@ CHICAGO BULLS (9-4) @ INDIANA PACERS (9-5) Game 14, Road Game 8 Friday, Nov. 27, 2015 – 7:00 PM CT Bankers Life Fieldhouse Comcast SportsNet / ESPN 1000 AM BULLS VS. PACERS THIS SEASON Nov. 16 @ Chicago – W, 96-95 Nov. 27 @ Indiana – Dec. 30 @ Chicago – March 29 @ Indiana – BULLS VS. PACERS ALLTIME RECORD 92-81 BULLS/PACERS STREAKS BULLS CURRENT STREAK ..... 2 Wins BULLS HOME STREAK ............ 2 Wins BULLS ROAD STREAK .............. 1 Loss Game Notes Chicago Bulls (9-4) Home 5-1 Road 4-3 Bulls Preseason Averages: PPG: 99.9 (Opp: 98.5) RPG: 46.9 (Opp: 49.8) APG: 22.0 (Opp: 20.8) SPG: 6.77 (Opp: 7.00) BPG: 5.69 (Opp: 6.23) FG%: .428 (Opp: .409) FT%: .758 (Opp: .701) 3p%: .377 (Opp: .345) Probable Bulls starters Derrick Rose - PG - Jimmy Butler - SG - Tony Snell - SF - Nikola Mirotic - PF - Pau Gasol - C - Bulls Regular Season Stats Leaders Points: Butler 21.1, Gasol 13.7 Rebounds: Gasol 10.0, Noah 8.2 Assists: Rose 6.0, Butler 3.2 Steals: Butler 2.08, Mirotic 0.92 Blocks: Gasol 1.92, Gibson 1.08 FG%: Portis .600, Hinrich .548 FT%: Snell .900, Mirotic .822 3FG%: McDermott .489, Moore .429 Regular Season Player Highs 2015/2016 Points: Butler 32 Field Goals Made: Rose 12 Field Goals Attempts: Rose 25 Free Throws Made: Butler 12 Free Throws Attempts: Butler 14 3-Point FGM: McDermott 5 3-Point FGA: Mirotic & Mc Dermott 8 Rebounds: Noah 18 Off. Rebounds: Noah 7 Def. Rebounds: Gasol 13 Assists: Rose 8 Blocks: Gasol 6 Steals: Butler 4 Minutes: Butler 43 Double-Double: Gasol 6 Triple-Double: None Injury report Mike Dunleavy (back) is OUT For a full report and the latest on Bulls' injuries, check out the AthletiCo Injury Report. Indiana Pacers (9-5) Home 5-2 Road 4-3 Probable Pacers starters George Hill - PG Monta Ellis - SG C.J. Miles - SF Paul George - PF Ian Mahinmi - C Injury report Myles Turner is OUT. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Though Butler is the Bulls' best player, Rose and Gasol are their highest-volume shooters. Their respective true shooting %s this season are .417 and .464, respectively. The league average is .532 which probably puts Gasol at horrible and Rose at abominable (of 322 NBA players, Gasol ranks 273 and Rose ranks 305). Never have so few taken so many for so little.
Do you remember last year when the Bulls began the season with a Spurs-ish flex offense that was really egalitarian and used Derrick off the ball a lot? And remember how Thibs dropped it after about 10 games and the offense looked a lot more conventional after that, with a bunch of iso's and pins for Gasol down in the post? I wonder if Hoiberg might eventually have to retreat back to that if things don't pick up here so he can get better production out of his best players.
Whatever was done last season led to the 11th most efficient offense in the NBA. People said that was a bad way to do things and Hoiball would be better. The Bulls are currently the 26th most efficient offense in the NBA under Hoiball, with mostly the same players as last season. Pau is 35 at this point and last season was a godsend. That being said, he's still 2nd on the team in PER out of guys that get meaningful minutes. The TS% is way down though. That's bound to happen with age eventually. Also, the previous coach knew how to get the most out of the players he was given for the mostpart. Where is all that McDermott and Mirotic unlocking that was supposed to happen? Have not seen much of it yet, at least not in a fashion that is at all meaningful. Mirotic has taken a step back actually so far under Hoiberg and McDermott is still a below average NBA player. Still early in the season and the team needs more time to gel. Its not like Hoiball has come storming out of the gates though. Its unclear to this point what the front office were salivating over for all those years. That goes for Hoiberg, Mirotic and McDermott. They still need about another 20-30 games though, IMO, to start making any real judgments.
Yes, it's very curious that our record has been buttressed by our outstanding defense and held back by putrid offense. Hoiball has not arrived, but I think the stylistic similarities to a Thibs-coached team is not an insult to his coaching acumen. For now what we're doing seems to work with regards to W-L (I say this with knowledge that our advanced stats suggest we're not as good as our record). A few thoughts: 1). Defense is largely about effort, so maybe an improved defensive ranking means the team is more in-tune to the coach, suggesting the possibility that it really was time for him to go. 2). It'll be interesting to see if the team looks more or less like a Thibs team as the season goes on. 3). I think the season so far has bolstered Hoiberg's credibility as a competent coach, but made concerns about roster composition more acute. 4). Statistically Derrick Rose might be the worst PG in basketball right now......the Thibs vs. Hoiberg debate is moot if this does not change.
A number of players have taken a step back this season. Rose Gasol Noah Mirotic Snell Gibson Curious as to why. The only guy who has taken a real step forward under Hoiball is McDermott who has gone from putrid to below average. Yay. It will be interesting to see where the team is at 20-30 games from now. As you noted, they may not be as good as their record indicates. Still, they are the 4th seed in the East and have some quality wins. The Bulls are not considered anything close to a title contender anymore. The uptick from 11th to 6th in defensive efficiency is interesting. Could be meaningful, could be last season was just an anomaly for a core group of guys who know how to play top NBA defense and have been top 10 many of the previous seasons. Could be increased effort due to a new voice. The offense is bad though, and Hoiball was supposed to improve the offense. So far its much worse. And he's not getting as much out of the players as the previous coach either. Still of course early though.
Good to see you back here. I'm pretty excited for Doug McDermott -- I think he's shown a lot this young season on both sides of the ball and I'm looking forward to see what he can do when he really figures out his game, and his teammates get more comfortable with him. I think Mirotic has been better too even if his production is down. Like Doug, teams have stopped keying on him on the defensive end, and he's shown stretches where he's actually played solid D. He just needs to be more consistent, which will hopefully come once he adjusts to the adjustment that opposing teams have made to him. I also think Noah has looked better on the whole -- way more healthy -- if he's still finding his way on a Hoiberg team. Taj looks like a wash to me as compared to last year. I don't credit Fred Hoiberg for any of this. I also don't credit him for the fact that Rose's play has been abysmal. If anything, this season has reminded me that the NBA is a player's league. Barring out and out bad coaching, talent usually wins out. I don't think the Hoiberg offense has been as bad as some of the statistics suggest. If you remove Derrick Rose's putrid numbers and the team's efficiency looks much more average. Their fg% jumps from 25th (.423) to 20th (.435). That feels about right, considering how slowly the team started this season. But I think your broader point is right, I hoped for above average offensive efficiency when I heard about the Hoiberg hire. That doesn't seem very likely, barring some miraculous turnaround in Derrick Rose's game. A year later, and the fate of this team still seems absolutely and completely tied to however well Derrick Rose is able to perform.
I see two big reasons for optimism for Doug's game: 1). His offense inside the 3Pt arc is translating much better than I though it would. 56% of his field goals are 2Pt shots and he's hitting them at 48%, with 50% of those shots coming w/in the paint, which he's making at a 57% clip. For comparison's sake 43% of Kyle Korver's shots are 2 pointers, and 18% of those are in the painted area. And twice as many of Doug's shots are unassisted. So he's really developing into a pretty well rounded offensive player. 2). Singling him out on defense no longer looks to be a profitable offensive strategy. I've seen several teams try it the last several games and it hasn't worked out well. You still have to play the matchup game with him out there, but if he's guarding Gerald Henderson or Nicolas Batum you don't have to worry about bringing the house down. Mirotic looks to me like he's struggling with the fact that he's much better scouted this year than last. Teams have figured out his pump fakes and if you put an athletic defender who can jam him at the 3Pt line then he'll have a hard time getting good shots behind the line or going to the rim, making him much less effective. Noah's rebound, assist, steal and block rates are all very healthy. However his usage and offensive efficiency are at all-time lows which is what's dragging down his numbers. Personally I don't think that's as impactful as the stats make it out to be given the way he's used. I agree that he's looked better this year than last. I also think he might be best suited playing 20-25 MPG at this point in his career. Agreed. Also agree. We've had two coaches who are almost complete opposites in terms of style and method and the team's performance has remained mostly the same.
Doug is the only player that looks unarguable better this season than last. That being said, he seems like an average at best NBA player to be at this point. Elite shooter but not very good at much else. He'll hopefully get better over time but its unclear if he has enough upside to warrant making major decisions around. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. The front office seems to think that McDermott, Niko and Freddy are guys worth building around. We'll see if that trust leads to anything meaningful.
