Pulse of the NBA

(SportsNetwork.com) – Pau Gasol has been released from basketball hell, which is more popularly known as playing under Mike D’Antoni, and he looks again like the player who helped the Los Angeles Lakers win two world championships.

Gasol decided on a completely fresh start over the summer and left Hollywood via free agency. The four-time All- Star then signed a three year, $22.35 million dollar contract with the Chicago Bulls.

So far, it looks like a perfect match for Gasol and his new team as the Bulls are off to a 6-2 start with Gasol clearly being their best player and playing like an All-Star.

The 13-year veteran, who is averaging 18.4 points and 11.1 rebounds, has quickly gained the respect of his new teammates and coach.

“I’m following his lead now,” said Jimmy Butler. I think he has more [40- minute] games under his belt than I do right now. He’s playing out of his mind right now. Double-double after double-double, passing the ball, rebounding. He’s a helluva player for us.”

Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau loves Gasol’s mindset and all the skills he brings to the table. “He plays for the team and to win,” Thibodeau said. “He gets as much pleasure out of passing and doing dirty work, rebounding, as scoring. I’m just glad we have him.”

David Schuster, who covers the Bulls for WSCR radio in Chicago, says Gasol has been a perfect fit and even surprised him in one area of his game.

“His teammates absolutely love him. How can you not? His play on the court has been exactly what this team needed-a low post scorer- and on top of that he’s extremely unselfish.”

And he adds, “The most impressive thing so far is his defense. He’s never been noted for that side of the court but under Thibodeau you either play defense or you don’t play at all. His shot blocking and protection of the rim has been better than I anticipated.”

Gasol is third in the league in blocked shots, averaging 2.38 per game.

ELSEWHERE AROUND THE LEAGUE

The Blazers’ second unit averaged a league low in points (24.7) and minutes (14.2) last season, and we’ve seen a drop in their bench scoring over the first eight games, as the reserves are putting up just 23.1 points per game in 15 minutes.

The addition of free agent center Chris Kaman should be helpful, but replacing Mo Williams with Steve Blake is definitely a downgrade.

I’ve never been a fan of Blake’s game for the simple reason he is a poor shot creator and playmaker, a mediocre defender, and he almost never gets to the line as evidenced by the fact he’s averaged just 0.8 free throw attempts for his career.

I thought Portland GM Neil Olshey made a huge mistake in signing Blake over the likes of D.J. Augustin, who played so well for the Bulls last season, and Aaron Brooks, who is off to a tremendous start with Chicago, averaging 12.6 points, while shooting 52.2 percent from the field and 57.7 percent from three-point range.

With the Blazers having such little depth, Olshey better hope his starters are as durable as last year, when, with the exception of LaMarcus Aldridge, they played in all 82 games.

Speaking of benches, I think the Los Angeles Clippers took a bit of a hit there when free agent Darren Collison left to sign with the Sacramento Kings. The Clippers filled that void by signing Jordan Farmar, who previously won two championships with the Los Angeles Lakers.

I think Farmar will be a capable backup for Chris Paul, but I don’t think he’ll play up to the level of his predecessor.

Last season, Collison averaged 11.4 points and 3.7 assists and shot an impressive 46.7 percent from the floor and 37.6 percent from long range. Plus, he filled in very admirably during Paul’s 18-game absence due to a shoulder injury, when he averaged 13.3 points, 6.5 assists while shooting 47.4 percent from the field and 43.1 percent from three-point range.

In Farmar’s first seven games with the Clippers, he’s putting up only 3.9 points in just over 13 minutes a game, and is shooting 33.3 percent from the field.

The Memphis Grizzlies thought enough of Vince Carter that they signed the 37- year old free agent in the offseason to a three-year contract worth over four million dollars per year. And even though Carter was a key contributor off the bench for the Dallas Mavericks, Grizzlies’ coach Dave Joerger is once again making the foolish mistake of playing a long, washed up Tayshaun Prince way too many minutes and giving him more time on the floor than the eight-time All Star.

Last season for the Mavs, Carter averaged 11.9 points in just over 24 minutes a game and shot 39.4 percent from three-point range, while Prince averaged just 6 points in nearly 26 minutes per game and shot an abysmal 29 percent from downtown along with 56.7 percent from the line.

Carter is playing just over 15 minutes per game with Memphis, which includes one game where he was a DNP-coaches decision.

I could simply say it’s insanity the way Joerger is handling “Vinsanity”, but what it’s really called is bad coaching and not knowing your players.

Categorized in: NBA