The only thing worse than watching the Bulls offensive scheme under the Tom Thibodeau era was watching Derrick Rose go down year after year. The Bulls signed a few offensive players during the Tom Thibodeau era to help relieve the offensive struggle. First big name player they brought in was Carlos Boozer, who by all means made matters worse because of his contract situation. The Bulls then brought along Mike Dunleavy Jr and Pau Gasol via free agency. The Bulls started targeting players that could help the offense in the draft as they brought in Nikola Mirotic and Doug McDermott. However, it’s not about the players, it’s about the system. The Bulls ran the most stagnent and predictible offense in the NBA, which ended up killing them in the post-season.
“They’re still the Bulls. They’ve still got the guys, they’re just missing Thibs. They’ve still got the personnel.” – Carmelo Anthony
“Obviously it’s going to be different. I’ve studied some film with my trainer how [Iowa State] played in college. We go over some of the offensive schemes [Hoiberg’s] told me and my trainer about. So we work that into our workouts, but it’s definitely going to be different. I think it’s not going to be so much concentrated on defense like it was [with] Thibs. I think it’s actually going to be more offense [minded].” – Jimmy Butler
There’s a fresh of breath air in Chicago after they signed Fred Hoiberg. It felt almost like somebody finally added bright colors to a painting that Tom Thibodeau left black and white. Again, it’s not about the players, it’s about the system. That’s the main reason why the Bulls didn’t make moves this summer. Gar Forman and John Paxson are confident in the roster they’ve put together, and they feel even more confident Fred Hoiberg can utilize the offense much better than Tom Thibdoeau.
Jimmy Butler’s quote is spot on for the Bulls changes this season. It’ll be heavily focused on the offense, and they’ll put their trust in Jim Boylen for the defense. Guys like Doug McDermott, Aaron Brooks, and Tony Snell will be able wipe the dust off their sneakers and finally be able to shine.
Expect the Bulls to run a 10-man rotation, very similar to the Golden-State Warriors. Albeit, the Bulls roster is built entirely different as the Warriors roster, but Hoiberg still has enough pieces on the team to run his system without compromising the quality. Nobody is comparing the Bulls to the Warriors, at least they shouldn’t be, but expect them to run an uptempo offense like the Warriors at the very least.
With the starting five undetermined, it’s also safe to assume there’s no difference between a starter and a bench player. Allstars like Andre Igoudala and David Lee were brought off the bench and still played a major role in the offense, at least that’s the case for Igoudala. Fred Hoiberg could play mix-and-match with the big men. Possibly start Nikola Mirotic one game but bring him off the bench for Taj Gibson the next, it doesn’t really matter. Fred Hoiberg will not be stubborn, which is why the front-office brought him in.
Hoiberg has been openly accused of being Gar Forman’s puppet. After all, the two share a past at Iowa State when Hoiberg played there and Forman was the assistant coach. It’s not about the coach being a puppet, it’ll be more about everybody being on the same page. The rift between Thibodeau and Forman became distracting at times because of the media coverage. The Bulls season should be smooth sailing this year just as long there’s no major injuries.
The Bulls success is hard to guess. It’s hard to image lightening striking twice for a first-year head coach to win a title. However, the Bulls season should be extremely entertaining to watch with the Bulls running the ‘Hoiball’ system which will include uptempo style filled with gun-slinging three-pointers.
