Sometime between Chicago's second-round playoff loss and the beginning of Europe's biennial EuroBasket tournament, Pau Gasol found the fountain of youth.
The NBA veteran has sneaker treads so worn he couldn't steer through a rain puddle, yet he seldom stays in warm-up pants when United Center lights dim every other night at 7:05 p.m. A bum hamstring forced Gasol to miss a pair of pivotal games against Cleveland last May - he averaged 11.5 points and six boards in the other four - but the wear and tear of 14 NBA campaigns may become more apparent come 2016.
Gasol has a newfound vigor in fighting to bring the Nikolai Semashko Trophy back to Spain two years after la Roja failed defended back-to-back titles. He's schooling defenders with the indifference of a senior draining a mid-range jumper over a JV walk-on. Three-pointers are falling with a swish few big-men attribute to their own hands.
No one who spends the fall and winter this side of the Atlantic comes near Gasol's 165 total points and 23.6 PPG this summer. The NBA version of Gasol hasn't averaged 20 PPG in a season in nearly a decade, though he consistently hovers near the 19-point mark.
This should bring optimism to Bulls fans. It won't. Not with doctors warning Gasol to take it down a notch.
"The doctors told me that Pau couldn't play more than five minutes straight. But after the first five minutes, when I asked him to come to bench he told me now," Spain head coach Sergio Scariolo said following his team's win over Poland last weekend, via Eurohoops.net. "I will take the risk' he answered me and he had an amazing game."
Five-minute intervals won't happen in Chicago, even with former head coach Tom Thibodeau gone.
Thibodeau's defied repeated front office requests to rest starters regularly, much like San Antonio does with Tim Duncan and Tony Parker. Many blamed the pink-slipped coach for Derrick Rose's annual knee surgeries and Jimmy Butler missing a big chunk of March with a sprained elbow. Taj Gibson recently admitted he's battled ankle issues in two of the last three years that may keep him sidelined through mid-October while he recovers from surgery.
Gasol, entering his age 35 season, clocking about 35 minutes per game in 2014-15; his highest total since purple and gold were still his jersey colors of choice. Butler led all NBA players in the category with 38.7 per night. Rose, who only now resembles the All-Star he was, saw minute increases each month; from 23 to 25 to 32 MPG before another knee injury.
Given their median age - Chicago carries the league's eight oldest roster - and their oft-hobbled starting five, one would think the Bulls would have done more in free agency.
Chicago locked Butler up to a $95 million extension that keeps the shooting guard in the Windy City through 2020. Aaron Brooks returns under a one-year deal, as does $14.4 million-man Mike Dunleavy after re-upping for three more years.
They have dependable options up front with Gibson and Nikola Mirotic relieving Gasol and Joakim Noah, and Dunleavy can interchange with Butler at starting small forward, but there is cause for concern in the backcourt.
Rose is the definition of injury prone. His last healthy season came in 2010-11 when a Derrick Rose slam dunks didn't scare Bulls' fans into lifting hand scissors over their eyes. If he can stay on the court, the venerable All-Star should again be an All-Star. If he doesn't, or if legal troubles get in the way, Chicago better hope Brooks lives up to his $2 million deal.
"I expect him to be healthy. We know him being with the team is key. If he's healthy, he's going to give us plenty of things," Mirotic told Hoops Hype. "We dealt with many injury problems throughout last season and that took a toll on us. I just wish everybody gets back to Chicago healthy."
It looks like everyone outside of Gibson and Gasol will report with a clean medical sheet when training camp opens later this month. Rose is ready, as is Butler. Noah, who struggled after undergoing knee surgery last year, says he is 100 percent despite not knowing if he is slated for a bench role.
Even Gasol appears eager to rejoin the team, EuroBasket title or not.
New head coach Fred Hoiberg reportedly manages minutes than Thibodeau, meaning he'll either play starters fewer minutes or outright give them more off-days. This alone can propel the Bulls into a viable championship contender; simply by resting guys ahead of a playoff push, a la the Spurs.
If that doesn't work, they can always drink some of whatever Gasol's been drinking overseas.
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