Today is Day 16 of the Omer. Gevurah sheb’tif’eret. Power that flows from balance.

For the second day in a row, during this week of tif’eret, we are honoring a European big man with an all-around game. There are a few players with more balanced games or more balanced interests than Pau Gasol. Lee Jenkins does an excellent job capturing Pau’s love of art, music, medicine, and culture in his article, “The Power of Pau.” 

Ultimately, it is Pau’s power that earns him the nod on Day 16, the day of gevurah (power, might, strength). I don’t think I fully respected the lanky 7 footer’s strength during his career.. Buried in the anonymity of Memphis for 7 years and labelled as a soft European big man, I was surprised to see that Gasol averaged 9.2 rebounds over 18 seasons. For most of those, he was a double-double machine, averaging…