Lakers, Grizzlies Depending on Guys Named Gasol

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The Los Angeles Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies each have a guy named Gasol who play huge roles in helping their teams advance in the 2011 NBA Playoffs.

When the Lakers acquired Pau Gasol from Memphis in 2008, many considered it one of the worst trades in NBA history at the time.

The Grizzlies obtained the draft rights to Marc Gasol in the trade that sent Javaris Crittenton, Kwame Brown, Aaron McKie, cash and two first-round draft picks – one in 2008 and the other in 2010 – from the Lakers in exchange for Pau Gasol.

In July 2008, Memphis signed Marc Gasol to a three-year, $9.72 million deal which at the time didn’t create a lot of buzz among NBA insiders.

Most everyone agrees that trading Pau to Los Angeles helped the Lakers win back to back NBA championships in 2009 and 2010.

After Pau compiled regular season statistics that were comparable to his career numbers, the Lakers were again considered the favorites to advance to the NBA Finals.

But through eight playoff games Pau has struggled, and the Lakers find themselves down 2-0 to the Dallas Mavericks in their Western Conference semifinal series.

Pau has averaged 13.6 points per game in the playoffs, down from his regular season average of 18.8. His rebounds and field goal percentage have also dropped dramatically, so it’s no wonder why the Lakers find themselves in a hole.

Meanwhile younger brother Marc has stepped up his production for the Grizzlies’ during the playoffs.

Through eight playoff games, Marc has increased his scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage averages from his regular season totals.

As a result of his performance, Memphis was able to win their first playoff series in franchise history when they defeated top seeded San Antonio in the quarterfinals.

The Grizzlies are tied with Oklahoma City at one game apiece in their sermifinal series, and Marc was instrumental in helping Memphis take Game 1 from the Thunder on the road.

Now that the Lakers will have to play the next two games of their series against Dallas on the road, Pau clearly has to step up his level of play if Los Angeles is going to have any chance of defeating the Mavs.

The Grizzlies-Thunder series moves to Memphis for games 3 and 4 where the Grizzlies have gone 3-0 thus far in the playoffs. If Marc continues to produce, Memphis could seize control of their series and advance to the Western Conference finals.

There’s no guarantee that the Lakers or Grizzlies will advance beyond the semifinals, but if one or both of those teams do find their way into the Western Conference finals, it will be because a guy named Gasol helped get them there.

Here’s a look at the regular season and playoff statistics for the Lakers’ Pau Gasol and the Grizzlies’ Marc Gasol.