New York Knicks: Is The Willy Hernangomez To Marc Gasol Comparison Valid?
Willy Hernangomez has been compared to Marc Gasol on multiple occasions. Is it realistic to believe Hernangomez could be as good as Gasol?
By now, you’ve likely heard the comparisons between New York Knicks rookie Willy Hernangomez and three-time All-Star Marc Gasol of the Memphis Grizzlies.
At first, the comparisons were largely anecdotal. They’re both affable big men from Spain with a brother joining them in the NBA. However, though they are 10 years apart and are at completely different situations in their careers, it might not be a stretch to believe that Hernangomez can blossom into the player he’s ambitiously projected to be.
Hernangomez’s NBA career only spans 44 games, so it’s obvious that it’s too early to feel any certainty over his future, especially with a team that isn’t known for developing young talent. Yet, his current stats are interesting when compared to what Gasol did during his rookie year.
Just take a look at how their per game stats line up when compared:
During his first season, Gasol played nearly twice as many minutes as Hernangomez’s is currently playing with the Knicks. Gasol’s minutes enabled him to nearly double the output of Hernangomez.
I say nearly because if you doubled Hernangomez’s minutes, they would actually look better than Gasol’s rookie campaign. Here’s what those stats would look like when doubled:
MP FGA FGM FG% TRB BLK PTS Ast
30.6 10.0 5.4 .544 11.8 1.0 13.0 2.0
It’s not that strong of a projection since there are so many other factors that come into play. In fact, for Hernangomez to play over 30 minutes, it would probably take him permanently replacing Joakim Noah as a starter.
It would also take a much more concerted effort to include him in the offense, and that’s not easy with players like Carmelo Anthony, Kristaps Porzingis, and Derrick Rose in the lineup.
Perhaps a better comparison to Gasol’s rookie year could be attained by comparing their per 36 minutes statistics. This is where things get more interesting:
Per 36 minutes, Hernangomez surpasses Gasol in nearly every category. These stats provide an even better glimpse of what Hernangomez could be capable of it he played over 30 minutes per game.
Even if he played over 30 minutes, however, it’s hard to see him getting off 10 shots. After Anthony’s 19.1, Porzingis’s 15.0, and Rose’s 15.4 attempts per game, Lee comes in fourth with 8.6 attempts in 31.2 minutes per game.
The Knicks’ offensive strategy would need some altering for Hernangomez to become a consistent double-double machine.
We can extrapolate this a bit further. There’s some evidence of what Hernangomez can do when he plays for 30 minutes. Just for fun take a look at how Gasol’s current year, which may be his best, compares to Hernangomez’s stats when he plays for 30 minutes or more:
Gasol’s Current Year vs. Hernangomez at > 30 minutes per game:
MP FGA FG TRB BLK PTS AST
MG 34.4 16.1 7.5 6.1 1.5 20.7 3.2
WH 33.6 12.0 6.5 9.5 1.0 15.5 4.5
When looking at this comparison, it’s important to consider the fact that Hernangomez has only played over 30 minutes twice this season, both bad losses, while Gasol is currently the focal point of the 34-23 Grizzlies.
Simply said, it’s going to take a much bigger sample size before leaning too far into the notion that the Knicks have the next Marc Gasol on their hands. However, there is some positive data here that should make Knicks fans hopeful for the future.
At this point, it’s common knowledge that Porzingis is the future of the team, but perhaps it’s time to start including Hernangomez’s name next to his as the other pillar that forms a young core Knick fans should be excited about.
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Even if the New York Knicks fall further from the playoff picture, it’s still going to be fun watching the chemistry between Hernangomez and Porzingis bloom further.