Properly Balanced Chicago Bulls More Dangerous Than Ever
The days of the one-dimensional Chicago Bulls are over.
With the annual November circus road trip underway, Tom Thibodeau's club looks nothing like the thin, offensively punchless crew it was at the end of last season. The Bulls rank eighth in offensive efficiency this year, worlds better than their No. 27 ranking in 2013-14 or their No. 24 ranking the year before that.
The defense, of course, remains stout. Chicago's 100.5 points allowed per 100 possessions ranks seventh in the NBA, and it's actually the worst rating it has posted in any of the last five campaigns.
We can safely assume the Bulls will work their way into the top five by season's end.
Chicago's top-10 ratings on both ends of the floor have come despite imperfect health. Derrick Rose has missed time with ankle and hamstring injuries, and Joakim Noah, Pau Gasol and Jimmy Butler have sat out games as well.
Perhaps it's foolish to assume the Bulls will ever be completely healed. This is a team that has defined itself in recent seasons by pushing its players, and that may mean breakdowns are inevitable.
Still, it's hard not to be intrigued by the possibilities ahead. In years past, the lack of offensive punch—caused almost entirely by Rose's absence—put a ceiling on the club's potential. A balanced attack, which includes a healthier Rose, removes that ceiling.
Though it seems like ancient history, this Bulls have had balance like this before.
Chicago won 62 games in 2010-11, Thibodeau's first year at the helm, thanks to a No. 1 defensive rating and a respectable No. 12 offensive rating. In 2011-12, the Bulls led the NBA with a 50-16 record during the lockout-shortened campaign. That season, the Bulls had the league's best defense and fifth-best offense.
Rose's torn ACL in the first round of the 2012 playoffs prevented us from seeing how far that club might have gone.
Fast-forward to the present.
The safe bet, and perhaps the most logical one, would be to say this year's Bulls will be among the league leaders in wins. That seems to be what happens when they check in at or near the top 10 in offensive and defensive rating.
| 2010-11 | 105.5 (12) | 97.4 (1) | .756 |
| 2011-12 | 104.5 (5) | 95.3 (1) | .758 |
| 2012-13 | 100.4 (24) | 100.3 (5) | .549 |
| 2013-14 | 99.7 (27) | 97.8 (2) | .585 |
| 2014-15 | 106.8 (8) | 100.5 (7) | .727 |
But maybe it's a mistake to assume these Bulls are those Bulls simply by virtue of their statistical similarities.
After all, that assumption ignores the individual and collective adversity they've had to struggle through over the past two years—and how that adversity forged real toughness. And perhaps it doesn't properly acknowledge the additions to this year's team that give it weapons those 2010-11 and 2011-12 squads never had.
The Bulls have grown from the experience of playing without Rose. They've had no other choice. In the process, they've achieved another kind of balance—one that has nothing to do with offense and defense, and everything to do with self-reliance and resourcefulness.
Noah became the team's leader because it needed one.
Butler struggled mightily with injury and a role he wasn't ready for last season. But the pain of that process was worth it. Now, he's an elite defender who can also function, in a pinch, as an offensive hub. He's not Rose, but he can get to the line consistently and knock down open shots.
"Jimmy Butler is literally the Bulls No. 1 option on offense & guarding the best point guard in the game. The man is superhuman.
— Adam Jun (@ajbulls) November 18, 2014"
Chicago can now reliably produce offense through four players: Rose, Noah, Gasol and Butler. There's some more balance for you.
Thibodeau, after four years of relentlessly drilling the concept into his players' minds, has conditioned them to believe it genuinely doesn't matter who's healthy and who's not.
Winning, to Thibs and his Bulls, is less about who than how.
"Any time you're short-handed, you know your margin of error is smaller." Thibodeau explained to Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com. "But I have great belief in the team. I think the team has great belief in itself. We have the belief that if we do the right things the right results will take care of themselves. So when somebody's out, the next guy steps in and does the job. Get the job done."
Thibs' comments to Friedell came on Nov. 18, but they could have originated at any point during his tenure as head coach. He's always been allergic to excuses, and his Bulls have been indoctrinated into that way of thinking.
The result is a team that doesn't crumble when bad breaks hit. Chicago's embedded system and anti-individualist culture define it. We know that because the Bulls haven't missed a beat this year when Rose has been out.
We need only look to the remarkable road win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Nov. 17 for proof. That victory came without Rose or Gasol in the lineup. Taj Gibson started and scored 20. Butler took over down the stretch.
Next man up, right?
Well...mostly.
See, the Bulls gutted out enough wins to reach the postseason in each of the last two years, relying on grit and collective effort.
But as valuable as the team approach Thibs and the Bulls employ can be over the long haul of an 82-game campaign, it was clear they needed more in the playoffs. Worn-down replacements playing roles above their pay grade couldn't get the job done, which is why Chicago has won just one playoff series in Rose's two lost years.
Now, the Bulls can rest Rose during the season because they have the depth and battle-forged toughness necessary to compensate for his absence. To some extent, they can take it easier on Noah, Gasol and Butler as well.
That's the Bulls' true balance. It's more than high offensive and defensive ratings for the first time since 2011-12, and it's more than a roster that can get production from multiple sources.
It's in the way everybody on the team, from subs to starters to stars, can play key roles this year.
In the early going, depth and Thibodeau's "we have enough" attitude can carry the load so the big names can rest and recover. As the season progresses, the rotation will shrink and the marquee players can start to take over.
When the playoffs roll around, those subs will have earned their stripes, and guys like Rose, Butler and Noah will be fresher (fingers crossed) than they've been in the past.
Add all that up—the offense, the defense, the refusal to make excuses, the depth and the hard-earned confidence—and you've got a team built for its deepest run in years. The Bulls, finally, have found the balance they need.
All stats via NBA.com unless otherwise indicated.
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