The Chicago Bulls were a title contender last season, as Derrick Rose returned to the court and the team added big man Pau Gasol. Rose wasn’t able to consistently stay on the court, unfortunately, while the Bulls battled nagging injuries to Taj Gibson, Jimmy Butler and Joakim Noah for almost the entire year.
Despite dealing with health and chemistry issues all season, Chicago still locked up the Eastern Conference’s third overall seed and won a playoff series. Had they been able to find that consistency, it’s possible they may have made it past the Cleveland Cavaliers, and from there, it’s anyone’s guess what they could have done.
Going into the 2015-16 season, the Bulls again have a shot at being a special team. Rookie head coach Fred Hoiberg will open them up and release what binds them offensively, and in turn they will hopefully be less tense and more productive, overall. They’ll also need to use the right starting five and get the most they possibly can out of their main rotation. Let’s take a look at their starting unit and key rotation pieces and see what the future may hold for them this upcoming season:
Ideal Starting Lineup: Derrick Rose (PG), Jimmy Butler (SG), Nikola Mirotic (SF), Taj Gibson (PF), Joakim Noah (C)
Derrick Rose showed flashes of his former MVP self last year and when he did, the Bulls were pretty tough to stop. Unfortunately, he either wasn’t that version of himself or simply not on the court due to injury, far too much of the time. A healthy, effective Rose goes a long way for Chicago, and if they get that they’re absolutely a title contender. Without that, Chicago will be fine but won’t be able to make a deep playoff run, regardless of what everyone else can give them.
Let’s continue on assuming Rose’s horrendous bad luck with injuries is over. Great, now all Bulls fans can sleep at night and actually hold out some hope for next season. The next key part to this team is obviously Jimmy Butler, who has turned into a fantastic scorer and creator. He can do both of those things, but the Bulls really need to get back to the basics with Butler, who just a season ago seemed to be an elite defender. He really wasn’t all that elite defensively last year, as he was either battling an injury or too worried about scoring. If he can balance his game back out and be that elite defender again, opposing star players like Paul George, LeBron James and Kevin Durant are going to be very tired at the end of any night they face Chicago.
Here comes the kicker. I’m a huge fan of Nikola Mirotic. He’s a bit of a ‘tweener, so you absolutely can argue against or for him playing either the three or the four. He’s not not an amazing defender (yet). But he is such a terrific offensive player already that I don’t care about any of that. He needs to be on the court pretty much at all times if you can help it, and it also could give the Bulls an upgrade at small forward over the very average Dunleavy. Mirotic’s game best suits the three spot, but it remains to be determined if he can roll there full-time at both ends. For now, I like the upside.
The same story here with Taj at the four. Pau Gasol is the superior offensive player, but in terms of efficiency that gap is a lot closer than you’d think and what Gibson offers defensively makes him the better overall play. If Gasol can at all be open to coming off the bench, this could work beautifully. Gibson has been held back a ton in Chicago and has the size and athleticism to be a great two-way option. The Bulls just need to make it happen.
Keeping this whole thing together is a healthy Joakim Noah. I’ve heard the rumors of Noah being benched for Gasol and that’s one idea, but you’re losing a ton of defense if you do that. Noah needs to not be totally absent from the offense like he was last year, for one, a she clearly showed two years ago that he’s an amazing passer with the ball in his hands. He also wasn’t healthy at all last year, and a healthy and focused Noah can block shots, rebound and shutdown offensive studs. He’s a huge piece of the puzzle, provided Chicago doesn’t give up on him after one down year.
Main Rotation: Aaron Brooks (PG), Kirk Hinrich (SG), Mike Dunleavy (SF), Pau Gasol (PF), Bobby Portis (PF)
If the Bulls worked with the starting lineup I’ve given them, they could potentially have a very balanced first team that can both light it up offensively and also defend at an elite level. This would also give them a disgusting bench with Pau Gasol carrying much of the heavy lifting offensively and Brooks and Hinrich picking up the rest of the scoring and play-making responsibility. Portis has a ton of upside but might be in the same boat as Doug McDermott and simply not be ready to contribute just yet. Dunleavy is a fine starter who can hit open shots and defend, but I’d like him better with the second unit. Overall, this is a very solid bench that is top-heavy with an elite mid-range scorer in Gasol helping the team balance out quite well.
The problem here is that Gasol doesn’t want to come off the bench. Part of finding a way to win is sucking it up where need be, and I think Chicago’s best team would have both Gasol and Dunleavy coming off the bench. They’d keep fairly big roles and play a good amount, but I like their crunch time unit without these guys.
Overall, the Bulls have a ton of talent and if healthy and coached right, they could be a very dangerous team next season. Agree or disagree with my take? Let me hear it in the comments below!
