Bench
Nov 5, 2014; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Chicago Bulls forward
Taj Gibson(22) during the game against the Milwaukee Bucks at BMO Harris Bradley Center. The Bulls won 95-86. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Coming into this season, the thing that appealed to many NBA analysts was how deep this Bulls team is. They seemed as deep as, if not deeper than, the 2011 squad that reached the Eastern Conference Finals. This year’s bench has been the closest thing to what the “Bench Mob” was back in the day.
Aaron Brooks, E’Twaun Moore, Doug McDermott, and Nikola Mirotic were big additions to Taj Gibson, Kirk Hinrich, and an improved Tony Snell. Once the playoffs are here, it’s likely Gibson, Hinrich, Brooks, and Mirotic will be the only players among the regular rotation.
On Milwaukee’s side, their bench rotation in the playoffs will likely consist of Jerryd Bayless, John Henson, O.J. Mayo, and Jared Dudley.
If we look at possible individual match-ups only involving these players – Hinrich vs Mayo, Brooks vs Bayless, Gibson vs Henson, Mirotic vs Dudley – I would say the Bulls have the advantage. But let’s look at their scoring per game over 79 games so far: a little over 34 points per game for the Bulls and a little over 29 points per game for the Bucks.
If we consider what Snell and Moore have done for the Bulls in games where they’ve been severely undermanned and compare their contributions to let’s say, Tyler Ennis and Miles Plumlee for the Bucks, the Bulls have an even bigger edge.
Advantage: Bulls’ Bench
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