Pau Gasol: Will His Return Bolster Bulls’ Playoff Hopes?
Chicago Bulls forward/center Pau Gasol is expected to return to the lineup this week. Will this improve Chicago’s chances of holding on to a playoff spot?
The one common denominator that has been a major issue for the Chicago Bulls over the past few years is injuries. Unfortunately for the Bulls, that trend has reared its head during the current season as well.
Joakim Noah is on the shelf for the rest of the season. Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler will be on minutes watch as they work their way back from injuries.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, Pau Gasol — who has proven to be one of the most durable players on the Bulls roster after missing just four outings in 2014-15 — has been forced to miss the last four games due to knee swelling.
When it rains, it pours.
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With so many injuries to key players, Fred Hoiberg has been forced to use a variety of different lineups just to help the team stay afloat. As a result, the Bulls had come to rely on Gasol to an extent because of his ability to score from different spots on the floor. It also doesn’t hurt that Gasol is a consistent presence on the boards as well.
On the season, Gasol is averaging 17.0 points and 11.1 rebounds per game, but he was playing extremely well in the four games prior to his injury. In fact, Gasol was averaging 19.5 points and 14.5 rebounds per contest on 46.7 percent shooting from the field.
Along with that, Gasol’s passing skills were certainly on display, as the Bulls big man averaged eight dimes per game during that stretch.
This includes a 17-point, 12-rebound, nine-assist effort against the Miami Heat on March 11. While Gasol proved to be a capable bailout option when the offense bogged down, his increased role may have contributed to his recent injury.
"“I was feeling some discomfort, soreness, pain to a certain degree,’’ Gasol said via the Chicago Sun-Times. “I was trying to play through it, push through it, trying to manage it for a while actually, but after that Miami game, the knee just gave out.“I had that swelling and reaction, and obviously the alarms went off. We tried to find out what’s going on, and we did. We’re managing it. I’m probably not going to be 100 percent all year. Hopefully, it’s not going to get worse, and we’re not going to have an episode like we did after the Miami game. That’s kind of the hope.’’"
On the positive side, Gasol is expected to return to the lineup this week in the first game of a home-and-home series against the New York Knicks, barring any setbacks of course. The question is, how effective can Gasol be if he’s playing at less than 100 percent? This is a valid concern given his age (35 years old) and the fact that this is his 16th year in the league.
In the second round of last year’s playoff matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Gasol helped the Bulls win two of the first three games of the series. However, once he succumbed to a strained left hamstring, the Bulls dropped the next three games. It is also worth noting that the Bulls failed to crack the 90-point mark in two of the remaining three contests.
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In other words, while the Bulls have a slim chance of a deep postseason run with Gasol on the court, their chances of even making the playoffs decrease considerably if he is not able to play at a reasonably high level.