Aaron Brooks Must Step Up Now For Chicago Bulls
With news that
Derrick Roseis out indefinitely again, the Chicago Bulls are left to scramble. This time, however, they have someone already on the roster who can step in —
Aaron Brooks. His time is now and he must step up for the Bulls to have any chance in the Eastern Conference.
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Chicago Bulls Nation received a punch in the gut on Tuesday when the team announced that Derrick Rose would need to have surgery on his knee again after a torn medial meniscus.
Rose is out indefinitely. We are all waiting for the other shoe to drop, finding out that he’ll be out the rest of the season. Whatever happens, the Bulls need to move on.
After Rose’s previous injuries, the Bulls were left to scramble to find another starting point guard. They searched and found Nate Robinson, and they searched and found D.J. Augustin. Coach Tom Thibodeau did well in coaching those two off the scrap heap and do well in Chicago.
Fortunately for the Bulls (and perhaps good foresight), they have Rose’s replacement already on the roster, and he is familiar with the offense. That player is Aaron Brooks.
Coming off the bench this season, Brooks is having his best overall season since he was named Most Improved Player in the 2009-2010 season with the Houston Rockets.
Brooks is shooting 43.4 percent from the field (the second-highest percentage in his career), and shooting a career-high 43.2 percent from beyond the arc. He is averaging 10.6 points per game as well.
Now he will need to step up in Rose’s absence. He will need to take reins of the offense. He’s shown that he can do a good job of running an offense, having had some playoff success with the Rockets. In the 2008-09 playoffs, he averaged 16.8 points and 3.4 assists, shooting 45.3 percent from the field and 42.2 percent from three. He’s also shown the ability to be fearless in taking big shots.
Of course, Brooks will not need to carry the load. He has an advantage that Robinson and Augustin did not — the Chicago Bulls have offensive weapons. They have Pau Gasol now, and Jimmy Butler is poised to now be the face of the franchise. They have Nikola Mirotic, one of the top rookies in the league, and even Tony Snell is having a really good season.
Brooks has the ability to get in the paint at times, and playing with the starters, the floor will be more open for him than when he’s playing with his bench mates. If the defense collapses, he can dish the ball to shooters, or shoot the ball himself.
I don’t want to pile on Rose, but this is something that needs to be highlighted. Rose had been having probably his worst season (excluding the 10 games he played last season) in his career. His 40.7 percent from the field and his 46.5 percent 2-point shooting are the worst in his career. He was also shooting a paltry 28.7 percent from three.
Having Brooks in the lineup can be a blessing in disguise. The Bulls have labored on and done well despite Rose’s troubles. Waiting for Rose to play himself back might have cost them an early playoff exit with him.
Some say that Thibodeau may go with Kirk Hinrich as the starter so he could have Brooks continue to play well off the bench. That would be a serious mistake. Brooks is younger, more athletic and a better all-around player than Hinrich is presently. There are some very fast, athletic point guards in the NBA, and Hinrich will get killed by them. Perhaps Robinson should be alert to a call coming from Chicago.
Brooks would give the Bulls the best chance to play well in Rose’s absence. With Rose out, many are counting the Bulls out. If Brooks can step up, underestimating the Chicago Bulls would be a mistake.