Chemistry getting better between Gasol, Noah
Pau Gasol had his best game as a Bull on Thursday in Toronto, finishing with 27 points and 11 rebounds.
After Friday's practice, he talked about the developing chemistry between he and Joakim Noah.
"It's been fun. I think we complement each other really well," Gasol said. "His game, my game are a good fit. So that was one of the things I was excited about when I decided to come here. It's been working well. His intensity and energy, it's very contagious, it's very positive on the floor, off the floor. It's been fun so far."
Noah and Gasol do make an interesting duo. Both grew up in Europe and are very intelligent. Noah is known for his passion, while Gasol has been surprisingly vocal on the court this season.
Noah had 8 rebounds, 6 points, 6 assists and 3 steals against the Raptors. His best moment was a stretch that began with him sailing out of bounds trying to save a rebound. Noah got off the floor, caught up to the play defensively and stripped the ball from Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas. Then he started his own fast break, dribbling the ball most of the way up the floor before firing a cross-court pass to Mike Dunleavy, who drained an open 3-pointer.
"Jo is a guy that really shares the ball and looks for the open guy," Gasol said. "Very unselfish, makes extra plays and extra effort plays for guys. I think we're just going to build on it; continue to look for each other, make plays for each other.
"Cover a lot of ground defensively, that's where we really want to be a presence and an anchor for our team so that they all feel safe and secure on the backside, knowing that we are there to protect them."
Third is best:
The Bulls probably played their best quarter of the season Thursday when they outscored Toronto 35-14 in the third.
"I think we just came out with the right mindset," Pau Gasol explained. "In the locker room, we had a good talk. We needed to step it up. The second quarter was not good; too many turnovers. They got going and we needed to control the game, especially on the defensive end.
"We've just got to be consistent on that end of the floor getting stops and getting rebounds and then attacking. We came out with the right mindset and that's what we've got to do consistently."
Bull horns:
The Bulls unveiled the uniforms they'll wear on Christmas night when they host Carlos Boozer and the Los Angeles Lakers. The jerseys feature the players' first names on the back, below the number. They also don't say "Bulls" across the front, just a small logo above the number. ... Ex-Bull Tyrus Thomas, attempting an NBA comeback, worked out for the Memphis Grizzlies, according to basketballinsiders.com.