Pau Gasol likely to miss Game 5 against Cavs on Tuesday
The Cleveland Cavaliers are severely banged up. But the Chicago Bulls have injury issues of their own, and it looks like power forward Pau Gasol will not play in Game 5 on Tuesday.
Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters Monday that while Gasol's strained left hamstring is feeling better, he has yet to do anything at practice outside of rehab work, and the coach isn't sure of his availability.
Gasol left Game 3 on Friday after scoring six points in 22 minutes. The 34-year-old Spaniard said he actually suffered the injury in Game 2, a contest where he also performed suboptimally, finishing with 11 points on 3-of-8 shooting in 29 minutes.
An MRI on Saturday confirmed nothing more serious beyond the strain.
Taj Gibson and Nikola Mirotic are the beneficiaries in terms of playing time here, although Mirotic followed up a solid Game 3 performance with a 1-of-9 outing and three points in Chicago's Game 4 loss.
Perhaps the sole upside to Gasol being on the bench is the opportunity for more shots like this, not unlike the opening sequence in a TV drama.