A Bulls Secret: The Bench Wins It When They Play Big Minutes
Something you may have not noticed from the Bulls win over the Indiana Pacers (and probably most of the other recent big wins): the bench kept them in the game.
Yes, Jimmy Butler won the game on Tuesday night with the last shot.
Despite the shot, not much has changed. The Bulls’ supposed quiet vibe in the locker room on Tuesday says it all.
There was a secret to the win over the Pacers. The bench kept them in the game and allowed the team to win. The Bulls; secret should actually be maxed out in the last eight games ending the season.
The Bulls bench set the pace with offense. Nikola Mirotic was ‘Threekola’ once again and was unstoppable. Mirotic scored 28 points off the bench and made seven out of 13 three-point attempts, plus 10 rebounds. Given that the Pacers were missing badly all game long, Fred Hoiberg should seriously keep score who keeps the team afloat and whom among them might be a liability, given injuries and subpar play.
Hoiberg seems to forget that his bench can go head-to-head with any other team and it will be a travesty if the Bulls tank this season just because he defers to the ego of any one prima donna. Mirotic or Doug McDermott could have easily made that game-winning shot.
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To the Bulls’ credit, the players were actually sharing the ball in the Pacers game (22 assists), which is why Mirotic exploded with his three-point shooting.
The Bulls bench only gets a fighting chance when someone in the starting lineup gets injured. Taj Gibson got banged up and sat and Cristiano Felicio proved why it should really be him playing more minutes over the injured starters. He had eight points and five rebounds in six minutes!
The Bulls secret is that their bench can win when playing big minutes. Felicio and Bobby Portis on the boards are monsters. It might be time to start Mirotic again as a transition move going into next season. Pau Gasol can rest more and it helps the team when he does. Even Mike Dunleavy isn’t playing well. Dunleavy’s playing 16 minutes a game that another contributor from the bench would have ably filled out.
And one more peeve.
Why, oh why is Doug McDermott riding the bench?
Are the Bulls alternating shooters, one-a-night? (To keep Jimmy Butler happy?) McDermott and Mirotic could have easily combined for 60 points, the team would have an easier time keeping its opponents at bay with two stretch forward threats playing inside-out and giving the opponent fits while keeping the driving lanes open for Butler and Derrick Rose.
The Bulls’ secret weapon is their bench players. Why the short memory?
Rose was playing with a hyperextended elbow. Gibson suffered a rib contusion. Butler is still limping along. It makes sense to have the bench playing their role and do their job for the team. Build a lead and keep it. Have the other team play catch-up than stress their starters into getting hurt.
With the most explosive NBA bench (both Mirotic and McDermott can score 6 to 8 three-point baskets EACH per game if Hoiberg plays them right), the biggest disappointment may be watching the Bulls and them underutilized the strengths of their team. Hurt players need to rest and heal. Proven shooters should have everything going for them.
Why wait for next season when they can do their job now?
Felicio and Portis have already proven themselves to some extent as the team’s strongest rebounders (with 24 combined in one game together) and are pace-and-space players.
Even Tony Snell might work out because Mirotic can play like Joakim Noah in a “point center offense”; a set up that favors Snell’s slashing and penetrating game. Forget about him gunning threes. With the other shooters humming and Portis and Felicio hoarding rebounds, let the much-maligned Snell prove his game works as a rim attacker. It is his strongest game.
Next: Butler drains a game-winner in Indy, Bulls still alive?
If the Bulls continue to play their starters like Tom Thibodeau does, expect a lost season.
If the Bulls play their bench like Fred Hoiberg does, expect a turnaround that should extend into next season, if not, the playoffs.
The bench truly is the Bulls’ secret.