The sooner the better for Memphis.
The trend right now among NBA teams is to say a guy is out “indefinitely” with an injury and not give a timetable. (Unless you’re the Knicks, then every injury is day-to-day, even when it’s not.) You can thank Derrick Rose for that, nobody wants to give the impression a key player will be back sooner than he will be ready.
The other way to get around that is to give an extended timetable then have said player beat it. Which brings us to the Memphis Grizzlies.
Marc Gasol was reportedly going to be out 6-10 weeks with a sprained MCL, but the Associated Press said in a recent story it is really expected to be 3-4 weeks.
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As noted, the sooner the better for Memphis — in a deep Western Conference every extra loss now is one that could knock a team a seed or three down the playoff ladder (there were four games separating the No. 1 and No. 5 seed last season in the West) and that will make a run through the playoffs that much more difficult.
Kosta Kufos has played solidly in his absence, but he is no Gasol, particularly on the defensive end where Gasol’s smart reads and rotations anchor what has been one of the most stout defenses in the league.
The good news for Memphis is that Gasol’s game is not based on his explosive athleticism — he should be able to be his old self pretty soon upon return. It’s going to take a few games for the shooting touch and passing feel to return, but he’s not going to have to wait for his ability to blow by guys with his crossover to come back for him to be effective.
