Early Takeaways from Chicago Bulls' Joakim Noah, Pau Gasol Pairing

Bringing in Pau Gasol this past summer was a move that everyone knew would benefit the Chicago Bulls in one way or another. But it’s yet to be clear exactly how.

The oddest part of Gasol’s fit with his new team is that he comes in next to Joakim Noah, who plays his natural position at center. The similarities don’t end there: Both players are also pass-first big men who thrive most of all when they’re dishing to cutting teammates from the high post. Putting the two together has—and will—require some serious adaptation from both players.

Thus far, the most marked change in either’s game has been Gasol’s new defensive duties. Despite coming to Chicago with a reputation as a declining, sometimes slow-footed defender, coach Tom Thibodeau has made him the rim-protecting anchor of the Bulls defense. His height and instincts, goes the thinking, could make him a harsh giant in the lane within the right scheme.

“He’s got great length, he has great timing, he’s smart, he can anticipate,” Thibodeau said of Gasol’s defense so far, as reported by Mike Singer of Comcast Sports Net Chicago. “He’s still not communicating as well as he’s capable of, but he’s done well thus far.”

Gasol has collected 2.1 blocks per game in the preseason, a surprisingly high figure. His position near the basket makes sense with Noah on the floor too, as Noah is more capable of chasing better-shooting big men out to the perimeter and beyond.

Offensively, there’s still a lot of exploration to be done with the pairing. The Bulls have run some frustrating post actions, dumping the ball to Gasol deep and watching him go to work without moving much off the ball. The dynamic, high-low passing action with Noah many anticipated when Gasol came to town has yet to come to much fruition.

But it will take time for those plays to find space. Gasol, like Noah, is a singular passer. Many of his teammates have looked unready to receive the ball in the places he puts it—his vision for a play developing is often ahead of his teammates’ sights as well as the opposition’s. For the Bulls to capitalize on both Gasol and Noah’s passing skills, it will simply take a lot more reps.

But Thibodeau has liked what he’s seen enough to start closing games with Noah and Gasol together, despite Taj Gibson’s excellent fourth-quarter play in 2013-14. Whether or not everything is working as it’s supposed to, now the coach has signaled that his ideal finishing lineup involves the Gasol-Noah tandem.

Noah’s awkward-looking “tornado” jumper will be more important than ever as he shares time with the former Los Angeles Lakers standout. Gasol is a more natural fit with Derrick Rose in the pick-and-roll, leaving Noah on the periphery of the action as a secondary option every time a Rose-Gasol play is called. Defenses are sure to collapse on the lane, and Noah will have his chances to knock down important jumpers.

The most important early takeaway from the Gasol-Noah era, though, is the marginalization of Gibson. Bulls fans are right to be frustrated by Gibson still not finding a starting role and especially by his potential lack of a closer’s role.

At this stage of their respective careers, Gibson is almost inarguably a better player than Gasol. He’s stronger, faster and he has far more familiarity within his coach’s daunting system. Last year’s surprisingly effective Bulls squad owed nearly as much to Gibson as it did to Noah, and it’s a bit disheartening to see that work go unrewarded.

There's always the possibility that Gasol and Noah don't find the right chemistry to remain Thibodeau's closers or that either of the two is injured—then Gibson would become a fourth-quarter cornerstone yet again.

Without either of those developments, though, it seems that Taj will be kept on the bench to provide defensive presence next to flashy rookie Nikola Mirotic and that Gasol and Noah will share much of their time together.

If Gibson can accept his super-sub role and contribute as he did last year, unfettered by ego concerns—as one of his tweets indicated he could, per Spencer Lund of Dime Magazine—then the Gasol-Noah front line, while not the Bulls' ideal arrangement, looks even in its early and raw stages like the core of perhaps the best big-man crew in the NBA.