NBA Playoffs: Pau Gasol will be active for Game Six
Chicago Bulls power forward Pau Gasol has been out for the past two games of their series with the Cleveland Cavaliers, both Bulls losses, but will return for Game Six.
For a great deal of this conference semifinal series between the Chicago Bulls and the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Bulls have been without the services of their power forward Pau Gasol
Pau Gasol was limited in the Bulls Game 3 victory, and didn’t play in either of the Bulls losses in Games 4 and 5, both of which have been close. With no more room for error in this series, any advantage for the Bulls and head coach Tom Thibodeau is absolutely essential.
Fortunately, the Bulls get their help in the form of Gasol.
Thibodeau said Gasol is good to go for Game 6.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) May 14, 2015
Gasol’s return will bolster a short-handed frontcourt. Taj Gibson was hit with a flagrant-2 in Game 5, and will be out for Game 6. The last time I checked, Joakim Noah didn’t have arms, and Nikola Mirotic has played a great deal on the perimeter, and doesn’t have the strength or pedigree to be an enforcer down low.
Gasol is important in providing the Bulls with a reliable mid-range option. The Cavs would like to play a lineup in key situations that takes center Timofey Mozgov out of the Cavalier five and goes with three guards, LeBron James and a power forward, likely Tristan Thompson. With this lineup, the Bulls can more easily get to the rim with outside penetration from Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler. As the Cavs collapse inward to protect the rim, Gasol becomes a kickout option.
The Bulls are desperate for offense. Rose and Butler have been the Bulls primary scorers, and Rose has been inefficient in this series so far. His lack of mobility forces the Bulls into half court sets, but it still gives them a frontcourt presence.
If he can reliably get that kickout shot, then the Bulls are in an ideal position to push the series to a seventh game.
This series so far has been defined by two things: injuries and turnovers. The Bulls frontcourt is getting healthier, but if they can be more fluid on offense and careful with the ball then they have the key advantage in the series. Otherwise, the series will continue to be the turnover-filled scrum it has been, something that has so far been to the advantage of the Cavaliers.
Game 6 is this Thursday night at 7 pm.
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