As the first month of the season has passed, I think the answer is a bona fide no. At least not yet. Gasol has proven that he can play with the best of them and that he is a top 5 passing big man, but his inconsistency makes him a borderline star, definitely not a superstar. Until he can put up 20/10 over a stretch of maybe 5 games consistently, then it can be safe to say he's a superstar.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Locke:</div><div class="quote_post">As the first month of the season has passed, I think the answer is a bona fide no. At least not yet. Gasol has proven that he can play with the best of them and that he is a top 5 passing big man, but his inconsistency makes him a borderline star, definitely not a superstar. Until he can put up 20/10 over a stretch of maybe 5 games consistently, then it can be safe to say he's a superstar.</div> A borderline star? Oh, he's definitely a star, and like West said in that article that Shapecity posted, he'll be an All-Star this year. As for his inconsistency, it's not really so much that he's not playing good night in and night out, but rather that the Grizzlies don't use him the same way night in and night out. For example, the Grizzlies really needed him against Dirk in the Dallas game on 11/26. They went to him a lot, really got him involved in the offense, and played him 40 minutes. The result? 36 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 assists. In the next game on 11/30 against Toronto, Gasol only put up 15 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists. However, the Grizzlies played him ten minutes less than the Dallas game and didn't really go to him that much, because the Grizzlies were up by ten to twenty points almost the entire game. Then in their next game against Orlando on 12/2, Gasol recorded a season low 9 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists. However, much like the Toronto game, the Grizzlies were blowing out the Magic through the entire game. Gasol only played 28 minutes and took two shots. Does that mean he was inconsistent though? No, he abused Dwight Howard when he was in the game. It's just that the Grizzlies didn't need him as much in the Toronto and Orlando games as they did in the Dallas game. On a team that wasn't as well rounded on the Grizzlies where Gasol would be the focal point of the offense night in and night out, like say Toronto, Gasol would be putting up 20/10 consistently. Let me put it this way; Kevin Garnett averages about 40 mpg. In games where Gasol plays 40 or more minutes, he averages 22.0 ppg, 11.2 rpg, 4.0 apg, and 2.6 bpg. With that said, it looks like it's largely in the hands of Mike Fratello whether or not Gasol ever reaches that superstar status.
^^ I can almost guarantee Gasol will not be in the all-star game this year. Brand, Duncan, Garnett, Dirk thats already 4 better Power Forwards in the West. If Gasol was in the East he'd make it no doubt, but the West has tougher compeition at the Forward spots. The only way I can see him making it is if KG gets traded to the East which looks unlikely right about now.
