The guy now has the highest PER on the team after a string of 5 straight double doubles. I wrote earlier that the Bulls should be playing him 40 minutes a night, and it seems like they're paying attention! Boozer played 36, 40, and 42 minutes in three of those games. The other two were against weak opponents that were easy wins for us (Washington and Cleveland). Seems like playing him a lot of minutes he's able to play hard and get his head into playing on defense, too.
No complaints. It's the dream scenario for the Rose-less Bulls. He should be the leader in scoring. But it wasn't clear he was up to it. A lot of things are coming together, including Jo's emergence as the "leader" of the team, and Taj's emergence as a viable 3rd piece that can replace the C or PF in our schemes. That was the hope when we waved goodbye to Omer. But dammit, why did it take 32 games to happen!!!!!!!
I figured Deng would be our #1 option, given that he basically is for England in International Ball, and he was effectively the #2 behind Rose when Rose was healthy. Deng's per 36 PPG is just 15.5, and he's really not the kind of ballhandler you want for a #1 option, IMO. Boozer has never been the #1 option on any team he's played for. I'm not sure it was ever realistic to expect him to be the focus of our offense. My observations... Also, Boozer and Noah have really low eFG% for big men.
My conservative prediction was that Deng would be the lead scorer. Whether that means number one option is another matter. But my hope was that Boozer would become the lead scorer. I suppose you might have thought Rip would be it, but you knew you couldn't count on him to play the games. Boozer has got the best feel for scoring. He just needed to elevate the rest of his game to the point where he could stay on the court long enough to do it. It seems that he's done it. Hope he keeps it up!
Boozer's even worse a perimeter ballhandler than Deng, though perhaps a better passer. You just can't rely on those kinds of guys to be your #1, IMO. Boozer's a system player. He's great at pick and roll and pick and pop plays and some post up situations. You need your primary guy (Deron Williams type) to get him the ball where he's comfortable. Then he'll score easily. Guys who can handle the ball on the perimeter (and these aren't PGs) - Wade, LeBron, Kobe, KG, Pierce, Durant (4.3 APG!), etc., are the prototype of what I consider 1st option. I always though of Rip as a system player, too. He'd run around and work off screens to get open like nobody else could (or had the energy to). He's more of a Pippen type guy, a great #2 to your MJ or Billups. He was never a very efficient scorer, something like 17 points per 15 shots for his career. A scorer, like MJ, scored 30 points on 20 shots (and he didn't take many 3pt shots).
I mean, what you're saying is that without Rose, we don't have a prototypical number 1. Genius. Still, we're 19-13. Go figure.
Actually, what I'm saying is that without Rose, we don't have a Pippen like #2 who can be #1 in a pinch.
Agreed, we don't. It's a shortcoming, to be sure -- not having a Pippen I pray for Mirotic and the Bobcats pick to make the difference. I'm not counting on Free Agency or a trade for that.
He's been beasting lately, for sure. I haven't seen too many of the games, except for Miami, where he looked fantastic. Very decisive with the ball and good enough on defense. From what I can tell, Boozer kind of gets the Bogans treatment from Thibs. On nights where his offense isn't clicking and/or his defense is really lagging (they often go together), he gets yanked pretty early and ends up with a 22 min/7 pt/5 reb night. When he's got it going on Thibs rides him as far as he can. (Like the last five games for example). It's hard to say if this production is a fluke or a sign of things to come. I can't imagine Boozer has consistent 23/12/53% shooting inside him any more. Not even for half a season. But perhaps the team has molded into a higher offensive concept? The only really remarkable thing about his play is his FT shooting. He's going to the line way more than he has in the past. No idea why. In general I like where the team is at right now, save for Jo's minutes and the Marco/Rip dichotomy, which I'm not sure is sustainable.
Boozer's been terrific lately. Two great signs: He's getting more of his offense inside and he's been more consistent on defense. Keep it up, Carlos!
We don't need a guy as great as Pippen was (HoF type). I used him as an example of where a team lost its superstar and had a guy who was a solid #1 to step up. The team without Jordan was Pippen's team, no doubt. Whose team is this Bulls team without Rose? Kirk's?
Honestly, it's probably Joakim's team, if you had to choose someone. But, we don't have that stand up guy, like Pip. We just don't. So, we do it the way we've been doing it, which is by committee, and under the lash of Tsar Thibs.
