Do the Bulls miss Boozer's physicality?

[Gravis]

http://www.blogabull.com/2015/1/31/7956711/signing-pau-gasol-was-a-mistake

The guy who wrote this^ article is an idiot. I hate even giving him more clicks, but it is just mind-numbing to read some of the arguments he makes.

Some claims he makes in the article:

-Noah, Gibson, and Mirotic are ALL > Gasol

-Bulls were better off with Boozer defensively than Gasol because Boozer 'yelled and boxed out more'

-Gasol doesn't make the Bulls better in any way whatsoever.

The ****? Have we found Biff's brother? I understand if someone wants to bring up some solid criticism about a signing, but that was just outright stupid. I'm pretty sure most people understood Pau's drawbacks too, so only meatballs would give him super all-star status. Overall, Pau's been one of the few consistent pieces of offense this has needed for awhile.

What a maroon.

 

[RamiTheBullsFan]

yeah i spoke on this

his analyst of Gasol is pretty good and frankly while Boozer is not any better defensively he might actually be a better fit for our defense as he didn't take Noah away from where he should be

but then after that he went on a tangent and it became a big "i told you so" type article...he should have stuck with the analyst and scrapped all the "it was a mistake" stuff

Instead of this misplaced focus that Noah is the end-all be-all for the Bulls, how about thinking in terms of 'who is the best fit to play next to Pau?' The answer, in my opinion, is Taj. Especially to finish games.

 

[Axl Rose]

Instead of this misplaced focus that Noah is the end-all be-all for the Bulls, how about thinking in terms of 'who is the best fit to play next to Pau?' The answer, in my opinion, is Taj. Especially to finish games.

IMO Gasol is hurting us being the paint commander....but ive read Bulls/Gasol are keeping teams to a low percentage in the paint so that statement will probably receive much contest

however unless Gasol is literally standing under the rim, the opposing players pretty much have a free lane as Gasol doesn't bother to rotate to over and contest the shot (something Noah would do)

 

[clonetrooper264]

IMO Gasol is hurting us being the paint commander....but ive read Bulls/Gasol are keeping teams to a low percentage in the paint so that statement will probably receive much contest

however unless Gasol is literally standing under the rim, the opposing players pretty much have a free lane as Gasol doesn't bother to rotate to over and contest the shot (something Noah would do)

The Bulls do try to keep Gasol as close to the basket as possible. If Gasol doesn't rotate, it's because he's slow as crap and wouldn't have made it anyway. Generally he keeps himself in a position where he can slide over in time to get a hand up. I agree that it's kind of negating Noah's skills as a help defender as he will guard the stretch 4s. At this point, I'm convinced that Noah and Gasol should have their minutes completely staggered so that they're on the court together as little as possible.

 

[Crystallas]

We don't need Gasol to add anything to his game that will increase risk of injury come playoff time. He's not the problem and he's a lower cap hit than Taj, Noah, and Boozer. I'm not sure why he has this target on his back. You have a 34 year old 7 footer, you don't ask why he can't move like a 25 year old.

Only in Chicago can fans criticize a cheap all-star in the twilight of their career over arguably empty stats. And funny thing is, I swear a lot of these guys that are taking jabs are the same ones who advocate for bringing in empty stat players.

 

[clonetrooper264]

We don't need Gasol to add anything to his game that will increase risk of injury come playoff time. He's not the problem and he's a lower cap hit than Taj, Noah, and Boozer. I'm not sure why he has this target on his back. You have a 34 year old 7 footer, you don't ask why he can't move like a 25 year old.

Only in Chicago can fans criticize a cheap all-star in the twilight of their career over arguably empty stats. And funny thing is, I swear a lot of these guys that are taking jabs are the same ones who advocate for bringing in empty stat players.

Gasol is getting crap because we had a losing record in January and he's the newest major piece. "Well we were doing fine last year, but we're not this year so it must be the new guy's fault" logic

Oh we're still 12 games over .500? IT MATTERS NOT WE'RE GOING NOWHERE

 

[Scoot26]

Gasol is getting crap because we had a losing record in January and he's the newest major piece. "Well we were doing fine last year, but we're not this year so it must be the new guy's fault" logic

Oh we're still 12 games over .500? IT MATTERS NOT WE'RE GOING NOWHERE

Still hope the Bulls have put this behind them and really really gotten things out there with these 4 days off and can hit a 5 game winning streak going into the All-Star Break.

 

[Chief Walking Stick]

The Bulls certainly miss Boozer's yelling on the court.

 

[Scoot26]

the bulls certainly miss boozer's yelling on the court.

get dat jo!


And one!!!!!!!

 

[clonetrooper264]

Still hope the Bulls have put this behind them and really really gotten things out there with these 4 days off and can hit a 5 game winning streak going into the All-Star Break.

Agreed. Imagine how frustrated the team is with how they played in January. They KNOW they can do better. Hopefully they made the decision as a team to turn up in every game going into the break.

 

[clonetrooper264]

The Bulls certainly miss Boozer's yelling on the court.

Gasol does his fair share of yelling too. It's not quite as entertaining as Boozer's though.

 

[Crystallas]

Gasol does his fair share of yelling too. It's not quite as entertaining as Boozer's though.

But Gasol follows it up with hugs.

 

[Axl Rose]

Rockets with 50 in the paint....need i say more?

i don't know where that stat about Bulls having good rim protection came from but its total bullshit

my only explanation is that the lane is so wide open it throws players off and makes them miss lol (joke)

 

[ChiSoxCity]

Gasol's ability to hit short and mid-range jumpers over anyone in the league makes him an asset.

However, the flipside of that is Gasol's poor defense coupled with Noah's poor defense makes the Bulls' starting frontcourt one of the weakest in the NBA. Forget about blocked shots and perimeter defense. If you are soft (lack physicality) in the paint, you're not going to be capable of stopping teams from doing whatever they want to you, as we've seen with the Bulls.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[RamiTheBullsFan]

Gasol's ability to hit short and mid-range jumpers over anyone in the league makes him an asset.

However, the flipside of that is Gasol's poor defense coupled with Noah's poor defense makes the Bulls' starting frontcourt one of the weakest in the NBA. Forget about blocked shots and perimeter defense. If you are soft (lack physicality) in the paint, you're not going to be capable of stopping teams from doing whatever they want to you, as we've seen with the Bulls.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The Bulls are somewhere between 10th-15th (out of 30) in the league defensively as a team. Noah hasn't been bad. He just hasn't been himself. Gasol isn't a bad defensive player either. Noah hasn't had the mobility to be anything much more than a defender around the rim, and that is Gasol's only strength as a defender as well. Once Noah is back to being himself, he can be in more of a PF-type of role on defense. The Bulls absolutely have one of the best starting bigs in the NBA.

How many combos can you honestly say are better - Period.

Marc Gasol+Z-bo.
Gortat+Nene.
Griffin+Jordan.
Horford+Millsap.
Aldridge+Lopez.
Davis+Asik.
Nowitzki+Chandler.
Duncan+Splitter.

Yes.

Cousins+Thompson? Meh.
Howard+Jones? Meh.
Bosh+Whiteside? Meh.
Hibbert+West? Nah.
Drummond+Monroe? Nah.
Love+Mozgov? Nah.
Draymond Green+Bogut? On a very good day.

That's 15 other teams with formidable front-lines. This pretty much goes to show that your blanket statement that Noah and Gasol make the Bulls' front-court "one of the weakest in the NBA" is clearly an exaggeration. They are rather mediocre, in all honesty. But definitely above average.

 

[Naptastic]

Gasol is an all star when hes putting forth his best effort. There is definitly nights where his defense looks lazy and he's not active defending the rim at all. When he makes up for it on offense, its no big deal. Hearing his comments to the media really make me think that hes just doing his own thing and waiting to give 100% till later.

While Gasol is definitly > Boozer, it doesn't make him bulletproof. Guy has a big role on defense, and doesnt really seem to be showing up lately.

 

[The Hawk]

Still hope the Bulls have put this behind them and really really gotten things out there with these 4 days off and can hit a 5 game winning streak going into the All-Star Break.

Yeah, they are 12 over .500. So what? Right now, they are playing like a team under .500 are they not? But, to me, the more important thing is that they are pretty much lost. This team, which added Gasol, Rose, and Mirotic to an already play-off team is LOST. And I do not see a clear path to anywhere.

This is not about injuries. Come-on. Dunleavy is not somekind of reason why they have been struggling. This is about make-up and they do not have a good one. Thibs needs to go back to his strong suit and that is his defense. He needs to tailor everything to putting together his defense. Enough shitting around.

Noah

Gibson

Butler

Rose

Mirotic

 

[The Hawk]

Interesting statement that gasol said while others were talking about needing to hustle more on defesne as well as work hard. He said basically ........ No, that's not it. I am working as hard as I can(?). We just need to be more efficient........ I heard this same crap when I listened to him with the Lakers. This shit is cracking folks!

 

[The Hawk]

Gasol is an all star when hes putting forth his best effort. There is definitly nights where his defense looks lazy and he's not active defending the rim at all. When he makes up for it on offense, its no big deal. Hearing his comments to the media really make me think that hes just doing his own thing and waiting to give 100% till later.

While Gasol is definitly > Boozer, it doesn't make him bulletproof. Guy has a big role on defense, and doesnt really seem to be showing up lately.

I hear that shit also which I just commented on. And I just just wonder when you have warriors like Gibson and Noah hearing that kind of stuff from him, what they really think bottom line.

I said before any of this went down that I thought that gasol was better than Boozer and he certainly has proved to be such. But, I do not think that any on the Bulls realized how bad he and Rose would play together defensively. THIS is the major reason why this team is not better than it is. Get them apart. Put Gasol as the leader of the 2nd unit.

 

[2323]

Maybe it's not the yelling but the painted on hair.