Spain's Pau Gasol (Photo : Reuters)
Chicago Bulls forward, Pau Gasol, scored an international career high of 40 points in a hard-fought, semi-final victory against a previously-unbeaten French national team in overtime, to bring Spain back to the FIBA EuroBasket 2015 finals.
With only one game remaining before hoisting the coveted trophy, Gasol - with the whole Spanish armada, look to stake their claim as a perennial powerhouse team, end this tournament with a bang, and claim their third EuroBasket gold medal.
But the glaring question is: can Pau Gasol ride this new-found momentum to the upcoming 2015-16 NBA season and finally help the Bulls get over the hump?
Since being traded from the Los Angeles Lakers to the Chicago Bulls, Pau Gasol's basketball career has been reinvigorated by the likes of Jimmy Butler, Derrick Rose, and Joakim Noah.
However, the Bulls still failed to make it to the NBA Finals - let alone bag their seventh Larry O'Brien trophy.
After a coaching change in the off-season, the Bulls' offense should expect a faster, more spaced system; a stark contrast from Tom Thibodeau's and Spain's more deliberate basketball.
In more ways than one, this offense that Fred Hoiberg looks to establish is similar to the brand of basketball that former Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni failed to inject in Hollywood.
Not a good sign for Pau Gasol, indeed.
A short time ago, Gasol met his new coach and talked about his first impressions of Hoiberg.
"He's definitely reached out to players, to everyone on the team personally," Gasol shared. "Obviously he's got great credentials from different people. He wants us to play at a higher pace, with more flow, more freedom."
These basketball jargons seem like the D'Antoni-era Los Angeles Lakers all over again; a time when Gasol's strong suits weren't fully maximized.
"Individually, we'll see," he said. "I don't know exactly. I'm just going to try and bring what I usually bring and do my best to help our team have a better chance to fight for the championship."
Gasol likes to work on the elbow or down the block. He has excellent court vision, as well as the ability to dish out passes to cutting and open teammates.
For a player with Pau Gasol's caliber to succeed, he must have the opportunities to work on his strengths and - as much as possible - hide his weaknesses.
It doesn't matter whether he's playing second fiddle to the Kobe Bryants, the Derrick Roses, or the Jimmy Butlers of the world, as long as Pau Gasol can do his thing and do it well, his team will almost always have a chance of winning.
