The Chicago Bulls ‘Bench Mob’ is back and better than ever

If you’ve been following the Chicago Bulls for some time now, you no doubt remember the days of the ‘Bench Mob’ era. Featuring former fan favorites Taj Gibson, Ronnie Brewer, Kyle Korver, and a never-ending carousel of veteran point guards including Nate Robinson, C.J. Watson, and John Lucas III, the Bench Mob’s play heralded the rise of Bulls to the top of the Eastern Conference in the early 2010s and opened a genuine window of contention for Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, and Luol Deng.

The Bench Mob’s best seasons came between 2010-12, as they were the league’s most impactful second unit in 2011 with a 3.0 plus/minus, before improving that mark to 3.5 in 2012 — although they would finish ranked just behind San Antonio’s historically great bench in that season. In fact, the Bulls’ bench in those years was the third-best we’ve seen since the year 2000, behind only the aforementioned Spurs and 2017-18 Toronto Raptors bench that boasted Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, Norman Powell, and Jakob Poeltl.

When discussing Chicago’s Bench Mob from a decade ago, it’s easy to view things through rose-tinted glasses. Fortunately, the Bulls don’t seem to be running on the fumes of nostalgia, as this team’s rotation looks deeper this year than we’ve seen in a very long time.

In Wednesday’s game against the Indiana Pacers, it wasn’t the heroics of DeMar DeRozan or Zach LaVine’s unreal athleticism that won the game for the Bulls, but instead the outstanding performance of the bench. The second unit poured in 43 points, an unexpectedly high mark for a team whose usage is dominated by their All-Star trio.

This could have easily become a trap game and a devastating loss for Chicago as they watched their big lead crumble away late in the third quarter, but this new look Bench Mob proved to be the steadying hand this team needed to stifle Indiana’s comeback attempt.

If the strong start to the season by the bench is to be believed, the Chicago Bulls may be better than anyone expected this season.

Four different Bulls players chipped in eight points or more off the bench against the Pacers, with the typically dynamic scoring threat Coby White coming in just behind with six points of his own. Among all of Chicago’s reserves, however, it was Goran Dragic and Andre Drummond who shined the brightest.

Dragic led the bench in both scoring and playmaking with 13 points, and 5 assists, while contributing a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc. Drummond served as an excellent compliment to the Bulls’ ball-dominant stars, contributing 8 points of his own and a team-high 13 rebounds.

Drummond and dragic have far more in the tank than expected, but they’re not alone in their efforts. Alex Caruso, Javonte Green, and Derrick Jones Jr. play with such an infectious energy and hustle that best exemplify what made the original Bench Mob so special in the first place. Then of course there’s Coby, who fills the Korver-lite role as a knockdown shooter off the bench.

“With our second unit, it’s pretty much a starting lineup,” Drummond tells K.C. Johnson. This quote may be a little humorous at first glance, but he’s admittedly not too far off. With the rampant tanking going around the league over the past few years and an increase in players sidelined due to injury and COVID-19, we’ve definitely seen worse starting lineups.

For a Chicago Bulls team that scored the second-fewest bench points per game just last season, a revitalized bench after only making marginal changes in the offseason has to feel like a miracle come true. Even considering the astronomically high bar the 2011-12 Bulls set, this new-look roster just might live up to the Bench Mob moniker after all.