And he continues to dominate 4th quarters: 12.2 min 9.9 pts 2.6 reb 48.4% FG 30.8% 3's 88.6% FT (4.0 att) .654 TS% .547 eFG% Per36 in the 4th quarter in March: 29.2 Points 7.7 Rebounds 11.8 Free Throw Attempts I have to give Thibs some credit, judging by tonight's rotations it looks as if he has figured out that Niko should be on the floor as much as possible.
http://grantland.com/features/2015-nba-trade-value-part-1/ I was just getting around to reading this. Happy to see I wasn't the only one who saw a bit of VladRad in him.
I may need to change the thread title, "amazing" is starting to seem like an understatement now that Thibs is finally playing him 30 minutes a night. Niko's first ever month where Thibs finally plays him 30 minutes a night, and he gets nominated for Player Of The Month. Not Rookie Of The Month, PLAYER Of The Month. http://www.bullsville.net/2015/03/mirotic-nominated-for-player-of-month.html
13 March games: 21.0 points per game (t-15th in NBA) 8.2 rebounds per game 1.6 assists per game 1.3 blocked shots per game 7.8 free throw attempts per game (t-5th in NBA) 31.4 minutes per game (74th in the NBA) Niko is also tied for 14th in the league in defensive rebounds per game in March. March 4th quarters: 9.5 points per game (1st in NBA) 3.6 free throw attempts per game (3rd in NBA) 0.6 blocked shots per game (8th in the NBA)
Going into the season I was hoping at least one of the two rookies could be an impact player in the playoffs. Nice to see that looks like its going to happen.
If this is where the Nikola Mirotic Fan Club meets, count me in. I was hoping for a NBA-caliber stretch-4. Mirotic isn't a low-usage, hang out on the perimeter player at all. He's a "Holy Shit! Here he comes again!" attacking kind of scorer. With Butler getting healthy, if Rose comes back with some of his killer attack mode still intact, playing defense against the Bulls could make an episode of "Worst Jobs in America."
I don't like calling somebody a future star - solely because of my own fan bias - but Nikola's play against Charlotte...I mean damn. I see him averaging numbers like 22/8 on good percentages once he figures it out.
Didn't see any shots at Thibs. Looks like it's more a case of "Mirotic hasn't helped himself claim more minutes the whole season." He's mentioned twice in the article (underlined): Perhaps, but Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau has struggled to find a consistent place in his rotation for Nikola – whether that is the fault of the coach or player is entirely up to you. Mirotic managed single-digit minutes in six of his first 10 NBA games, and as recently as Feb. 20 he played just under 10 minutes against the Pistons. Mirotic has done himself no favors with his performance as a starter, managing just a 28 percent shooting mark in three starts so far in 2014-15. One of those games, a loss to the lowly Lakers in late January, saw Thibodeau bench Mirotic for the remainder of the game after he missed his first two shots in 12 minutes of play. I checked that Feb 20 game, and Taj put up 15/9. Andre Drummond grabbed 20 rebounds to go with 18 points. In any case, let's hope Mirotic keeps it up.
Other than the "goofball" shot, I also didn't read the article as being critical of Thibodeau. I got the sense that Dwyer may have issues with Thibodeau, but he chose not to address them directly in this article. Those who don't like Thibodeau are going to claim that he held Mirotic back, but I don't agree. Thibodeau gave Mirotic several opportunities earlier in the season, but Mirotic largely fumbled them. I wouldn't say that Mirotic owes his success to Thibodeau, but I give Thibodeau credit for keeping an open mind and continuing to give Mirotic chances (even if necessity mothered the invention).
Yup, I'm going to claim Thibodeau has held Mirotic back. There was the game against Portland on Fri 11/21 in which he dropped 24 points, after which his minutes were immediately cut; the Griz game on Fri 12/19 when he dropped 27, after which his minutes were immediately cut; the game against the Bucks on Mon 2/23 in which he dropped 16, after which his minutes were immediately cut . . . Thibodeau has managed this roster like a petulant child all season -- even before this season, when he was rolling his eyes at Mirotic's press conference. So now Mirotic is the best player on the team and has been for the last month? Lucky Thibodeau. I'm sure someone is going to make the argument that this was all part of some mysterious grand scheme that Thibs devised all the while ignoring the simple, plain fact that Nikola Mirotic would be riding the bench right now if Taj Gibson hadn't twisted his ankle.
There is certainly no doubt that this is true. Love or hate Thibs, love or hate Gar/Pax, we all just want the Bulls to win, plain and simple. And while we may bitch about Hinrich or Dunleavy getting too many minutes, giving Moore or Snell their minutes isn't going to make a HUGE difference. But playing Niko 30+ minutes absolutely, positively, without a doubt does make a huge, massive, game-changing difference. We've seen it all year - when Niko has played 25+ minutes, he has scored in double figures every game but one. And that was a game when he only took 5 shots and the Bulls won by 16 anyway. (And this isn't remotely a case of a guy getting more minutes in games where he's playing well, Thibs is nothing if not anally strict and repetitive with his rotations) All Niko is doing now is exactly what I have been saying he would do since sometime in the 2012-13 season. I say this not to toot my own horn, but to wonder how Thibs didn't figure this out? It scares me to think he really just doesn't get it on the offensive end of the floor. You only need to look at Korver before and after his 2 years in Chicago. His last year in Utah, he set the NBA single-season 3pt record by shooting 53.6% from behind the arc. Then he comes here, and sees Keith Bogans one year and Ronnie Brewer & Rip Hamilton the next starting ahead of him. He played less minutes than Brewer both years and Rip the year he was here. How can that be?? 2011 CHI 20.1 min .415 3pt 2012 CHI 22.6 min .435 3pt 2013 ATL 30.5 min .457 3pt 2014 ATL 33.9 min .472 3pt 2015 ATL 32.7 min .503 3pt This year's team actually has enough offensive talent to score points in the postseason, I just hope like hell that those players will get enough minutes to actually score those points. And that we won't just run Derrick playing superhero-ball on offense when he has plenty of other options on the floor.
http://chicago.suntimes.com/basketb...t-nikola-mirotic-finally-getting-hang-defense Bulls' red-hot Nikola Mirotic finally getting hang of defense ‘‘A little bit tired because I never played like this before,’’ Mirotic said when he was asked how he was holding up through the final few weeks of the regular season. ‘‘I’m playing in all the games. I’m playing plus-30 minutes, and it’s a great feeling. This is the adjustment for me, too. I’m working hard to stay out there, especially mentally. I know if I’m mentally good, then I can push myself and play good basketball.’’ Good basketball is an understatement. Before a subpar eight-point effort in 24 minutes in a road loss Saturday to the Detroit Pistons, there has been no better Bulls player than Mirotic since the calendar flipped to March. Heck, there haven’t been many forwards in the NBA better than Mirotic the last three weeks. In his last 12 games, Mirotic has averaged 20.4 points, 8.2 rebounds and, perhaps the biggest attention-getter as far as coach Tom Thibodeau is concerned, 1.3 blocks in 31.4 minutes. Yes, Mirotic finally has started to figure out things on defense. ‘‘He’s been real aggressive in practice for, like, the last few months,’’ teammate Taj Gibson said of Mirotic’s improving defense. ‘‘We’ve been seeing it for a while, but now everyone gets to see it.’’ In addition to some injuries in the frontcourt, those defensive improvements have punched Mirotic’s ticket to extended playing time. ‘‘[I’m] understanding more of Thibodeau’s system, what they ask from me,’’ he said. ‘‘I think being here six months, I understand a little bit more of how they’re playing. ‘‘I need to communicate better on defense, I need to trust in my teammates and I’m working hard to especially improve on defense because I know the offense is no problem. . . . I’m working on that, trying to help my teammates, and I think I took a step, but it’s not enough. I need to work more.’’ In the first half of the season, Mirotic struggled with his footwork and with the positioning of his hands on defense. It also took him some time to understand the tendencies of the opponent. That combination often led to quick fouls and an early hook.
Let's get this straight. Mirotic was behind the all-nba 1st team center and DPOY, a 5 time all star who made the all star team this year, and the guy who finished second for 6th man of the year. Thibs held him back? Really? When Noah or Taj couldn't go, Thibs played Mirotic big minutes. Seems pretty straightforward to me. If I remember right, the big debate at the beginning of the season was who would finish games: Taj or Pau. Mirotic wasn't in the discussion. Our PGs going into the playoffs are Brooks and Hinrich. Be afraid.
