Chicago Bulls Have Reason To Be Optimistic About The Future

By Fuad Ahad | May 15, 2015

The Chicago Bulls were eliminated from the NBA Playoffs by the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, and the immediate concern now is the future of head coach Tom Thibodeau.

With all of the drama that has surrounded this situation all season long, it’s difficult to see the organization holding onto him for the remainder of his contract. When asked about his future, Thibodeau simply stated that “until they tell me I’m not, I expect to be here. That’s how I’m approaching it.”

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This is all up to management and not something to dwell on for the rest of us.

The team will need to figure some things out after this loss but as fans, there is no reason for us to go bald over this elimination considering the Bulls lost this all on their own. This series should have been won by the Bulls late in the third quarter of Game 4 when they were up by 11 points and on their way to a 3-1 series lead. Once they relinquished that opportunity, they gave LeBron James that slight crack in the window to do what he needed to do.

But how about the fact that Derrick Rose not only played all throughout the playoffs but played very well considering the circumstances? Game 6 against the Cavs was only his 17th game back since he underwent his third knee surgery in February. He was still shaking off rust in these playoffs.

In those 17 games, he averaged 17.8 points, 5.8 assists, 4.4 rebounds, 1.1 steals, shooting 39% from the field, 86.5% on free throws, 31.4% on 3-pointers, 3.0 turnovers, and an impressive +88 in the +/- category. This includes the final five games of the season where he only played in 20-minute stints in preparation for the playoffs.

In the 12 playoff games, his numbers went up to 20.3 points, 6.5 assists, 4.8 rebounds, 1.2 steals, 39.6% shooting from the field, 89.7% on free throws, 34.8% on 3-pointers, and 3.2 turnovers in 37.8 minutes per game. This is extremely encouraging as he’s regained his confidence and will have the whole summer to further work on his game for the start of next season.

His backcourt mate also took some huge strides in these playoffs; Jimmy Butler upped his regular season, Most Improved Player winning numbers to an even more thrilling superstar level. He averaged 22.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 2.4 steals, 44.1% shooting from the field, 81.9% on free throws, 38.9% on 3-pointers, and 1.8 turnovers per game. This was all while guarding the opposing team’s best player on the court, which happened to be LeBron a lot of the time.

Any offer Butler signs in the summer is expected to be matched by the Bulls, and so the prospect of the duo building off of this postseason to raise their games to a dominant level kind of makes the uncertainty of Thibodeau’s future irrelevant. The talent will be there no matter what, so whether it’s Fred Hoiberg walking the sidelines or someone else, how much of a difference would it make?

It’s possible that keeping Thibodeau would be motivational for the team as they’ve seemed to respect him and like him as a coach, but this group is hungry for a championship, regardless of who is coaching.

In addition, Nikola Mirotic and Doug McDermott are expected to significantly grow during this offseason. Mirotic displayed his potential throughout the regular season, especially in the month of March, and will get much better next season, while McDermott didn’t even get a chance to showcase his abilities and will have a more prominent role come next season too.

Pau Gasol, Joakim Noah, and Taj Gibson will all be returning, and so the chemistry among the core group will only become stronger.

Even though this team was able to work their way towards winning 50 games, they did it with a lot of uncertainty in terms of injuries and not having the consistency of playing specific lineups every night. Knowing who’s playing and having a specific role night in and night out has become a luxury for this team, and a big difference in that area should be expected.

This will be a long offseason with many potential changes ahead, but the ability to contend for a championship will not be lost. Health will be a factor, as always, but if these playoffs were any indication, that may be the final stride towards achieving something special in the near future.

Next: Bulls' Game 6 Loss Was A Recap Of Whole Season

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