Which Chicago Bulls Player Will Make Biggest Leap in 2014-15?
Much has been made of the Chicago Bulls’ continuity. In a 2014-15 season defined by LeBron James starting anew with a hastily assembled but hugely impressive Cleveland Cavaliers roster, Chicago’s biggest advantage is believed to be their consistency.
James said as much recently, telling ESPN's Brian Windhorst that Chicago is "much better than us right now just off chemistry. They've been together for a while. We've got a long way to go." Perhaps James was bluffing a bit, trying to motivate his men to jell faster. Perhaps not. Either way, he made the nod toward common perception—this Bulls team is believed to be more cohesive than the Cavs.
But the squad is, nonetheless, full of unknown entities, poised to trump or fall short of our expectations. Free-agent acquisition Pau Gasol is adjusting to a totally different system and surrounding, as are talented rookies Doug McDermott and Nikola Mirotic.
For McDermott and Mirotic, a classic sort of jump is needed—that from amateur to NBA warrior. Both have shown flashes of immense, innate offensive talent in the preseason—which Chicago, whose scoring was the worst in the league last year, desperately needs. But both have also looked like they need a lot more time and lessons before they’ll be rotation players worth depending upon in the playoffs.
Mirotic dazzled in his Bulls debut, racking up 17 points as he ran the floor and confidently shot three-pointers in the second half against the Washington Wizards. But he has since looked indecisive and tremulous with the ball, deferring unnecessarily and passing up shots we know he can make.
Mirotic has fortunately looked better on the defensive end—much to his coach’s approval—collecting steals at a higher rate with his quick hands and instincts (he had four against the Denver Nuggets and three against the Hornets). The Montenegro native still needs to put it all together and jump up to the level of performance he’s been hyped to be capable of.
McDermott is also still far below his ceiling. The sweet-shooting rookie has gone beyond expectations as a professional rebounder thus far, but he hasn’t made (or looked for) his invaluable shots from deep at a high rate yet. Once (if) he finds his comfort zone, Mr. McBuckets might find himself as his team’s most ascendant player in 2014-15.
The most older Gasol is still figuring out how to best play with the Bulls. The 34-year-old Spaniard and likely future Hall of Famer can’t back down the opposition on offense like he used to—he’s simply not spry enough. But his savvy and touch mean he’s still a hugely valuable asset. He’s been a surprisingly good rim defender for the Bulls in the preseason and is slowly finding his famed passing touch.
How much the big man will be able to thrive in Chicago remains to be seen. Twilight-year transitions are no sure thing in the NBA, even for players of Gasol’s pedigree. This is clear when we consider Steve Nash’s failure with Gasol’s last team, the Los Angeles Lakers. If Gasol succeeds in Chicago, it will mean something of an uncertain leap has been made.
Most notable of all to our thinking, there’s Derrick Rose.
The legendary point guard has only ever played for his hometown team, but he’s a different man now than he was when he last took the floor with any regularity. Exhibiting a newfound patience and calm, Rose seems to have eschewed his uniformly 100-miles-per-hour approach for a tact that would fit right into the San Antonio Spurs locker room.
On his second return from injury, Rose has worked with coach Tom Thibodeau to make sure his minutes are low and his body is safeguarded throughout the preseason. He’s exceeded 25 minutes in just one exhibition matchup, when he played 28 in a win against the Charlotte Hornets. He’s also kept his pace mostly near medium, with his head on a swivel looking for his new offensive weapons.
Seemingly gone is the hard-pressing, do-it-all superhero we remember Rose as when he won he 2011 NBA MVP award. "He knows that he will never get back to that," his brother Reggie told ESPN The Magazine’s Wright Thompson in a recent piece. The old Rose is “gone.”
This is not to say Rose is worse. In terms of what his team needs, his new look seems to be more in harmony with late-season success than the old Rose was. By taking the game in at a less frenetic rate and choosing his spots of attack more pointedly, Rose is making the leap into becoming the more sustainable star that the Bulls need.
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