For Bulls, Pau Gasol is doing everything
Chicago big man Pau Gasol has made a tremendous early impact.
TORONTO — Joakim Noah noticed Pau Gasol watching film on the team plane on Wednesday. The game: Toronto vs. Philadelphia. The sad-sack Sixers trailed by 41 points at one point and lost by 32. This, to Noah, showed Gasol was eager. That’s one word for it, anyway.
Noah’s eyes lit up as he told the story, calling his new teammate a Hall of Famer while clearly amused about his method of preparation. The assembled media cracked up.
“He said, ‘Just trying to learn the tendencies,’” Noah said. “It just showed a great commitment on his part. I mean, I wouldn’t watch that shit.”
The Defensive Player of the Year has been continually impressed by Gasol. Noah told reporters in training camp that he didn’t think his new frontcourt partner would leave Los Angeles for Chicago’s cold weather. “To pick the polar vortex says a lot,” he said. Since the season started, what’s stood out has been how Gasol has protected the paint. Noah thinks he’s underrated on that end of the floor, and the Bulls have been using his length to their advantage.
There’s no other big-man tandem in the league, and perhaps ever, who can pass like Noah and Gasol. While their personalities are different -- one’s an ebullient hippie, the other a neighborly diplomat -- it was always easy to imagine them meshing. Gasol feels like there hasn’t been much of a transition.
“We’re just playing basketball,” Gasol said. “We’ve been unselfish, we try to play to our strengths. We complement each other very well. Jo’s a guy that works really hard. His energy and spirit is contagious.”
The Bulls all point to Gasol’s championship experience — he won two titles with the Lakers, and lost in the finals once. He’s also had premature playoff exits with talented teams, so he knows how tough the road is. When he speaks of why he chose Chicago, he mentions the mix of youth and veterans and the group’s collective hunger for more.
Raptors head coach Dwane Casey called Gasol a “cerebral winner” before Chicago’s 100-93 victory at the Air Canada Centre on Thursday, and he sure seems to be helping so far. The Bulls are 7-2 despite a variety of early injury issues, tied with Toronto for the best record in the East. Gasol’s averaging 19.3 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game while shooting 51 percent from the field, numbers far superior those he put up in the last couple of years.
“Pau’s been unbelievable,” Chicago head coach Tom Thibodeau said. “In terms of everything. How he’s practiced, how he’s helped lead, how he’s played. How he’s been defensively, how he’s been offensively, just how he plays the game. He’s brought a winning attitude to our team.”
Gasol’s impact was never more evident than against the Raptors, who had no answer for him. The Bulls kept feeding him in the post, and Casey was reluctant to send double teams because of the shooters surrounding him. Gasol went to work.
He finished with 27 points, 11 rebounds, two assists and three blocks, making 12 of his 19 field goals. Toronto center Jonas Valanciunas played less than five minutes in the second half because of how thoroughly Gasol dominated him. The Raptors shot just 3-for-12 at the rim on shots Gasol contested, per NBA.com.
“You can’t say enough about him,” Thibodeau said. “Just the way he sets the tone for the team, plays both sides of the ball, plays unselfishly. He’s great. Every aspect of the game. He sets screens, passes it well, gets deep post position — second defender comes, hits the open man. Defensively, communicates well, protects the rim, rebounds in traffic. He’s been huge for us.”
Thibodeau couldn't have sounded more satisfied. Last season, Chicago’s offense was a slog. This year, the ball is popping around the perimeter. Gasol’s a master at kicking the ball out when the defense collapses, and that creates opportunities for 3-pointers in rhythm, the coach explained. Gasol gave credit to the guys around him — “We have a very deep roster,” he said, “and sometimes, against great teams like us, you have to pick your poison.”
Gasol finds it promising that the Bulls have room for growth along with their “pretty good record,” but knows that a two-week road trip is coming up. Against Toronto, they struggled for much of the first half. He’s looking for more consistency within games.
“I think we have to develop the chemistry, we have to develop our game a little more so we can be successful later on into the season, into the playoffs,” Gasol said. “Right now I think we’re on a good path, we’re doing things well, but in this league you’re always tested and there’s always going to be challenges. So let’s see how this team faces those moments of challenge and adversity and toughness.
“I think this group has the potential to be really special and do something special this season,” he continued. “Now it’s just a matter of how it unravels.”
As much as anyone in Chicago’s locker room, Gasol is aware that there’s a long way to go. He’s enjoying his time with his new team, and he’s getting more and more comfortable in the system. None of this, though, means he should stop doing the little things. Like watching Raptors vs. Sixers tape.
“I think it paid off great,” Noah said. “He obviously saw something in that game because he kicked some serious ass tonight.”
