Chicago Bulls: Boylen’s nine man rotation may not be what we think
By Abe Rotbart
The Chicago Bulls added depth during the off-season with three free agent acquisitions and a couple of draft picks. Together with the young core already in place there should be plenty of competition for minutes. If everyone is healthy, what can we expect the rotation to look like to start the year?
The Chicago Bulls training camp has officially opened . Now begins the competition for starting spots and playing minutes. Management and coach Jim Boylen have stressed the flexibility the current roster provides where numerous players are capable of playing various positions as needed.
According to the NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement, an NBA team has to carry a minimum of 13 players and a maximum of 15. Assuming they carry 14 players, which is the guaranteed league wide average, it would be virtually impossible to divide up the available 240 minutes of playing time (48 minutes for 5 players) in a manner that would win very many basketball games.
Of course you would want the players that give you the best chance of winning playing the most minutes. At the same time, in order to maximize performance, a coach has to find a balance. He cannot allow star players to burn out and he must make sure key reserves stay fresh.
For this reason, most coaches use a regular 9 or 10 man rotation. There is always the exception, like Tom Thibodeau who was criticized at times for using only an 8 man rotation. At the opposite extreme are coaches of young teams, such as the Bulls last year, that utilize even 10 to 11 players a game in order to see what they have in terms of talent.
How will Jim Boylen juggle his lineup in a way that maximizes talent, minimizes injury and keeps the bench ready when called upon? Let’s breakdown the rotation into 4 parts.