the way it started, by playing Serbia.

This time was much different though, there would be no Serbian upset of the Spanish.

Spain displayed the talent and teamwork that had them pegged as the odds-on favorites of the tournament, trouncing Serbia 85-63 to win the country’s first ever Eurobasket gold medal in seven attempts.

(Discuss the Serbia-Spain finale)

The game started out evenly enough, and was tied at five apiece before Spain started firing on all cylinders.

In the next six minutes, Spain would go on to outscore Serbia 19-4 and go into the second quarter with a  24-14 lead. The favorites would build upon their lead in the second quarter, using a 16-6 run to double up their Serbian opponents 40-20 with a Pau Gasol layup.

Spain enjoyed a 53-29 halftime margin, led by Gasol’s 14 points and 8 rebounds, and Juan Carlos Navarro added 10 points by the intermission. At halftime, Spain got 12 more shots on offense mainly off 10 offensive rebounds, and converting over 50% of their shots while Serbia shot just 40%.

Led by Novica Veličković and Nenad Krstic, Serbia would attempt to cut into Spain’s lead getting it down to 58-44 before Marc Gasol and Rudy Fernandez would hit consecutive layups.

From there, Serbia wouldn’t threaten again.

Pau Gasol topped Spain with 18 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks.  Rudy Fernández added 13 points and 5 rebounds, Juan Carlos Navarro had 12 points, and Ricky Rubio scored 10 points, his first double-digit scoring game of the tournament.

Veličković and Uros Tripkovic led Serbia with 15 points apiece. Nenad Krstic had 12 points.

Looking to Watch the Serbia vs. Spain finals online?
You can stream the Spain-Serbia Eurobasket finals online at any of the following websites:

• FromSport (click)
• JustinTV (click)
• TVP Poland (click)
• ATDHE (click)
• RojaDirecta (click)

Check out our where to watch the 2009 Eurobasket Online thread for the latest (working) links.

You can also follow the games along in our individual game threads: Serbia vs. Spain and Greece vs. Slovenia. Or check out our Eurobasket 2009 forum.