Same Bulls, New Era
Photo: David Richard-USA Today
By Jake Weiner
For a team bringing back an
identical roster, the Chicago Bulls
have some fascinating new storylines.
Coach Tom Thibodeau was finally
relieved of his duties after butting
heads with the front office the last
two seasons over a myriad of issues.
And while Thibodeau remains
a fantastic defensive coach and
motivator, legitimate questions arose
surrounding his knack for riding
his players to absurd degrees and
the absence of an effective offensive
system.
The Bulls hired Iowa State head
coach Fred Hoiberg, who brings
a stark contrast in styles. On the
court, the Bulls will play a strikingly
different style of basketball. Hoiberg’s
offensive system stresses spacing,
ball movement, and constant action.
Early indications are that Hoiberg
will start Nikola Mirotic in place of
Joakim Noah, embracing the massive
upgrade in spacing that Mirotic’s
shooting can provide. However, the
likely Pau Gasol-Mirotic pairing
brings with it a number of defensive
issues that Thibodeau refused to
tolerate.
At 35, Gasol simply isn’t very
mobile anymore. Last season, the
Bulls struggled to stop offenses when
Gasol played due to his inability to
force turnovers and lack of lateral
mobility. Pau’s gaudy block numbers
looked nice, but he wasn’t a positive
defensive player. Mirotic has plenty
of potential to be one, but last season
he struggled to effectively guard
opposing bigs. Mirotic’s ability
to create turnovers is key, but he
gambles far too much to defend
consistently.
While Mirotic will likely take
the place of Joakim Noah as a
starter, Fred Hoiberg will further
differentiate himself from Tom
Thibodeau by using his roster more
liberally. A huge point of contention
in Chicago of late has been the
overuse of Bulls players, most notably
Jimmy Butler and Joakim Noah. All
signs point to Hoiberg embracing
a more Spurs-ian philosophy of
limiting huge workloads and waiting
out injuries more patiently. Still,
Chicago has had unnerving issues
pushing players too hard since before
Thibodeau was ever hired, so this
will be a key storyline to track in
Hoiberg’s debut season.
Like each of the last few seasons,
the fate of the Chicago Bulls will
depend on their homegrown hero,
Derrick Rose. Butler may clearly be
Chicago’s best player, but a dynamic
Rose offers the Bulls an added
element on offense that takes them to
another level. Further, Forman and
Paxson chose to bring back Aaron
Brooks, E’Twaun Moore, and Kirk
Hinrich as their point guard rotation,
meaning the availability of Rose is
critical.
Without him, the Bulls can go
almost nowhere in the playoffs. If
Rose can finally put together another
healthy season, the sky may be
the limit under Hoiberg’s freeing
offensive system. Of course, as Tom
Thibodeau would remind you, they’ll
need to stop opponents too.
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