Chicago Bulls Talk: #1 Option…Rose or Gasol?

Let me paint a picture that everyone from Chicago Bulls fans, to coaches to the front office has been trying portray for the longest. What is that picture Pippen Peoples? The 2011 MVP season for Derrick Rose. Derrick Rose was the superstar, the undisputed face of the Chicago Bulls and the cornerstone of the franchise. Times were wonderful back then, the crossovers, the dunks, the chants of MVP!

Well it’s 2014.

A lot has changed since those days. Derrick Rose now has two weaker knees. The MVP chants at last check went to Joakim Noah. The Fresh Prince of Cleveland, LeBron James stole the blueprint of building a super team from Pat Riley and took it home and is trying a model of his own. Lance Stephenson will blow sweet nothings in James’ ear in Charlotte. But the biggest change that Derrick Rose will see is in his own backyard.

The offense has changed quite a bit since Derrick Rose has been out the last couple of years. Gone are the days when Tom Thibodeau rolled the ball out to Derrick Rose and had him generate all of the offense, sell hot dogs, fly the team plane and shut the lights off when the games were over. Since D-Rose went down…again with a knee injury after ten games last year, the Bulls put in a stop-gap (also read…predictable) motion offense that ran through Joakim Noah. The Bulls would place him  at the high post that played to his strengths of passing the ball to cutting players to the basket. Pippen Ain’t Easy has been very critical of the lack of creativity of the Bulls offense that led to the demise in the first round against the Washington Wizards last year.

So for this article, let’s ignore the question of Derrick Rose’s knees. We’ll save that one for everyone else and come back to it later. The question for now is, should Derrick Rose be the number one offensive option for the Chicago Bulls?

Derrick Rose has stated over and over again that he has learned a lot from his rehabilitation and watching from the bench the last few years.

I sure hope so. For Rose’s sake and the Chicago Bulls.

I wish everyone would stop comparing Derrick Rose to the guy that won the MVP back in 2011. It’s not fair to him, plus you’re chasing a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow on so many levels. That dude is gone Pippen Peoples.

Aug 1, 2014; Las Vegas, NV, USA; USA Team Blue guard Derrick Rose (41) shoots the ball during the USA Basketball Showcase at Thomas & Mack Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

If that wasn’t the case, everyone in the Chicago Bulls organization wouldn’t be looking at the FIBA World Cup as a success. I mean how far has the mighty fallen here?

Derrick Rose went from a penciled in starter to sharing minutes with Kyrie Irving to being a good defensive player off the bench. I don’t know what everyone else is seeing but I just saw it as Rose stinking it up on the basketball court. Sorry?

Derrick Rose scored 4.8 points in the tournament while shooting 25.4% from the floor. That just happens to be the worst percentage of ALL NBA players in international play.

Jul 18, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau (left) and general manager Gar Forman (right) pose for a photo with newly signed center Pau Gasol during a press conference at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Pau Gasol stood at the end of the  spectrum in the FIBA tournament. Up until Spain got upset in the semifinals, Gasol looked like he had  been born again as he was killing everyone down in the post. He showed everyone why he is considered one of the best low post players in the world. He was one of the MVP candidates in the tournament. Gasol was just that good.

So who should be the number one option?

Should it matter?

After watching the first two preseason games this season, it should be  very troubling if you are a Chicago Bulls fan that Thibodeau has not worked very much on offensive schemes this summer to put BOTH players in a position to succeed.

Rose and Thibodeau both seem to know Gasol’s strengths in the low post…

Derrick Rose talking to reporters before the FIBA World Cup.

"“Pau is another dimension to our team that we didn’t have and I think I never since I’ve been in the NBA. …With [Gasol] being seven feet and you got Joakim with Taj [Gibson] on the other side cleaning up everything else, I think we just need shooting and just one other playmaker. But I think we have that.”We can play through Pau in the post, so I don’t have to worry about starting off games the way I used to in the past."

Jan 21, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls power forward Carlos Boozer (5) is defended by Los Angeles Lakers power forward Pau Gasol (16) during the second half at the United Center. The Bulls beat the Lakers 95-83. Mandatory Credit: Rob Grabowski-USA TODAY Sports

Only problem is that dimension comes from Gasol in the post. The Bulls in the first couple of preseason games have been using the Mike DumToni plan putting him at the high post shooting jumpers. This is a total waste of the man’s talents, Pippen Peoples. If the Bulls keep this up, Gasol will be no better than your old friend Carlos Boozer, trust me.

Take a look at San Antonio. The reason why they beat the brakes off of the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals is because of an inside presence. Tim Duncan can destroy Chris Bosh on any given day and twice on Sundays. The Heat knew that and had to pay attention to that matchup. Why do you think they had all that spacing? For a championship to come to Chicago, the Bulls have to figure out a plan to use Gasol, and they haven’t come close yet.

What is so frustrating about this is that Gasol can help Rose better than anyone on the roster because he can carry an offense at times. With Gasol, Derrick Rose doesn’t have to shoulder  the burden of getting the Bulls into their offense AND bail them out if things don’t work out.

Mar 6, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers center Pau Gasol (16) shoots over Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan (6) during the second half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

Plus, Gasol will allow Rose to get his rhythm back which is missing up to this point. It’s not like Gasol doesn’t have the experience. He was the number one option in Memphis when the Grizzlies first had success. He was partnered up with Kobe Bryant for two world titles in L.A. Why was he successful? Because Pau can still command a double team in the post and he’s a willing passer to make plays. Look, if you can find a way to deal with Kobe Bryant and his antics, you can pretty much play anywhere.

With a system.

The Chicago Bulls had better find a structured offense for Pau Gasol to play in. In Los Angeles, when Gasol was successful, the Lakers ran the “Triangle” offense. It is structured and everyone knows their role. As soon as Phil Jackson left town. So did the structure and so did Pau’s effectiveness. The Bulls have shown little structure in their offense in the first two games. You can easily tell that by the way the offense has stalled in the fourth quarters of both games.

Don’t give me that role players excuse. If you have a structured offense, it doesn’t matter. Furthermore, it makes it easier to evaluate your players.

The Bulls do not have that yet. If they are trying to wing it through the preseason, look for a slow start in the regular season. How many minutes have you seen these two on the floor together? I’ll wait. This is a different Chicago Bulls team from when Derrick Rose was healthy. Check that, this is a different Chicago Bulls team from LAST YEAR. There will be chemistry problems if this offense isn’t worked on. If you think these guys are affected, think about Nikola Mirotic and Doug McDermott, two rookies who need these two for spacing.

We are getting closer and closer to the regular season. Let Pippen Ain’t Easy be your best source for analysis on all Chicago Bulls games, roster moves and coaching decisions.

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