While Mike Dunleavy, Jr.is “just” a role player, it should say a lot about what kind of a role player he is that LeBron James would publicly recruit him for his own elite team. The Bulls have the personnel to go deep into the playoffs. It was clear that the front office was exhausted of Thibodeau playing his star players too many minutes and not playing the younger players enough.
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Thibodeau is an old school coach and stuck to his motto that star players need to play heavy minutes in order to win games.
The Chicago Bulls have signed Jordan Crawford to a training camp deal and he will join players like Jimmy Butler, Derrick Rose and Pau Gasol as the Bulls try and work on chemistry under new head coach Fred Hoiberg.
Chicago turns to new coach Fred Hoiberg in hopes he can help them realise their long-sought dream of a return to The Finals.
Does Coach Hoiberg make the difference?
PBT is previewing the 2015-16 National Basketball Association season by tackling 51 big questions that we can’t wait to see answered once play tips off. We will answer one a day right up to the start of the season October. 27. He was a mess last season, a shell of the player who was mentioned in MVP talk a season earlier.
Will it have them fresher come the playoffs?
While Noah is the Bulls’ emotional leader in many ways, the team’s fortunes rest on the shoulders of Rose and Jimmy Butler. Yes he played great previous year, but was average in the playoffs until a hamstring injury forced him to sit out. His rookie year was marred by injury and mediocrity, but he’ll have a larger role and more minutes under Hoiberg.
Is Joakim Noah ready to be a bench player? Eh, we’ll see. Thibodeau had a bad habit of keeping his starters in the game during the late stages of the 4th quarter even though the fate of the game had already been decided. So why have Rose in the game in the first place?
If Hoiberg is able to find a lineup that can consistently overmatch opponents and manage his rotations so that his players have enough left in the tank come April and May, this squad could be the foe that finally topples the king of the east. Gibson had ankle surgery and will be out for a stretch, so he could be a trade target closer to the deadline. Once he comes back, Hoiberg must be patient with Gibson, and ease him back in. The Bulls were ninth in the league past year in points allowed with 97.8 PPG, and they were fourth in the league in opponents’ field goal percentage at 43.5 percent. I want to show that I can get better from last year to this year.
As crafty as Butler is on offense, nobody on that Bulls roster can break down a defense and get to the basket quite like Derrick Rose. Plus, the Warriors were incredibly lucky on the injury front last season – is anyone willing to bet that happens with the Bulls? Bulls management has loved Hoiberg for years, even before he took the coaching job at Iowa State. Even rested, how much more are Rose, Noah, Gasol or Gibson are going to improve?
In that sense, Hoiberg is the answer the Bulls have been looking for.
The Bulls have all the pieces to win an National Basketball Association title and have a new, offensive minded coach to lead them.
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As far as the regular season, I expect the Cavs and Bulls to seed 1 and 2, respectively.
