Fifth year head coach Tom Thibodeau is developing a pretty impeccable resume. The former coach of the year has accumulated a 205-107 record during his 4 seasons coaching the Chicago Bulls. He is regarded throughout the league as a defensive mastermind; concocting up defensive schemes that leave opposing teams baffled. During the 2010-2011 season, under his tutelage, the Chicago Bulls advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals and were eliminated by Miami in heartbreaking fashion. The following year, Thibodeau led the Bulls to the best record in the entire NBA during the regular season. Despite Thibodeau’s winning resume, he has constantly been criticized for a practice that many contribute to the downfall of the Bulls come playoff time.
Throughout his tenure with the Chicago Bulls, he has received the same criticism over and over again: mismanagement of his rotation. He has developed the negative reputation as being a coach that runs his players into the ground during the regular season, paying for this mistake when half his unit is injured in one way or another come playoff time. Thibodeau’s biggest flaw as a coach is his stubbornness, and the rotation issues stems from this very fault. In order to earn favor with Thibodeau, a player must prove that they are completely bought into his system and that means elite-level defense.
Sep 29, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau during media day at the Advocate Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
With the added depth that the Bulls have accumulated over the off-season, the optimistic notion remains that Tom Thibodeau will utilize virtually his entire line-up in an effort to save his starters legs for when it matters in the playoffs. However, Thibodeau erased this hope Thursday when he was asked a question about rotation expectations by reporters.
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"“Usually most teams are around nine,” he said. “And then as the playoffs get closer you’re going to pare that down some more. We’ll see. My first two years we played nine, sometimes 10. Ten is hard, most likely nine.”"
So, unsurprisingly, Thibodeau still refuses to cave and give in to the demands of his critics. According to the interview, he still plans on utilizing the same short rotation despite having a myriad of bench depth that will remain untapped if he sticks with the 9 man rotation.
It’s also interesting to speculate which players will earn playing time this season if Thibodeau holds firm to the 9 man rotation. Obviously, there are several shoo-ins that will certainly crack the top 9. Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler, Pau Gasol and Joakim Noah are all starters that will be expected to handle the bulk of the workload for the Bulls during the upcoming season. Ok, so there is 4, how about the other 5?
Sep 27, 2013; Deerfield, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose (1), center Joakim Noah (13) and head coach Tom Thibodeau pose for a photo during media day at the Berto Center. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
Dunleavy, whether he starts at the shooting guard (small forward?) position or comes off the bench, will get playing time as long as he remains healthy. He provides a veteran presence and is the perfect floor-spreading compliment to Rose’s driving abilities. Sixth man of the year runner-up candidate Taj Gibson will get minutes; that’s a given. Another savvy veteran Kirk Hinrich has thrived under the Bulls system earning the complete trust of head coach Tom Thibodeau. He will undoubtedly receive playing time; barring injury of course.
We have listed off 7, but if Thibodeau remains true to his system there will be at least 4 players battling for those last two rotation positions. High profile rookies Doug McDermott and Nikola Mirotic have an uphill battle if they want to crack the rotation given Thibodeau’s reluctance to give rookies significant playing time. Both players are average on defense at best, and must improve defensively to earn the full trust of their strict head coach. The addition of Gasol and Mirotic seems like an obvious attempt to eliminate the necessity for Nazr Mohammed to play spot minutes to give Noah playing time. He likely won’t get in the rotation either.
Tony Snell and Aaron Brooks seem like the most likely players to crack the initial 9-man rotation.
With the injury history of the two guards ahead of him on the depth chart, Brooks will be a commodity. In addition, the Bulls have had success in utilizing two point guard sets, and it is intriguing to think of the possibility of Brooks and Rose, two lightning fast point guards, playing together. Snell earned playing time his rookie year, his long wingspan proving to be a valuable asset, assisting him in evolving into a good defender in this league. He had a tremendous summer league, and seems poised to make the next step in his development towards becoming a great player in this league.
Despite his reluctance to expand his rotation, Thibodeau has expressed his intention to give all players on his roster the opportunity to prove that they deserve a rotation spot by playing everybody in the preseason.
"“I think any preseason you want your whole team to get some minutes,” Thibodeau said. “And then the last couple preseason games you narrow it down to your rotation that you’ll start the season with. And I think it’s important, sometimes you have tough decisions to make. Are you going with a nine-man rotation? Are you going with an eight-man rotation? I think the important thing is to decide on that. You try to play too many then nobody plays well. So get your rotation. I think we’ll have a really solid bench. I’m looking forward to that. But over the course of the season you need everybody; things happen, and when your time comes just be ready."
Before I conclude, lets further explore the chances of Mirotic and McDermott earning minutes this season. Although I suggested earlier in the article that the two rookies have a bleak chance of cracking the 9 man rotation, I’d like to add the disclaimer that it isn’t an impossible feat. We aren’t talking about two normal rookies right here: Mirotic was the best player in Europe before he came overseas and McDermott is the 5th leading scorer in NCAA division one history. These are talented players, the biggest thing working against them, as I eluded to before, is the fact that neither are elite defenders. The best way to make Thibodeau happy (I use that word loosely because the guy doesn’t smile), is to play good defense. Both will be given their shots if they improve defensively.
It bodes well for Mirotic’s chances that the first couple days of training camp have already prompted several people to comment on how impressive he has looked thus far. Teammates, including Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah, have sung his praises, telling the media that he may be even better than hyped. Even the crusty old head coach publicly praised Mirotic, a designation not normally bestowed on rookies.
"“I thought he had a really good first day. And then after watching the film it was even better than I thought. The thing that I really like about his game is he knows when to shoot and he knows when to pass,” Thibodeau said. “So he doesn’t force things. When he’s open, he shoots. (If) you’re closing at him hard, he’ll put it on the floor. He’s guarded well, he’ll make the play. So usually when a guy plays like that the team will function well.”"
Over the years, some rookies have been awarded playing time under Tom Thibodeau’s system.
Jimmy Butler: 8.5 minutes per game
Omer Asik: 12.1 minutes per game
Tony Snell: 16.0 minutes per game
But again, I’d like to reiterate, all of these guys were NBA ready defenders during their rookie seasons.
So here is my final prediction: At the beginning of the season, Thibodeau will stick with the 9 man rotation that I named above. But, as the season progresses and Thibodeau begins to realize the talent that he has with McDermott and Mirotic expect him to find opportunities to give them minutes.
One last note before I conclude this article. I think sometimes to get to the next level and win championships one must emulate greatness. The San Antonio Spurs had 13 players on their 2013-2014 roster that played more than 5 minutes per game during the regular season. This is directly conducive to the fact that Duncan, Parker and Ginobili were able to stay healthy in the playoffs and win another championship together. Please Tom Thibodeau! You have at least a 12 man deep depth chart; utilize it! It will pay dividends when it really matters in June. The Spurs did it, and so can the younger, more talented Bulls.