Gasol wants more touches: 'Not much balance' to Bulls' offense
After being misused during his final three seasons with the Lakers, Pau Gasol returned to All-Star form in his first year with the Bulls.
But his second under a new head coach in Fred Hoiberg isn't off to as strong of a start.
Gasol's points per game average has dipped by almost five points through the first 12 games of the season. and after a loss to the Warriors where Golden State successfully used its small-ball lineup to fluster the Bulls on both ends of the floor, Gasol said he'd like more touches, and would like to see more balance to his team's offense.
It's worth noting that Golden State's small-ball lineup has been crushing everything in its path all season long, and is posting historically great numbers on both offense and defense. And, with Jimmy Butler's rise to stardom and Hoiberg using new lineups, Gasol has been made less relevant, at least to this point in the season.
But that doesn't mean he's wrong, and it's likely that the Bulls will look to specifically get Gasol more involved as the season progresses.
"To me right now, there is not much balance to getting the ball inside and what we do outside," Gasol said after Friday night's 106-94 loss to the Warriors. "I think that's something we can improve on."
"When they go small, they have an advantage on the other end because they spread the floor. But then you have to punish them on offense, make them pay for going small," Gasol said. "That's what we didn't do. That's the balance between our outside and inside game. You have to play to the strength of your players. If you don't do that, you're not being very smart."
"I'd like to see more action in the paint myself and get better rhythm shots from outside," Gasol said. "But we're all trying to figure things out.
"There are plays that can be called but we don't call them enough. We have to work on getting that balance because I think it will help everyone."
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