It might be the under-looked reunion of Christmas Day, but Pau Gasol will be heading back to Los Angeles for the first time since signing with the Chicago Bulls in free agency. Gasol opted to leave the Lakers who were preparing to rebuild in 2014 to sign with Derrick Rose and the Bulls in hopes of winning a title in the near future. Those dreams could easily come true sooner rather than later as the Bulls are thriving and the Lakers need a win desperately.
Gasol inked a three-year, $22 million deal in the summer after spending six seasons with the Lakers and winning two championships with the team. Now, Gasol is with the Bulls and playing a big role in why the Chicago Bulls are dominating the Eastern Conference. The Bulls are currently on a 7-1 stretch. However it is also the increased play of Rose who is coming off a game where he had 25 points in his last game while averaging 22.7 points on 50.9 percent shooting in his last six games.
The Lakers will be getting Bryant back on the court who was sitting out when the Lakers defeated the Golden State Warriors 115-105. Bryant is currently averaging 24.6 points while shooting 37.2 percent over 35 minutes per game. The win over Golden State snapped a three-game losing streak while the team sits 9-19 on the year.
The Lakers are certainly lacking the role players the Bulls have. Carlos Boozer is leading the effort off the bench coming off to score 18 against the Warriors. Ronnie Price also managed a season-high 17 points against the team. They are hoping players like Jeremy Lin and Nick Young are enough to possibly get the team a little win streak and play upset to Chicago on Christmas. The Bulls have dropped seven straight to the Lakers, but have taken the last five of six games against the team.