Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big story line. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
For as great as Rose and Butler have been at times this season, especially in this series, the Bulls can’t beat the Cavs without Gasol. He is the stabilizer for this group and has been all season. Offensively, he’s the man the Bulls can dump the ball down to on the blocks when they are in need of a bucket. He’s the man who would have helped stunt those scoring droughts the Bulls have gotten themselves into in the last two games.
Defensively, he isn’t the most active guy on the floor, but his length and his ability to rebound in traffic have helped the Bulls this season. Gasol has been this team’s most durable player all year and it’s clear that his teammates are having a hard time without him. After missing just four games in the regular season while averaging 18.5 points and 11.5 rebounds a game, Gasol’s two-game absence has the Bulls looking for answers at the worst possible time: coming into a do-or-die Game 6 Thursday night at the United Center.
After realizing the old Derrick Rose was back in uniform for the playoffs, I figured there was a good chance the Bulls could knock off Cleveland and I wouldn’t have to suffer through another LeBron-filled Finals.
And when Chicago took a 2-1 lead in this series, I really started to get excited.
And then it happened. Pau Gasol, aka Softy McSoft, went down with a hamstring strain. He’s missed two games and the Bulls are suddenly down 3-2.
I really shouldn’t question the toughness of any athlete, especially when I don’t know the full details of the injury.
But here’s what I know:
- Kyrie Irving is playing through knee tendinitis and a foot strain
- Iman Shumpert is playing through a groin strain
- LeBron James is playing through the worst ankle sprain in the history of the universe
- JR Smith is playing with an underdeveloped brain
And those are just the injuries in this series.
If only Pau had the mentality of Kevin McHale, a guy who played 3 months on a broken foot in 1987.
You’d think a guy who oozes machismo would be able to do the same.
On Page 2, let’s meet the Celtics new reporter.
So excited to announce this: I’ve joined the 17-time World Champion @celtics as their team reporter. #GreenRunsDeep pic.twitter.com/EDDvQkCY2s
— Amanda_Pflugrad (@Amanda_Pflugrad) May 12, 2015
Welcome Amanda! How you doin’?
The rest of the links
