Dec 10, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls forward Nikola Mirotic (44) looks to pass the ball against the Brooklyn Nets during the second half of their NBA game at United Center. Bulls won 105-80. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
To be fair to McDermott, his rookie season has been largely compromised by a recent surgery that will sideline the rookie for 6-8 weeks. According to ESPN’s Nick Friedell, McDermott successfully underwent arthroscopic knee surgery to repair a small tear in his right knee. Prior to the surgery that occurred on December 13th, McDermott was sidelined for two weeks following the Bull’s west coast road trip in November with swelling in his knee. This injury and the subsequent surgery have contributed to his lack of minutes, however, even when he was healthy he didn’t receive as much playing time as his rookie counterpart Nikola Mirotic.
More from Pippen Ain't Easy
- The dream starting 5 for the Chicago Bulls 5 years from now
- Bulls’ Ayo Dosunmu inspires the future with new school program
- Chicago Bulls NBA 2K24 full roster ratings, risers, and fallers
- Bulls sign a pair of promising guards to Exhibit 10 contracts
- When does NBA Training Camp start? Dates Bulls fans need to know
The focal point question of this column is as follows: Why the discrepancy in minutes between Nikola Mirotic and Doug McDermott who are in very similar positions as highly touted rookies within the Chicago Bull’s system? Obviously, part of the discrepancy can be explained through straight-up statistics; as Mirotic has produced on the offensive end much more efficiently than his rookie counterpart. But, in my opinion, there are other underlying reasons behind the otherwise perplexing paradigm of the minutes discrepancy. The production of Mirotic on the offensive end is the byproduct of the rookie getting an opportunity to play. However, there had to be that initial tipping point reason that convinced Coach Thibodeau to give Mirotic the opportunity. There are two of these tipping point reasons that are helping out Mirotic but not McDermott. Here they are.