Takeaways from Pau Gasol's Peformance with Chicago Bulls Thus Far

The Chicago Bulls upgraded when they replaced power forward Carlos Boozer with former Los Angeles Lakers big man and Spanish national team sensation Pau Gasol—a move made this past summer.

Gasol's body of work as a Bull is still small—just seven games, to be exact—so how much he elevates the team's play is still to be seen definitively. However, Gasol has probably already won over some of the fanbase's skeptics. Despite having his weaknesses, he's clearly been a tremendous asset to the team.

His dependable, efficient scoring is noted by his 20.7 player efficiency rating—nearly double Boozer's 11.8 PER with his new team (and Gasol's old one), the Lakers. Although Gasol can't dominate opponents the way he used to, he's still a cut above. Big-man defenders who can deny Pau the shots he wants are still few and far between.

Being able to dump the ball to Gasol on the block has given the Bulls offense a breath of fresh air. Ranked last in the league in 2013-14, the Bulls are currently sixth in points per game. But the Bulls have yet to fully take advantage of the two-time champion's full offensive skill set. The team has largely just watched him go to work and try to get buckets when his number is called—not cutting and setting screens off the ball to take advantage of Gasol's vast talents as a passer.

Hopefully, head coach Tom Thibodeau corrects this and employs Pau in a way similar to Joakim Noah's "point center" role of last season. Such team action, of course, will take multiple months of trial and error to institute effectively.

Gasol's defense has been mixed. Though he's been one of the NBA's leading shot-blockers as the rim protector in his coach's vaunted system, he's also missed a number of assignments due to simply not being quick-footed enough anymore. Gasol is 34. He's also occasionally underperformed as a defensive rebounder—particularly against the Cleveland Cavaliers on October 31, when Cavs third-year man Tristan Thompson grabbed 12 offensive boards on Pau's watch.

The season has been underway for nearly no time, and the Bulls' 2014-15 campaign has also not boasted a lot of difficult opponents. Aside from that game against Cleveland—a 114-108 overtime loss at home—Chicago has faced a row of eminently beatable foes. 

So, again, we're simply not deep enough into Gasol's stint in Chicago to say just what sort of impact he can have. But we do know the team can hand him big responsibility at various times throughout the regular season. The team's 98-90 home defeat of the Orlando Magic on November 4 saw Gasol play 41 minutes and rack up 16 points and 12 rebounds—he stood as an integral star with Derrick Rose and Noah out of action, battling with bulky young Nikola Vucevic to the weary end.

"You have to always be prepared physically and mentally to face differing and difficult circumstances where you're going to have to play a little longer, work a little harder," Gasol said after the game, according to The Associated Press (via ESPN.com). "This was what this league is about, as well."

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In such words, we also see Pau's attitude aligning with the uber-professional culture of Thibodeau's locker room. Thibodeau's "next man up" ethos is not lost on Gasol. He understands he'll be asked to play big minutes on select nights, and he embraces those opportunities without appearing to feel slighted or salty about moving down the team's totem pole when his squad's at full health.

All in all, Gasol's been a terrific addition for his team. If the Bulls can truly fight for a championship this spring, it will be at least in part because he's gotten even better at fulfilling his new Chicago role. And while that development may or may not be forthcoming, we've at least seen a strong early trajectory for the Bulls' latest star.

Advanced statistics courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com.