Forgotten Taj Gibson Is Suddenly Critical to Chicago Bulls Again

In the NBA, life always comes at you fast. Taj Gibson can tell you all about that.

Things looked peachy for the Chicago Bulls forward last spring. As the co-linchpin to one of the league’s best defenses next to Joakim Noah, Gibson was one of the most valuable players on the 2013-14 Bulls, and his front office was surely noticing it.

A slew of conflicting reports started to come out about Gibson being upgraded to starting status once the team used the amnesty clause on struggling big man Carlos Boozer. After years of hard work as the Bulls’ top reserve, things appeared to finally be paying off for Gibson.

The Bulls even made Gibson an integral part of their free-agency pitch to Carmelo Anthony over the summer. They seemed to be signaling that he’s an important part of their future, and that his salary wouldn’t be moved to make way for a big get; not even their No. 1 target.

Kathy Willens/Associated Press

But with the way things have turned out since then, some Bulls fans are wondering whether Gibson might prefer to have been shipped off elsewhere. A recent starting role—in the wake of an injured Noah—notwithstanding, it's been a murky year for Gibson coming off the bench. And his recent upgrade has been amidst his team's worst slide of the season—they fell to the rival Cleveland Cavaliers, 108-94, on January 19 as Gibson put up just 10 point and 10 rebounds over 38 minutes.

All patterns have been unfortunate for Taj since the summer. In lieu of an Anthony acquisition, the Bulls signed big man Pau Gasol away from the Los Angeles Lakers, and he has effectively taken the starting spot many envisioned for Gibson. Chicago also brought revered big man Nikola Mirotic over from Spain, and he has further jammed up the Bulls’ frontcourt rotation.

In 2014-15, Gibson’s role has become unclear for the Bulls. With Gasol averaging 34.8 minutes per game, Gibson isn’t seeing any more of the floor than he did last year. And when he’s there, he’s been a ball-stopper, over-dribbling in the paint as he looks like he’s trying to prove his worth by exhibiting moves that were never a staple of his invaluable game before.

And the explosive play of Mirotic—while raw and unpredictable—has made many wonder whether Taj has much of a future with the Bulls. If they’re to sign Jimmy Butler to a maximum contract this July, it’s likely the Bulls will need to jettison salary to avoid the luxury tax. The odd man out in most versions of that equation is Gibson.

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Taj Gibson is an All-Star if he's playing in the Hawks system.

— Jonathan Tjarks (@JonathanTjarks) January 18, 2015"

But Chicago still has a need for Gibson. With Noah playing on a creaky body and performing well below his Defensive Player of the Year capabilities, Taj is their best big-man defender. That was a lesson learned in a January 14 home loss to the Washington Wizards. Marcin Gortat and Nene make for a devastating pair of size and skill, and as Bleacher Report’s Sean Highkin noted after the game, “the Bulls’ only big man capable of defending [Nene] was Taj Gibson.”

Gasol’s had an excellent season, but he’s got some very visible limits. Gibson is a superior athlete, with better leaping ability and lateral movement, and he has a number of extra years in coach Tom Thibodeau’s intense defensive system. If the Bulls are going to make a deep postseason run, they’ll need to figure out just how to utilize Gibson.

As of yet, Gasol and Gibson haven’t clicked on the court together, and Noah’s been too shaky to make up for it. Despite having a better overall record this January than in either of the past two seasons, the Bulls defense is an uncharacteristic No. 12 in efficiency, giving up 102.4 points per 100 possessions.

Last year? The Bulls were down at 97.8 by season’s end, second in the league behind the Indiana Pacers. And while it may be too late to get back to such heights statistically, the Bulls need to find their best form defensively, and that task starts with the restricted area. 

Making Taj Gibson an important piece of their team again is one of the fastest ways to improve those numbers. Remembering Taj is one of the more difficult goals ahead of the Bulls, as they struggle through the dog days of one of their most hyped seasons in years.