Is Tom Thibodeau Leaning Too Hard on Pau Gasol?

Chicago Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau leans hard on a select group of players every year—so does nearly every NBA coach. Generally speaking, there’s not much wrong with that.

But in Pau Gasol, Thibodeau is perhaps choosing the wrong man to ask extra from in 2014-15.

At the time of publication, the 34-year-old Gasol is averaging 35.9 minutes per game, good for No. 12 in the league. The only big men playing more per contest are Kevin Love and Anthony Davis, who are 26 and 21, respectively. This, despite the Bulls having one of the deepest frontcourts in all of basketball.

Of course, that depth is subject to health, and Chicago hasn’t had it.

Joakim Noah, Thibodeau’s usual top workhorse down low, has been on something of a maintenance program as he recovers from arthroscopic knee surgery over the summer. For Noah, that doesn’t mean much: He’s missed action just three times this year and is playing 31.9 minutes per game.

However, Noah’s reduced availability is enough for Thibodeau to bump Gasol into big-boy minutes, especially with Taj Gibson missing six of the Bulls’ last seven games with a badly sprained ankle.

Nikola Mirotic—No. 4 on the team’s depth chart up front—has been impressive as a rookie, but the “as a rookie” snag is a big caveat. Especially for Thibodeau, who’s still searching for reliable defensive discipline from this squad. Behind Mirotic there's Nazr Mohammed and Cameron Bairstow; Both have been gaping minuses in their 2014 floor time.

As a result of this perfect storm of circumstances, Gasol has been on the floor a lot. For the most part, he’s looked spry and energetic enough to handle it. His endurance is almost unbelievable at this point. He's been able to give the Bulls the post offense (and defense, on some nights) they need to warp defenses and free up shooters.

But testing it further could prove foolhardy. Gasol played similar minutes and missed 55 games over the past two seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers due to a variety of ailments. Those are par for the course for 7-footers, and even more so as they reach their mid-30s.

In order for Pau to be available and at his physical peak come springtime, it seems that the Bulls might want to use him with more caution.

Gasol has downplayed the impact of extended playing time, though. After logging 50 minutes in a double-overtime, 132-129 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on December 2, Pau turned around and played 36 more in a 102-95 road victory against the Charlotte Hornets the very next day.

“I think everybody was fatigued at that point,” he said about the team’s intense double duty, as reported by CSN Chicago’s Mark Strotman. “We played a lot of minutes, whoever was on the floor at that point. So [everyone was] in the same conditions.”

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As far as whether Gasol’s been good enough to earn the time, there’s little question that he has. Behind Jimmy Butler, he’s been the second-best Bull of the year.

Here’s Bleacher Report’s Sean Highkin on Pau’s career rejuvenation in Chicago:

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The Gasol the Bulls have seen early in the season looks much more comfortable than the version of the four-time All-Star that was playing out his final years in Los Angeles on a team that didn’t fit him. Gasol never clicked with Mike D’Antoni, and following the Lakers’ first trip to the lottery in Gasol’s time there, it was simply time for him to move on.

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A reborn Gasol has been a pleasant sight for Thibodeau and Bulls fans alike, and he’s helped them stay more than afloat through their difficult run of injuries and arduous process of chemistry-building with a number of new pieces.

If the Bulls compete for a championship come June, it will be in no small part because of Gasol. That they've relied on him so heavily in their 12-8 start proves that.

But he has to get there first, and his current program almost seems built to prevent that from happening. Gasol’s minutes will be something to watch as the Bulls' season progresses.