Marc Gasol gave the Los Angeles Lakers a shot of adrenaline to the heart on Monday. Now he sounds willing to play that role for the team going forward.
The former Defensive Player of the Year played extended minutes off the bench against the Denver Nuggets with starting center Andre Drummond in foul trouble. Gasol responded with ten key points, seven rebounds, and two assists as the Lakers pulled out the narrow 93-89 victory. Gasol also had a game-high plus-minus of +17.
After the game, Gasol compared himself to “The Wolf,” Harvey Keitel’s character from Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 film “Pulp Fiction” who was known as the fixer-upper.
“I’m fine on that Mr. Wolf role,” said Gasol, per The Athletic’s Jovan Buha. “You just come in whenever things aren’t going great and kind of help everyone. So, I accepted it. I’ll try to do as best as possible at that role.”
The 36-year-old Gasol has had a roller-coaster first season with the Lakers. He underwhelmed as the team’s starting center, leading to their signing of Drummond. Gasol had largely fallen out of the rotation after Drummond’s arrival, but now he is once again proving his value.
Having persevered through all the ups and downs, which even included buyout rumors, Gasol is finally here to stay. He solves problems.
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