With the Bulls finally coming in shape with a healthy roster, it’s clear who’ll start, and more importantly who will not start. For now, it seems Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler, and Pau Gasol are locked into a starting role. With Mike Dunleavy out until December, this leaves Joakim Noah as the odd-man out from last year’s starting-five.
“Gasol, Butler and Derrick Rose — whenever he returns from his fractured left orbital bone — are locks to start…That leaves the power forward slot. Mirotic is the better shooter, a premium for the offense Hoiberg wants to run. Noah is the better defender and rebounder, though his defensive strengths have been limited some playing alongside Gasol.” – KC Johnson
“Coach is going to have a lot of decisions to make in terms of matchups and things like that. Whatever Coach does, I’m cool with it.” Joakim Noah
With Gasol being a lock for the center position, the battle for the power-forward position could be between Nikola Mirotic and Taj Gibson. With both players having a strong preseason so far, it’s almost a tossup between the two. If Hoiberg is looking to balance his front-court between offense and defense, this could favor Taj Gibson to land his first full-time starting role in a long time.
