Chicago Bulls player reviews: Paul Zipser

We continue our season player reviews for the Chicago Bulls here at PAE with a look at rookie Paul Zipser.

Heading into next season, Paul Zipser needs to get the consistent minutes he was getting to end the season. Zipser doesn’t appear to be a franchise player by any stretch of the imagination, but he could fill a valuable role for the Chicago Bulls.

For most of November and December, Zipser was glued to the bench, unable to get on the court. Once he did, he flashed signs of developing into a 3-and-D player that would fit nicely next to Jimmy Butler. The #ZipserFever started spreading in January, even getting a shoutout from Zach Lowe. However, Zipser isn’t a knockdown 3-point shooter, at least not yet.

Zipser finished this season shooting 33 percent from 3 on 99 attempts. That’s not a large sample size, but Chicago needs him to shoot better. The majority of Zipser’s 3s came above the break and he shot a mere 30 percent on those attempts.

Zipser also shot below 40 percent from the field for the season and his counting stats don’t pop out. But, there’s just something about the way he plays that hints there’s more he can do.

He’s confident, but not irrational when he plays. He understands his role and doesn’t try to do too much (think of Jerian Grant). If Zipser has a mismatch, he does a good job of recognizing it and exploiting it immediately.

In the above highlights, Zip is able to get a head of steam and attack Kelly Olynyk and Amir Johnson for easy layups. Zipser is 6-foot-8 with a 6-foot-11 wingspan and that works to his advantage for finishing around the rim.

He converted 58 percent of his shots around the basket, compared to the league average of 61 percent. As he continues to get more reps, I would expect to see a jump in his efficiency around the basket.

Zipser is also enticing because of what he can bring on the defensive end. The opposing offensive rating dropped over three points when Zipser was on the court versus when he was not.

Clearly that’s not all due to Zipser’s presence, but it does make sense. He’s more athletic than I expected and actually fits the “younger and more athletic” direction Gar Forman and John Paxson claim the Bulls are headed in.

Zipser had a couple eraser blocks this season, and boy are they a joy to watch. In general, he just seems to be having a good time out on the court, full of smiles. He even performed CPR on Rajon Rondo in a game!

Next: Bulls player reviews: Bobby Portis

All in all, the German left the impression that as he gets more playing time, he will continue to improve and fill out nicely. Hopefully Fred Hoiberg and company continue to lengthen the leash next season and #ZipserFever reaches full mast.