Pau Gasol ruled out for Game 4: Will Bulls lose without him?
By Josh Hill
The Chicago Bulls won a thriller in Game 3, but they will have to send the series back to Cleveland 3-1 without Pau Gasol in the lineup.
After winning a thrilling game on Friday night, the Chicago Bulls are in a situation where they can shockingly send the series back to Cleveland with the Cavaliers up against the ropes. But if the Bulls want to send the series back to Cleveland with that kind of control, they’ll need to do it without Pau Gasol in the lineup.
According to K.C. Johnson from the Chicago Tribune, the Bulls will be without Pau Gasol in Game 4, and that could swing things in the favor of the Cavaliers.
Thibodeau said Gasol is out for Game 4. Won't reveal who starts.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) May 10, 2015
Losing Pau Gasol could be devastating for the Bulls, as it takes away a big body down low and could open lanes for the Cavaliers to drive through. One of the reasons that Chicago has been able to stop the Cavaliers offensive attack has been to fore players who can’t take jump shots into taking jump shots.
Outside of LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, the Cavaliers have a team of players who can dominate down low but can’t survive on the jump ball. Not even the Bulls, with players like Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler and Aaron Brooks, can survive on the jump ball and they have a strength in that area.
Losing Gasol means losing rebounds to the Cavaliers, and with Kevin Love out of the lineup it means that Cleveland has gained ground that the Bulls had over them previously.
It’s not a death sentence losing Pau Gasol, but the Bulls are not a better team without him and this could be a factor that helps Cleveland even the series before heading back the The Q for Game 5 this week.