Pau Gasol is putting Bulls on path to a title

Pau Gasol is putting the Chicago Bulls on his back, on the way to the NBA championship

During perhaps one of the most exciting summers in quite a while, Pau Gasol joining the Chicago Bulls seemed be overlooked by some more interested in the bigger names changing scenery. There was LeBron James returning home to the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Kevin Love joining him there later on in the summer.

There was Chandler Parsons leaving James Harden, Dwight Howard, and the city of Houston for the Dallas Mavericks. Lance Stephenson ditched Larry Bird and Indiana for Michael Jordan and Charlotte. Even Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh staying put with the Knicks and Heat was more of a storyline. But after letting the season play out thus far, Gasol joining the Bulls may have been the biggest move of the offseason.

If I told you a 34-year-old Pau Gasol was possibly on pace for his best season yet, 13 years in, what would you say? What if I added that since winning a championship with the Lakers in 2010-11, he hasn’t played more than 65 games in a season? What if I also said this was all in a completely new environment after playing in LA for the past six seasons? Would you believe me?

It all seems unfathomable. Gasol realized his time in LA needed to end, seeing him and Kobe Bryant weren’t enough to carry the Lakers to the Finals–or playoffs, for that matter–anymore. The front office was much more interested in preparing for the summer of 2016, even if that means letting Kobe walk away bitter with only five rings on his fingers. And yes, Kobe is the only player who would ever be mad about having five NBA championship rings.

For Gasol to add more bling to his finger, going elsewhere was the best option. He had his inquires with the reigning ring-winning Spurs, and the team San Antonio fought through in the Western Conference Finals in the Oklahoma City Thunder. If he had joined the Spurs, Gasol could have played for two of the best coaches to ever roam the sidelines in Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich. In OKC, he had the chance to play with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook–two of the best and most dynamic players in the league.

Sure, both those teams are in the West, but Gasol has fought through the conference twice to win the title. He knows how to get it done, and would have had a great chance with either of those two teams. Still, he declined to play in Chicago instead.

In this decision, Gasol filled Chicago’s only real weakness that has held them back from making serious playoff runs. Well, Derrick Rose being injured was their biggest weakness, and maybe Gasol coming aboard somehow even fixed that problem (hasn’t torn an ACL yet and has played 27 of 38 games). The Bulls really needed an upgrade at power forward, as Carlos Boozer became a mismatch in favor of Chicago’s opponents, so they finally used their amnesty provision on him after threatening for what seemed forever. In turn, Boozer filled Gasol’s spot on the Lakers.

Gasol joined after the Bulls struck out on Carmelo Anthony, who took the money and returned to New York. While this scenario suggests Gasol was the Bulls second option–which he was at the time–Chicago actually really lucked out with ‘Melo not signing in the Windy City. Not only has Gasol fit perfectly into Tom Thibodeau’s system, but Anthony has had a tough time staying healthy with the lowly Knicks.

While a healthy Anthony would have made Chicago extremely tough to beat, he would have made $10 million or more than Gasol is currently making (averages out to about $7.5 million per year) and would make offering Jimmy Butler a max-contract next summer extremely difficult. And who knows, maybe the addition of ‘Melo would hold back Butler’s development, which has been another huge reason the Bulls are a top four team in the East.

On Saturday night, Gasol dropped 46 points and 18 rebounds on the 6th seeded Bucks, joining Michael Jordan as the only two players in Bulls history to have 40+ points and 15+ rebounds in a game. 46 points is also Gasol’s career-high.

This is just one of many good examples of how Gasol has been able to take advantage of his offensive skill set in Chicago. He has had a few bad games this season, and it’s all because he’s playing where he wants to play. Even with Joakim Noah on the floor, Gasol is in the paint most of the time, and at 7-foot with a skilled post game, it’s hard to stop him. While the Bucks didn’t necessary have the size to guard Gasol in the 46-point performance, he can still bully around good defenders in the post. To prove it, Gasol dropped 29 and 14 against Tyson Chandler, and 27 and 14 against Dwight Howard earlier on in the season.

When Gasol is pushed out of the post, his mid-range game has been deadly this season. So basically no matter where you play him, no matter where he’s at on the floor, Gasol is going to dominate you on offense.

To show just how much of an impact Gasol has made on the Bulls this season, he has turned their identify from ‘winning off defense’ to ‘balanced juggernaut’. Chicago has always been fantastic defensively under Thibodeau, but offense has just been meh. After being tied with Boston at 27th in offensive efficiency last season, they are up to 10th this season. In defensive efficiency, the Bulls have taken a small step back from 2nd to 9th since last season, but the offense taking the major leap it has makes them an incredibly tough team to beat.

Perhaps Gasol’s best attribute he brings to the Bulls is his winning gene. The rest of the roster has nothing more than a little playoff experience. Only Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, and Taj Gibson played in the 4-1 series loss to Miami in the Eastern Conference Finals back in 2011. Since then, the Bulls have only gone to the second round. Gasol won back-to-back championships with the Lakers, and that was in the West.

With what Gasol brings to the Bulls’ offense and experience, they have suddenly put themselves in a position to win the Eastern Conference for the first time since 1998. Nothing is guaranteed, and the Hawks and Wizards will certainly get in their way, but with what Gasol has added to this Bulls team, beating them in a seven-game series will certainly be no easy feat.

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