May 15--Pau Gasol is back for the Bulls, who are trying to send their Eastern Conference semifinal series back to Cleveland.
Gasol started the Bulls' first elimination game after missing most of the second half of Game 4 and Games 4 and 5 of the Cavaliers' series with his strained left hamstring. The Bulls are trying to force a decisive Game 7 on Sunday in Cleveland.
"His size is still huge, he can still knock down shots," Mike Dunleavy said. "If he's a little slow getting up and down the court we can cover for him."
Both teams started the same lineups they've been using. The team that has won the rebounding battle has prevailed in each of the series' first five games.
The Bulls experienced lengthy scoring droughts in both the Game 4 and 5 losses. Gasol's ability to knock down midrange shots off pick-and-pop plays with Derrick Rose is a good recipie to stop offensive bleeding.
"He can score so many ways," coach Tom Thibodeau said. "Pick-and-roll game, post-up game, his passing ability. The rebounding, of course. The shot-blocking. And his experience. He's been in a lot of big games. The way he plays, if he gets double-teamed, he's going to pass the ball and make the right play without hesitation. So that's all a big plus."
The Bulls are taking confidence in the closeness of the series.
"These are all, especially the last three games, one-posession games," Dunleavy said. "It's a play here, a play there. If we can make one more play than them, maybe that's the difference. Being back home with our home crowd helps but we're looking to extend this series.
"LeBron (James) is a load down the stretch of the game. But it's a play here, play there. Last game it was an offensive rebound. Maybe it's a steal, loose ball. It can be anything, but really, we can be up 4-1 and the series could be over and vice versa. They could be moving on as well. That's the way this thing has gone. It could come down to the last possession."
