Fred Hoiberg has taken a lot of criticism through his short time as the Chicago Bulls head coach. Some of it fair, some of it not. Here’s how I think the Fred Hoiberg has done in his relatively new coaching role.
Unfortunately for coaches, your level of success is usually based on wins and wins alone. It makes sense, though, doesn’t it? You’re there to help the team win, and if you aren’t helping the team win, then should you be there?
Well, Fred Hoiberg has taken all sorts of criticism in his short run as the Bulls coach. So let’s break it down.
The First Year
In his first year after taking over possibly the second greatest coach in Bulls history, Tom Thibodeau, Fred Hoiberg’s Bulls failed to make the playoffs. This was the first time since the 2007-08 season that the Bulls did not participate in the playoffs.
For a fanbase used to historical success, that’s not the best start for our guy Fred, but that’s alright – the transition from coaching in college to the NBA isn’t usually an easy one.
Also, he was thrown into a bad situation. His coaching style is completely opposite of Tom Thibodeau’s. Tom is a loud, defensive-minded, hard-nosed guy. Fred is a quieter, offensive-minded, softer personality. So winning over a locker room that’s grown used to the exact opposite of what you are bringing to the table can be a difficult thing to do.
The Second Year
This is when I started to feel bad for Fred.
After making clear that his ideal roster to meet his offensive system is young, athletic, shooters who can run the floor, the Bulls sign 35-year old Dwyane Wade and 30-year old Rajon Rondo. Dwyane Wade is a career 29 percent three-point shooter and Rondo a career 31 percent three-point shooter. Yikes.
To recap, second-year head coach Fred Hoiberg is supposed to be successful with the “Three Alphas” who are aging and can’t shoot (Jimmy not completely included in that). Just what his offense wanted right? Wrong.
Poor, poor Fred.
Not only did the roster not make much sense on paper (or on the court for that matter), but then came the infamous Rajon Rondo Instagram post where he called out the leadership (basically Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade) publicly for how they handled the media after a loss.
After dealing with all this nonsense, Fred still helps the Bulls get to the playoffs. Not only that, but they shock the basketball world by playing their best ball of the season and stealing the first two games on the road in Boston. Once Rondo got hurt, the series flipped (understandably so) and the Bulls had their expected first-round exit.
This Year (third season)
As everyone knows, the Bulls gave up on winning for the time being and traded their best player, Jimmy Butler. They also entered this season without defensive-minded veteran, Taj Gibson, pure shooter, Doug McDermott, future Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade, and former All-Star Rajon Rondo.
The rebuild made sense. Fred had no control of the locker room and the roster wasn’t designed for his style of coaching.
So what does he get? Young and coming point guard, Kris Dunn, explosive athlete, Zach LaVine, and a lights-out shooting 7 foot rookie, Lauri Markkanen.
Don’t get me wrong, this is one of the worst Bulls rosters in recent history, but at least the personnel is starting to match the type of offensive Fred wants to run.
As Colin Cowherd has mentioned on his show, The Herd, when talking about the Cleveland Browns coaching situation: a sign of good coaching is when your players play hard despite being on a terrible team.
I completely agree with Mr. Cowherd on this idea. This young Bulls team plays hard every night. They’re almost always out-skilled but they’re almost never out-hustled.
Take David Nwaba and Kris Dunn for example. Kris Dunn plays some of the toughest defensive in the NBA and doesn’t take defensive possessions off (which is something of a rarity in today’s NBA). David Nwaba looks like he’s out to prove something every single night which is contagious to the rest of the team when he’s on the court.
I think coach Hoiberg has done an outstanding job this year. The players are working extremely hard for him and after starting the season 3-20, they managed to put together a nice stretch and turn themselves into a competent basketball team.
So what has impressed me most about Hoiberg this year?
Many people thought Markkanen was going to be a bust who could only score on drive and kick 3-point attempts. Hoiberg has done an excellent job of getting him involved in offensive sets early, whether that means having him bring up the ball into a dribble hand-off action, or using him in pick & pop scenarios. Either way, I love how Fred has helped introduce Lauri to the NBA game and I think those two will be a good fit going forward.
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I also love that Fred seems to have command of the locker room this year. At the beginning of the season, it looked like it was going to be another disaster for the Bulls locker room. I mean, usually when one teammate punches another in practice, things aren’t going well. But I think Fred handled that situation well and Nikola Mirotic (despite possibly being traded soon) and Bobby Portis even seem to have some pretty good chemistry on the court now.
It just really seems like the young guys are buying into what coach Hoiberg is trying to teach them and I think if Bulls fans continue to be patient with him as they build up more assets through the next couple years, they’ll be pleased with how he’s hopefully going to prove himself as an elite coach in the NBA.