Pau Gasol: 5 ways he will help the Chicago Bulls

Pau Gasol and Joakim Noah together give the Bulls a great post game.

The Bulls’ offense was a grind last season. They were considered the hardest working team in the NBA, and it showed offensively. Every possession was a battle to score.

A big reason for that is that the Bulls have no real post game. Having a post game opens up other shots for the team, and gives you some easy shots, so you do not have to depend on outside shots so much for points.

From inside 5-feet, the Bulls ranked 28th in the league. From 5-to-9 feet, they are dead last. That really hurt their offensive continuity. When the shooters get the ball from the post, defenders are all over them, not respecting the Bulls enough to put it back in the post and score. The more contested shots taken, the worse the shooting percentage.

With Gasol, the Bulls have another option in the post other than Noah. Gasol is a proven post scorer so opposing teams have to respect that. If they double up on Gasol, Noah is open for easy shots. The more they score in the post, the more open shots the shooters get. The more open shots, the better the shooting percentage.

In Noah and Gasol, the Bulls also have two of the best post passers (or any type of passers) in the NBA. Noah averaged 5.4 assists per game last season, while Gasol averaged 3.4. These are great numbers for big men. When they are doubled, they have the ability to pick up the open man right away and get the ball to that man.

Improving the post game will add much-needed points in the Bulls offense, and that will be great, considering how few points they give up on defense.