Pau Gasol questionable for Game 4 with hamstring strain

The Chicago Bulls may need to hope their late Game 3 performance without Pau Gasol is sustainable.

Gasol strained his left hamstring in the third quarter of Friday's game and did not return, leaving the Bulls to finish the final 18:48 of their pivotal victory without him. An MRI on Saturday revealed no additional damage beyond the strain but Gasol is still sore and officially being listed as questionable for Sunday's Game 4.

If he can't go, it would mean additional minutes for Taj Gibson and Nikola Mirotic, both of whom were terrific in Game 3. Mirotic, in particular, had a great outing despite being used sparingly in the playoffs so far, with the Bulls outscoring the Cleveland Cavaliers by 19 points in his 22 minutes.

"I got a chance to help the team," the rookie said. "That was really important for me, for my confidence."

The Bulls succeeding without Gasol isn't all that surprising given the context of the series. Through three games, Chicago has played the Cavs to a draw with Gasol on the bench and been outscored by five points with Gasol on the floor.

Despite his appreciable numbers - Gasol has 38 points, 18 rebounds and eight assists in 85 minutes in the series - he's taken as much off the table as he's brought to it. The Bulls have struggled to keep Tristan Thompson and Timofey Mozgov off the glass when Gasol plays, with Chicago's rebounding percentage jumping from 48 percent to 57.7 percent when Gasol sits.

That's a trend that's held all year, with Gasol failing to move the needle for the team's performance despite 18.5 points, 11.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. The Bulls were just a rounding error better with Gasol on the floor, and their rebounding rate jumped by 1.3 percentage points without their leading rebounder.

Gasol's a great player, but certain parts of his game are exploitable in the right matchup, something the Cavs have taken advantage of so far.

Here's a quick look at how Chicago's different big-man pairings have fared in the series so far: