Chicago Bulls coach review: Fred Hoiberg

In spite of an up-and-down season, Fred Hoiberg made good with what personnel he had and if GarPax gives him the guys he needs next year, the Chicago Bulls can go farther than the first round of the playoffs.

Fred Hoiberg and the Chicago Bulls started out the season well, winning by 20 points out of the gate with and the “Three Alphas” were humming until Jimmy Butler decided he had to get 40 points a game.

Butler’s play slowed down the team and their inconsistent play started with impressive TNT Thursday victories against the Cleveland Cavaliers and head-scratching losses to weaker teams like the New York Knicks.

Hoiberg started experimenting with both starting fives and second units like a Las Vegas casino card shuffler. Rajon Rondo got benched, then played in the second unit while the other guards on the roster all had their turn as a starting playmaker alongside Dwyane Wade and had a slow-starting offense in the first quarter of most games.

The team had a meltdown in the middle of the year when both Marquette Alphas inadvertently said more than needed about what needs to be done by their teammates, to which Rondo responded with his historic “my vets” Instagram retort.

Hoiberg was lost in the middle of all that and was revealed by Rondo’s post as deferring to a prima-donna player (or two), causing the team to discard the game plan so someone could “play his game.” We saw Jimmy Butler waiving one Fred Hoiberg call for a timeout on more than one occasion prior to the meltdown too, and you see how difficult the season was for everyone.

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It is an absolute miracle that Hoiberg still managed to coax out a strong season finish after a 5-game losing streak where the Marquette duo had the lion’s share of touches and minutes. The Bulls finished the season at 41-41, beating the Las Vegas oddsmakers on their regular season finish. In the playoffs against the Celtics, only Rondo helped Hoiberg run his easy-scoring, run-and-gun offense, while Butler lost four straight games anchoring the team’s offense.

In the season review press conference with John Paxson and Gar Forman, Paxson reiterated that only Rondo was the playmaker on the team who consistently played with pace and helped the young Bulls core get oriented to the coach’s system.

Contrast this with wins of the Bulls where they ran up 30-assist totals where games saw the young core of the team ably play their roles as shooters and spacers for 20-point spreads.

If the playoffs was the Bulls’ way of saying to Jimmy, “Let’s see if you have what it takes to win,” Butler took it for granted and regressed to his old unsharing ways at the cost of the series, the one opportunity where he could have redeemed himself over the midseason brouhaha as a bad teammate. What’s going to happen in the next season may be entirely different from what Butler assures himself will happen. The Bulls front office has committed to Hoiberg and Rondo, but have their options open with Butler.

If Fred Hoiberg is going to be consistent next season and have less anxiety attacks about an opposing playmaker’s ball-handling abilities (like Isaiah Thomas supposedly carrying the ball), he should look to wings who run in front of the point guard instead of the Marquette Alphas who opt for carrying the ball and shooting it themselves as the first half-court play. That offense will never work for Hoiberg.

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Paxson noted that the young Bulls’ core will stay because it would be best to let them play to their potential and deliver next time around. There will be no rebuild-suicide for the Bulls as long as Paxson is at the helm. Hoiberg will still get another chance with the pace players they bring in, minus a few headaches (maybe Jimmy Butler) next year.

The Bulls might have already wasted a trade with Doug McDermott exchanged for back-up fodder from Oklahoma City, so don’t expect GarPax to throw away any more young guys.

Rather, expect Butler for a player who fits Hoiberg’s system better with Rondo at the helm. I would personally choose to steal Kelly Oubre from the Washington Wizards if he is available for Butler and any among the excess of Bulls point guards (except for Michael Carter-Williams, who is still underrated and has ridiculous upside once he plays either Butler or Wade’s role on the team).

A Paul Zipser and Jimmy Butler offer for Oubre and the Wizards’ first rounder this year might be the ticket for Fred Hoiberg to finally get what he needs for his offense to run for the Bulls.

Hoiberg will do better with kids who can run his system instead of having superstars being bad teammates and undermining the rest of the team