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What to expect from the Chicago Bulls offense in the 2015-16 season

By Ashish Mathur

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After the Chicago Bulls were eliminated by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round of the playoffs, reports came out of a rumored friction between Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler. The report stated that the two stars were having trouble on the court because of a common NBA problem – two alpha dogs and only one basketball.

When I heard about this possible friction, I didn’t buy it at all. Throughout Rose’s career, he has often told people within the organization that he would welcome a star swing-man to play alongside of him, to take some of the offensive burden off of him. I also didn’t buy that Derrick Rose, who has been through a series of tough injuries over the last three years, would play passively in an elimination game in the playoffs for his hometown team. He was just rusty, as Rose played inconsistently all throughout the 2014-15 season. He showed flashes of his old self, but also showed the rust of a player who had only played in 10 games the previous two years.

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Jimmy Butler became a star in the 2014-15 season, as he led the Bulls in scoring and earned his first all-star appearance. He established himself as one of the best two way players in the game, and gave the Bulls another player, along with Rose, who could create his own shot off the dribble. When healthy, Butler and Rose are one of the best back courts in the league, and they showed that in the playoffs. Both Rose and Butler averaged 20 points per game in the Bulls’ 12 playoff games last season.

Rose had back to back 30 point games in games 3 and 4 against the Cavaliers, which is pretty impressive for a guy who has had three knee surgeries. Butler was scoring and  guarding the best player in the world in round two of the playoffs, LeBron James.

Butler has stated that Rose has always been in his corner about becoming a better player and leader. All summer Butler has had to answer questions about the so called beef with Rose, and he’s stated multiple times that there was no beef, and that a report came out only because they lost. It is without question that Butler and Rose are the leaders of the team and the two most important players for this upcoming season and beyond.

The Bulls fired Tom Thibodeau after 5 seasons, and hired Fred Hoiberg from Iowa State. Hoiberg will be installing a brand new up tempo offense that perfectly suits Rose and Butler.

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Tom Thibodeau was a defensive wizard and no one can question that. However, Thibodeau’s offensive philosophy was outdated and mundane. The Bulls didn’t have a bad offensive team in 2014-15, but they went on so many scoring droughts, and one could only wonder how a team with so many offensive weapons, could not score for long periods of time. When watching the Bulls on offense, their floor spacing was awful to note throughout the Thibodeau era. There wing players would always be so close together; making ball movement pointless because of the closeness of the players on the perimeter and their proximity to each other on the floor.

Fred Hoiberg’s offense at Iowa State predicated itself on having tremendous spacing among wing players and post players. I expect to see more pick and pop plays with Rose and second year player Nikola Mirotic, which will open the lanes for Rose and Butler to drive, since the defense will have to account for Mirotic at the three point line.

Floor spacing is critical in the NBA. When the defense has to account for shooters on the perimeter, it opens up driving and passing lanes. Last year, the Bulls really only had Mike Dunleavy as a consistent three point threat. Thibodeau didn’t play rookie Doug McDermott much before his knee injury, and Mirotic only got significant time when Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson were dealing with various injuries late in the season. Mirotic took advantage of his time, as in the month of March he led the NBA in 4th quarter scoring.

This year, I expect Hoiberg to play small lineups and utilize the bench more than Thibodeau did. McDermott should see more playing time this year because his skill set suits Hoiberg’s offense perfectly. He had a solid summer league and looked comfortable in the offensive sets. He needs to improve on his defense but that will come in time. Right now his role is to knock down shots.

Reports have already surfaced about the Bulls having Noah or Pau Gasol come off the bench. That would mean either Taj Gibson or Mirotic would enter the starting lineup most likely. Noah makes more sense as the player to bring off the bench since Gasol led the NBA in double doubles last year. Gasol had a great bounce back year in his first season for the Bulls. He’s a 20 and 10 player, something the Bulls have been missing for a long time. His post play along with the perimeter play is crucial to the Bulls offense. A team with Rose, Butler and Gasol should not struggle to score.

When Rose is attacking the paint and going downhill instead of settling for that 3 point shot, the Bulls are dangerous on offense. Rose can break down any defense and his penetration sets up easy baskets for his teammates. Rose finally has a teammate who can create his own shot, in Butler. Butler has proven that he can get to paint with ease, as he led the Bulls in free throw attempts per game last season.

The Bulls have to get through LeBron James to get to the NBA finals, and they finally might have the right offensive system to do it. Tom Thibodeau wore out the players on defense and they had nothing left in the tank for offense. The Bulls had the talent last year to beat the Cavs in round two, but they went into horrible scoring droughts in games 4 and 6, which ultimately led them to being eliminated. The Cavs have too much fire power on offense to go on scoring droughts, so the Bulls have to keep up with their scoring if they want to get passed them this year.

Fred Hoiberg is going to make basketball fun again for the Bulls, as he is going to run easier practices and will install a player friendly offense. On missed shots by their opponents, I expect the Bulls to push the ball at a fast pace all year, with Rose and Butler being the catalysts. When the Bulls pushed the ball last year, they played very well. Rose and Butler looked very comfortable with one another on the break, while Dunleavy did a great job of running to that three point line, ready to fire away.

The Bulls are going to have an explosive offense in the 2015-2016 season, and the Bulls dynamic back court of Rose and Butler are going to benefit the most from Hoiberg’s new offense.

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