Pippen Ain't Easy
Fansided

Chicago Bulls at Atlanta Hawks: Game Outlook

By Daniel Coughlin

Nov 2, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Chicago Bulls point guard Rajon Rondo (9) watches the game from the side line while laying on the floor during the fourth quarter against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. The Boston Celtics won 107-100. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 2, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Chicago Bulls point guard Rajon Rondo (9) watches the game from the side line while laying on the floor during the fourth quarter against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. The Boston Celtics won 107-100. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 5
Next
Oct 31, 2016; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Dwyane Wade (3) shoots the ball as Brooklyn Nets guard Joe Harris (12) defends during the third quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Schneidler-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 31, 2016; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Dwyane Wade (3) shoots the ball as Brooklyn Nets guard Joe Harris (12) defends during the third quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Schneidler-USA TODAY Sports /

Dwyane Wade

Speaking of the old man, what do we expect from Wade?

We’ve seen roughly three versions of Wade so far this season. There was the Splash Brother version of Wade, canning a whole bunch of pull-up and wide-open 3s, moving the ball and only holding it long enough to find the next pass.

Then there is the disengaged Wade, the one that knows the offense is going to ride on him if Jimmy and (insert random bench player name here) don’t have big nights to carry the team. This version of Wade tends to look for post-ups and the ball seems to stick when it hits his hands. He just comes out flat and isn’t mentally prepared for the Hoiberg era any more than us fans watching the game at home.

Finally, we have the back-to-back Wade. This Wade has two distinct personalities. The front-end version of Wade generally plays a very limited number of minutes and has a minimal contribution, but might flash some of that Splash when the mood strikes him. The back-end version of Wade in this scenario, inserted into the mighty SEGABABA is pretty dangerous to even put on the floor. His body doesn’t really like it, nor does his brain or soul. He’s just had enough of them this far into his career.

Next: Film Room: What's Right, What's Wrong with Bulls

The real trick is that Chicago probably gets a decent game from Jimmy Butler, even though he’ll be facing off against the underrated Thabo Sefolosha. He’s not a prolific scorer, but he’s a grinder when his head is in the game. If he makes Jimmy work for his offense, that could cause his defense to suffer. Butler is more likely to keep his defense effort high, which means he must sacrifice on the offensive end of the court. So they will be looking for scoring off the bench and from somewhere else in the starting lineup to help offset the long shift Butler will have to put in on Wednesday night.

That’s where the Bullls will be counting on Wade. Except, he’s totally focused on the game the following night against the Miami Heat – the team he just left and scorned in the media. Knowing that Wade will want to show out in that game, there is a real danger that he plays extremely limited minutes or just fails to put in a great deal of effort – saving himself to go absolutely HAM on Pat Riley, uh, I mean, the Miami Heat. Clearly it isn’t personal or anything.

Home/Bulls News