Westerlund: The Quiet Brilliance Of Pau Gasol
By Cody Westerlund-
CHICAGO (CBS) – After every Bulls home game, there's one notable constant in the postgame locker room.
Win or lose, a late plane ride to Washington D.C. or a trip to a swanky downtown Chicago restaurant on tap, a night to himself or family from his native Spain in town awaiting, big man Pau Gasol will sit (if he's quite tired) or stand (if he wants to show off his new jacket) in front of reporters and answer every last question tossed his way.
After the local reporters are through with all they've got, a small cast of Spanish media will pepper Gasol with similar questions. If you've got a question that needs answered in a one-on-one setting or were late to the scrum because any reason, just wait, and Gasol will donate another minute without question.
He does all this in the most courteous of manners, always deep on analysis after a win and almost nearly as long with answers after a loss. He's to the point, never loud of flashy. Just ask, and you shall receive his full attention, his media sessions sometimes totaling 15 or more minutes by night's end.
Answering those questions won't mean a lick to Chicago's championship hopes, but this is a glimpse into the mentality of Gasol, who always keeps perspective.
In a Bulls season full of drama early (will Derrick Rose play or won't he?) and injury hurdles all along (even Mike Dunleavy's two-season ironman streak ended Saturday because of an ankle injury), quietly submitting his brilliance time and again is Gasol, at 34 feeling younger and healthier than he has in quite some time, tossing up doubles-doubles like he's in his prime (his 17 rank fourth in the NBA) and logging the second-most minutes on the team.
"It's unbelievable," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said after Gasol went for 29 points, 16 rebounds and five blocks in Chicago's 109-104 overtime win against Boston on Saturday, when they played without Jimmy Butler, who was on bereavement leave.
"You see it night after night. Just all the things that he does on both sides of the ball."
Gasol's signing with Chicago last July to a three-year deal was widely lauded as a solid move, but few, if any, pundits saw him becoming such a two-way force. Gasol is averaging 18.0 points on nearly 48 percent shooting, but it's his defense that's really shone. He's averaging 11.2 rebounds (fifth in the league as of late Saturday night) and 2.4 blocks (third).
Gasol's a primary reason the Bulls (24-10, third in the East) are the best rim-protecting team in the NBA, as they're first in blocks and first in opponents' field-goal percentage within five feet of the rim, and he even admitted this is one of the best stretches of basketball he's ever played.
Everything he envisioned in choosing Chicago is coming to fruition.
"I'm extremely happy about the decision that I made, what we have here, the potential that we have here, the position we're in right now," Gasol said. "And we have, I think, still room for growth. So a long ways to go, but I'm definitely excited about where I am, and I'm enjoying it. I'm having fun."
Outside of the little-used Nazr Mohammed – who started 59 games for the 2005 champion San Antonio Spurs – Gasol is the only Bulls player to win an NBA title. He was the co-star alongside Kobe Bryant when the Lakers won titles in 2009 and 2010, and he also played on the 2008 Los Angeles squad that fell in the Finals to a Boston squad that had Thibodeau as its defensive coordinator.
About eight hours before Gasol began dominating Saturday night, Thibodeau had stood on the United Center floor after shootaround and lauded how Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen had set the tone every single day on that championship Celtics team. He called them "a driving force" needed to reach your ultimate goal.
Asked who driving force of these Bulls are, Thibodeau responded, "We're working on it – I think we'll see."
There are no shortage of candidates. Joakim Noah is the team's emotional leader, and Jimmy Butler is as hard-nosed and hard-working as they come. Taj Gibson has sacrificed perhaps more than any player in the entire NBA, Noah has mused before.
Yet there's something to be said for the quiet, professional leader, too. He can be a driving force, and that's what Gasol's been all season.
"You want a team of leaders," Thibodeau said. "The best leadership you can have is what a guy does every day. If you're doing the right things, that's the best example for the team to have a great understanding of the commitment that's necessary to win and the sacrifice that's made for the team. And (Pau) does that all the time. His actions speak louder than any words and when you watch him play, when you see how unselfish he is, his ability to make the right play all the time.
"He has a great understanding of what it takes because he's won a championship. And he knows the commitment that's necessary to do that."
Already, Thibodeau views Gasol as a team leader. His teammates do too, and from time to time, some of the veterans have asked him about Chicago's championship aspirations, about what it takes to reach the top. It's not a daily ritual, Gasol explained, but there's a time and a place for those deep discussions.
What Gasol sees is a team that has the heart and makeup to think big -- and one that can reach its dream if it continues improving.
"I do see it," Gasol said when asked of the Bulls' title potential. "That's why I came here. I didn't come here for any other reason. I thought this team has the potential to win a title, and that's what we're working for.
"All the guys here are hungry to win a championship. Obviously maybe the newer guys don't have that mindset – they're just trying to figure out everything that's new to them. But I think the main guys, the veteran guys who have been here for a while, they're all ready."
Cody Westerlund is a sports editor for CBSChicago.com and covers the Bulls. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund.
