Chicago Bulls Power Rankings: Evaluating Full Roster After First Six Weeks
The Chicago Bulls are finding ways to win this season, thanks to an immensely-deep roster.
Led by Jimmy Butler—that sounds sort of weird, doesn’t it?—this is the most talented Bulls crew since the memorable dynasty days of the 1990s.
No, there’s no Michael Jordan on this team, but there’s an abundance of players who can get the job done.
Butler is an emerging star and Derrick Rose can still ball when healthy. Also, Joakim Noah, Pau Gasol and Taj Gibson easily form the top big man rotation in the game today.
If they can shake off the injury bug, the Bulls have a realistic chance to go all the way, or at least make the NBA Finals this year.
Let’s look at all 14 players on the current roster, everybody from Cameron Bairstow to Butler.
All stats are from Basketball-Reference.com. and accurate as of Dec. 5, 2014.
Bench Players (14-11)
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14. Cameron Bairstow
We knew second-round pick Cameron Bairstow wasn’t going to play much. For one, coach Tom Thibodeau won’t include three rookies in his rotation. And two, he’s buried behind big men Joakim Noah, Pau Gasol, Taj Gibson and Nikola Mirotic.
Bairtstow has played just 30 minutes this season. Yet, he did pick up his first career start in the 114-109 loss to the Denver Nuggets on November 25.
13. E’Twaun Moore
A native of East Chicago, Indiana, E’Twaun Moore grew up a Bulls fan. Unfortunately, though, he hasn’t seen much action with his favorite team. Moore has played a total of 32 minutes and is averaging 1.1 points per game.
The Purdue product looked pretty nice during the 105-87 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on November 21. In season-high 24 minutes, he posted nine points, four boards, three assists and shot 4-of-8 from the field.
12. Nazr Mohammed
When Nazr Mohammed re-signed with the Bulls this past offseason, he was well aware that a great deal of playing time wasn’t in store.
He has played 37 minutes this season with averages of 1.8 points and 2.5 rebounds.
A starter earlier in his career, the 37-year-old center plays the 12th man role these days.
11. Tony Snell
It was a given that Tony Snell’s strong summer league would carry over into the regular season. He was supposed to take on a larger role and develop into an important part of the rotation.
That hasn’t been the case so far. Snell is logging only 10.3 minutes per game (down from last year’s 16) and averaging 2.4 points.
It appears that he’ll only get more minutes if Butler or Mike Dunleavy suffer an injury (knock on wood).
10. Doug McDermott
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If the season were to end today, let’s just say Doug McDermott wouldn’t be a Rookie of the Year candidate.
His lights-out shooting ability was the main reason the Bulls acquired him on draft night. He shot 44.9 percent from three-point territory as a senior at Creighton and 45.8 percent for his career.
This season, McDermott is shooting just 23.1 percent from beyond the arc. He spoke about slow starts, via K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune:
"To be honest, in college I usually got off to slow starts shooting the 3," McDermott said. "I just kept shooting them and by the end of the year typically had a good percentage."
The good thing is that it’s only December. There’s a lot of basketball to be played before the season ends.
It’s way too early to write this guy off. Look for him to find his touch as the season progresses. He’s just too good a shooter.
9. Nikola Mirotic
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Nikola Mirotic may eventually become the next Dirk Nowitzki at some point down the road. In the meantime, he’s serving as a role player off Chicago’s bench.
The 6’10” rookie is averaging 7.3 points and 5.2 rebounds while shooting 44.8 percent overall (38.6 percent from downtown). With increased playing time due to Taj Gibson’s injury, he’s averaging 12.7 points and 8.5 rebounds over the last seven games.
Mirotic’s all-around skills have been on display thus far. He can shoot, drive to the hoop, run the floor, pass and even play a little D here and there.
His best night came during the November 21 contest against Portland. Mirotic scored a game-high 24 points to go along with 11 rebounds, two assists and four threes.
8. Kirk Hinrich
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Kirk Hinrich has started nine games, filling in for Derrick Rose at the point and Jimmy Butler at shooting guard.
The veteran out of Kansas is putting up decent numbers (8.8 points, 3.5 assists and 1.1 steals per contest).
Although he’s shooting a miserable 37.8 percent overall, his 44.6 percent from beyond the arc leads the team. E’Twaun Moore’s 50 percent doesn’t count since he has only attempted two threes all year.
Sadly, Hinrich made a costly mistake during the Bulls’ 132-129 double-overtime loss to the Dallas Mavericks on December 2. With a few seconds remaining in regulation, he fouled Monta Ellis, who ended up hitting all three free throws to send the game to overtime.
Oh well, everybody makes mistakes.
7. Aaron Brooks
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The Bulls signed Aaron Brooks, hoping that he’d be the next Nate Robinson or D.J. Augustin. In other words, they were looking for him to provide instant offense at the backup point guard position.
He’s doing an admirable job right now, scoring 10.8 points a night off the bench. His 45.7 percent overall shooting and 44.1 percent from three-point land are both career highs.
Having Brooks on the roster makes life easier for the Bulls. When the oft-injured Rose is unable to go, the team doesn’t have to panic since Brooks’ scoring punch is always there.
The Seattle native put on quite a show during the 106-101 loss to the Boston Celtics on November 8. Before fouling out, he dropped in 26 points (19 during the fourth quarter) and dished out eight assists.
6. Mike Dunleavy
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Heading into the season, Mike Dunleavy’s starting job was perhaps in jeopardy. Some fans felt that McDermott would quickly shoot his way into the starting five and boot MDJ to the bench.
However, with McDermott’s slow start, Dunleavy’s job should be safe for a while. He has started every game for the Bulls this year, contributing 10.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and two assists a night while shooting 43.7 percent overall (36.3 from long-range).
Dunleavy isn’t going to wow anybody with his stats. Yet, he means a lot to this Bulls team, as he can stretch the floor with his outside shooting and play solid defense. He’s an excellent example of a role player that every title contender needs.
5. Taj Gibson
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Injuries have forced Taj Gibson to miss seven games so far. When healthy, the 6’9” big man has been a beast, producing 12.4 points, 5.8 boards and 1.1 blocks. In addition, he’s shooting a team-best and career-high 54.6 percent from the floor.
Gibson averaged 15.6 points and 6.4 rebounds, starting five games in place of the injured Joakim Noah.
Like always, Gibson has been a true professional this season. He could easily start for many other teams around the league, yet he comes off the bench in Chicago and doesn’t complain.
Let’s hope that Gibson, who’s currently out with an ankle injury, returns to the lineup soon. The Bulls truly need his scoring and tenacious D, which he brings on a nightly basis.
4. Joakim Noah
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A season ago, Joakim Noah finished fourth in MVP voting behind Kevin Durant, LeBron James and Blake Griffin. With Rose’s injury and the Luol Deng trade, he transformed into a triple-double machine and powered the Bulls to the playoffs.
Unfortunately, Noah hasn’t been that guy yet this year. Bleacher Report’s John Wilmes chimed in on the topic:
"We haven’t seen that same, volcanic version of Noah too much this season. Save for one spectacular game against the Boston Celtics (14 points, six rebounds, six assists, six blocks), Noah has looked less than totally comfortable and spry on the court. A lot of that has to do with one of the stealth stories of the Bulls offseason: his arthroscopic knee surgery.
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Knee surgery is definitely a reason to not play like an MVP. Despite not being 100 percent, Noah’s numbers of 8.4 points, 9.9 boards, 1.5 blocks and 4.6 assists aren’t exactly the worst in the world.
Noah will come around eventually. It will just take a little bit of time to return to full strength.
3. Derrick Rose
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This has been an interesting season for Derrick Rose. He has been in and out of the lineup due to injury and widely-criticized for making post-NBA-life comments.
But when he’s healthy and actually playing, D-Rose has looked really good. He’s putting up 16.2 points and 5.1 assists. That’s not bad, especially since he’s playing limited minutes (a career-low 26.5 per game).
While no one knows for sure if he’ll ever be the dominant force he was back in 2011, Rose is still an impact player. The lightning-quick speed and quickness is still there. He can still blow past defenders and get to the basket with ease.
The Bulls can win games and reach the playoffs without Rose. They’ve proven that in each of the last two seasons. However, they’re not going to win a championship if he’s not on the court.
2. Pau Gasol
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Back in 2010, Chicago made a mistake by signing free agent Carlos Boozer. He just never lived up to expectations and was amnestied this past summer.
It looks like the Bulls got it right, though, by reeling in Pau Gasol. The former Los Angeles Lakers star has been huge, producing 19.9 points and 11.4 boards on 48.3 percent shooting. And he has been a solid rim-protector as well, blocking nearly two shots per contest.
Gasol is just what the Bulls needed—someone you can dump the ball to inside and expect to get buckets. Plus, he can stick the mid-range jumper all day and every day.
He has had a history of batting injuries and missed three games this year with a strained calf. Hopefully, he can stay healthy for the remainder of the season and continue his All-Star-caliber play.
1. Jimmy Butler
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Jimmy Butler will become a restricted free agent next summer after failing to get an extension deal done by the October 31 deadline.
And the way he’s playing this year, it won’t be shocking at all if he lands a max contract.
Butler is averaging 21.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals while shooting 49 percent from the field. Those, my friend, are what you call outstanding numbers.
He has scored at least 20 points 12 times this season. He accomplished the feat just nine times during his first three seasons.
A few years ago, Bulls announcer Stacey King gave Butler the nickname “Jimmy Buckets.” That didn’t sound right at the time. But now that he’s scoring like crazy, it’s definitely fitting.
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