Chicago Bulls analysis: Pau Gasol, Carlos Boozer Deserve Similar Legacies for Performances in Chicago

Defense

Both players were extremely poor defenders.

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However, Gasol’s struggles defensively often get lost under the guise of his other strengths, while part of Boozer’s identity with the Bulls was his abysmal performance on the defensive side of the ball.

Gasol averaged 2.1 blocks per 36 minutes during his time in Chicago. Tangible defensive results such as blocks, especially when many of his blocks were emphatic, masked his overall struggles on defense.

These block numbers were deceptive as well. He had inflated rim protection stats in Chicago because of the innumerable situations where he should have come over and defended a shot at the rim but didn’t because he was too slow sliding over.

Teams exposed his horrible lateral quickness by putting him in pick-and-roll situations. He never made a good effort to close out on shooters when they had beat one of his teammates.

Former SB Nation writer Stephen Noh elaborated on Gasol’s struggles in the pick-and-roll in a December 2015 article.

"Teams are going at Pau a lot at the rim, but they can also have their fill of wide open midrange jump shots whenever he’s put through pick and roll. Pau concedes them; A lot of times he doesn’t even bother to get a hand up."

According to NBA.com, opponents shot three percentage points better on shots 15 feet and longer when Gasol was defending. His poor effort and lack of lateral quickness on closeouts gives context to this stat.

SB Nation writer Kevin Ferrigan summed up Gasol’s struggles defensively in a January 2015 article.

"Defensively, Gasol is an absolute trainwreck. Despite his heavy rebound totals, Gasol almost never boxes out anyone. His rebounding totals are primarily the result of his being around the rim for the vast majority of the game and catching whatever misses come off in his immediate vicinity. Pau’s gaudy block totals result similarly. Gasol hardly ever leaves the immediate basket area to get out help contain penetration or to properly help rotate. Instead, Gasol hovers near the basket and, due to his height and reach, blocks a few shots here and there at the basket. Sure, there is some value in blocking those shots, but mostly Gasol hurts the defense in the same ways that Carlos Boozer once did (poor rotations, slow feet), without the value that Boozer provided in boxing people out and / or securing defensive rebounds."

Many of the same problems that plagued Gasol defensively in Chicago also apply to Boozer.

However, I am a part of the minority opinion that believes that Boozer’s poor defense wasn’t a result of bad effort.

Boozer’s lateral quickness was horrible, his defensive IQ was always suspect as he never seemed to fully grasp Thibodeau’s defensive system and at 6’9″, he was a bit undersized for a power forward. His skillset didn’t aid him in his quest to become a better defender.

Bulls fans ripped Boozer apart for his defense while affording Gasol a pass on the defensive end. It doesn’t make sense because both players were terrible defenders. Gasol was just a bit more flashy because of all his blocks.

Next: Dissimilar Legacies for Similar Production