Pleasant Surprises from Chicago Bulls' Early-Season Games

The Chicago Bulls’ 2014-15 season carries some of the team’s largest expectations since Michael Jordan was around. If the Bulls don’t come close to a championship, the season will be a failure.

It’s still far too early to tell whether Chicago can stand up to that standard. But there are signs that the team can get over the hump between mere playoff fighter and Larry O’Brien Trophy contender. The team's depth and resilience proved strong in their November 13 victory over the Toronto Raptors—another East heavyweight—which pushed the Bulls' record to 7-2.

Let’s have ourselves a look at some of the more welcome surprises of the Bulls’ season thus far.

Pau Gasol's Blocking Shots

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The Bulls didn’t sign Pau Gasol for his defense. They had plenty of that already. And while Gasol hasn’t exactly been Dwight Howard in the paint, he has proved to be a major upgrade over the departed Carlos Boozer.

Gasol has rotated to the back line of coach Tom Thibodeau’s defensive patterns reliably and shut down men at the rim to the tune of 2.38 blocks per game, good for third in the league.

Gasol isn’t the Bulls’ stopper. He’s not even second on the depth chart of Bulls big-man defenders—Taj Gibson and Joakim Noah are both clearly superior at that task. But Pau looks almost shockingly capable of playing the role of his defense’s last line.

Aaron Brooks’ Play

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The Bulls have had an impressive record of refurbishing forgotten point guards in the Thibodeau era. Aaron Brooks is the latest in a lineage forged by Nate Robinson, C.J. Watson, D.J. Augustin and John Lucas III.

Brooks bounced around in recent seasons, playing for three teams in two years while recovering from injury issues. But with the Bulls, he appears to have found new life. He’s shooting 52 percent from the floor, including a blistering 58 from three-point range, and he's providing crunch-time baskets when Rose is out with injuries.

If Brooks keeps this up, he’ll find lucrative offers from other teams, joining the growing list of contemporary point guards who got their cash flow back on track with the Bulls. Brooks' current one-year deal makes this a real possibility come next summer.

More Rest for the Weary

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Thibodeau’s greatest weakness has always been obvious—he runs his best players into the ground. With a player like Rose, whose health is always tenuous, this can be a problem. And as Noah ages and the minutes pile up, his body becomes less reliable as well.

So it’s reassuring to see that both players are under less grinding duress so far this season. After Noah’s arthroscopic knee surgery over the summer, he’s been facing a steep recovery curve as he tries to return to his typically frenetic form. He needs his games off and his minutes low, and so far he’s sat two games and played a reasonable 30.5 minutes per game.

Rose, of course, has also had his rest. Pundits, including Chicago Tribune’s Steve Rosenbloom—who recently accused Rose of “[hitting] 11 on the Stupid-O-Meter”—might not like it when Derrick takes close to half of his games off in the early season, but it’s the only way he’ll be ready to carve up interior defenses come playoff time.

Decent Minutes for the Rookies

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While the fanbase may be frustrated by the lack of developmental minutes for intriguing prospects Doug McDermott and Nikola Mirotic, they should be encouraged by a little perspective.

Both players are averaging about 13 minutes a game. And while that’s not a lot of floor time, it’s significantly more than the 8.6 Jimmy Butler averaged in his first season under Thibodeau. The Bulls coach doesn’t historically trust rookies, but he’s getting better at it.

Given the depth of the Bulls’ rotation, the time these guys are getting is especially surprising. Thibodeau could easily go with a seven- or eight-man rotation that excludes the youngsters, but he’s made it a point to give his young ones more time. McDermott and Mirotic are, after all, too talented to leave off the floor. 

"Usually you like rookies a lot more when they can play... very profound,” the coach said after a Nov. 4 victory against the Orlando Magic in which Mirotic clocked 23 minutes.

A Top-10 Offense

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Last year’s Bulls offense ranked dead last in NBA scoring as the team survived on Joakim Noah’s creativity and an inconsistent set of scorers led by D.J. Augustin, Jimmy Butler and Kirk Hinrich.

Now, running up the scoreboards seems to be the least of the team’s concerns. A returned Rose has opened up the floor for his teammates, and Pau Gasol’s presence in the post has also drawn extra respect from the defense. 

Rose and Gasol make the Bulls’ shots easier, but the men taking them are more qualified too. With Doug McDermott, Aaron Brooks and Nikola Mirotic coming off the bench, there’s no longer a dependable series of clangs coming from the perimeter. And given that the team’s starting five have only taken the floor together twice, their production is likely only going to go up from here.

All quotes acquired firsthand unless noted otherwise.