Analysis of big men we hear about; asik, gasol, darko

WARNING LOG POST BELOW;

We've heard a few names for big men we have been looking at. Marc Gasol, Asik, and some ideas of Darko within the forums. I am attempting to show that these 3 guys are actually very similar and that I would be happy to have any of them as a center for the Rockets. The premise is that we don't need a scoring center just someone that grabs boards and block shots.

I've taken the Per 36 Min stats to give them a base line for 2011

Season Age G GS MP FG FGA FG% FT FTA FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS
Darko 2010-11 25 69 69 1686 5.8 12.3 47% 1.4 2.5 56% 2.8 4.8 7.7 2.2 1.2 3 3.2 4.9 12.9
Gasol 2010-11 26 81 81 2586 5.1 9.6 53% 3.1 4.1 75% 2.1 5.8 7.9 2.8 1 1.9 2 3.7 13.2
Asik 2010-11 24 82 0 989 2.8 5.1 55% 2.7 5.3 50% 4.1 7.1 11.1 1.2 0.7 2 2.3 5.6 8.3


Since Darko has been in the league the longest, I took all Darko's games that he played more than 30 mins and did a per min average. (Rookie season to present) I did this to check how consistent he preformed at a starter min level. Since the data was available. He played 73 games with 30 mins or more.

Past 30 min Season Age G GS MP FG FGA FG% FT FTA FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS
Darko 2005-2011 25 73 0 2642 5.5 11.1 50% 2.0 3.3 61% 2.8 5.5 8.3 1.7 1.0 2.6 2.2 3.5 13.1


So far you can see that Darko isn't as bad as people think. Very close to the Per 36 min stats.

Next, I compared the 3 at the various age points by per 36. Out of the 3 Darko has been in the league the longest at 7yrs, Marco at 3 and Asik at 1. Out of the 3. Gasol is the oldest at age 26, Darko at 25 and Asik at 24. Due to the length of time a player has been in the league their upside begins to demenish and the common thought process is that the player will reach the peak at 27-30 years of age.

Comparision of Per 36 by age; 24
Asik Season Age Tm Lg G GS MP FG FGA FG% 3P 3PA 3P% FT FTA FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS
2010-11 24 CHI NBA 82 0 989 2.8 5.1 0.553 0 0 2.7 5.3 0.503 4.1 7.1 11.1 1.2 0.7 2 2.3 5.6 8.3
Gasol 2008-09 24 MEM NBA 82 75 2521 5 9.4 0.53 0 0 0 3.9 5.4 0.733 2.9 5.8 8.6 2 0.9 1.3 2.3 3.8 13.9
Darko 2009-10 24 TOT NBA 32 18 685 5.3 10.7 0.49 0 0.1 0 0.8 1.5 0.536 2.5 5.5 7.9 2.5 1.2 1.8 1.8 4.3 11.3

Asik appears sold on the boards with 11 boards and 2 blocks. However his scoring is not as good as gasols, darko numbers are similar to gasol with more blocks.

AGE 25

Season Age Tm Lg G GS MP FG FGA FG% 3P 3PA 3P% FT FTA FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS
Gasol 2009-10 25 MEM NBA 69 69 2469 5.5 9.5 0.581 0 0 0 3.7 5.5 0.67 3 6.3 9.3 2.4 1 1.6 2 3.7 14.7
Darko 2010-11 25 MIN NBA 69 69 1686 5.8 12.3 0.469 0 0 1.4 2.5 0.557 2.8 4.8 7.7 2.2 1.2 3 3.2 4.9 12.9

While it looks like Gasol is the stronger player at age 26, the doesn't block as many shots as Darko. but Darko isnt far behind. I would imagine Asiks growth to be similar with less offense.

From the stats you can also tell that that FT% heavily favors Gasol at 73% while the other 2 are in the 50%. meaning that they would be hard to employe in the 4th qtr in tight games.

The problem with Darko is that he came into the league to young, most GMs would label him but he is only 25yrs how much could he grow? With Gasol, I dont think there would be much more he could be. He is slightly better than the other 2 with a better overall game. Asik, going into his second year you could expect huge gains but does he have the potential to grow more than Gasol?

Now to me, these players all look similar - not a star center nor future all star. (Gasol boarder line allstar maybe). What will set them each apart is

1. heart
2. effort
3. desire

From what I saw this past year, I would take Asik over Gasol and Darko because I feel he could fit into the blue collar type guy, he is also more active on the court than the other 2.

Gasol would be next since he has the skill level and has the tallent.

Darko wouldnt be bad either, that is if he can really produce the numbers given 30+ min per game and his stats do suggest he can.


I know that using only per 36 numbers aren't a good way to evaluate players, i am just hoping to show that all 3 players would fit what we need currently and all have upside because they are relatively young still.