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By Sam Smith | 10.24.2014 | 10:04 a.m. CT | asksam@bulls.com | @SamSmithHoops
Watching a few of these preseason games it seems obvious to me that we got two natural 5's and two natural 4's. And I wonder if the Bulls are better off moving Gasol to the bench so Taj can play the 4 with Jo instead of playing an undersized 5. The Gibson/Mirotic pairing just seems awkward. It's undersized, lacks playmaking in the high post (though I imagine Mirotic will get there eventually), and is poor on the boards. I know Taj played a lot of center with Boozer, but Boozer was a much better rebounder than Mirotic and he could body up some of the big guys down on the block. I think Boozer really played as much center as Taj did. I also don't like Jo having to guard 4's. I think stretch forwards will kill us. Jo wants to stay down low and help on any drives into the lane and he does a poor job tracking shooters on the perimeter. And I think we will get killed on drive and kick situations on Joakim's side of the floor. Pero Antic had a bunch of wide open, all day no one near me looks during the Jo/Gasol pairing. Start Gibson so you can stagger your substitutions to maximize your talent and ensure that you always have great size on the court with different versatility. I would start Mirotic to give Derrick another floor spacer and allow Gasol to work the excellent defense of Taj so that the second unit doesn't get lit up on pick n rolls.
Joey Maassen
Is Carlos Boozer really that indispensable? We are having a hard time with defensive rebounding, and seem to be getting muscled around in general. Is this all Booz's absence?
Alejandro Yegros
Do you not think the best thing for Derrick Rose would be to play as a 2? Seems like he gets stuck on the half court. If Kirk ran the one and Rose ran the 2 it would take pressure off Rose and allow him to excel in all aspects of the game. Some of the best players to have played and play now play from positions 2-5.
George Kash
So it appears Mr. Rose is ready for the season! The matchups between Chicago, Cleveland, Miami, and Washington should be very entertaining this season. I still think we need Ray Allen to get past Cleveland. That extra perimeter shooting at crunch time is going to be needed against this team. We can beat them without him but it will be very risky and the outcome may depend on home court though that shouldn't give anyone a false sense of security with LeBron on the floor. Snell needs another year before he could be a legit contributor off the bench. Don't delay, call Ray today!
Stephen Fulton
The bench has the pieces, but there is no cohesion whatsoever. Taj always looks for his shot even when it’s not there; Brooks is capable of creating for others but doesn't yet. Doug can’t find a rhythm on offense because he is pigeonholed into a poor man’s Korver. Niko is the wildcard in this but he is a rookie.
Mike Sutera
I have always loved Rose’s offensive game and have enjoyed observing his improvement. The one thing that has always bothered me is the lack of assists. I watch guys like Chris Paul penetrate and drop off spectacular passes regularly. Even the German kid Schroder on Atlanta, was impressive the other night. It seems like one thing Rose is lacking is superior court vision. Now I have changed my mind. I have decided why shouldn’t he just blow by the defense and shoot layups or get fouled rather than drop it off. It is probably just as effective as making the pass.
Diane Kalousek
I didn't realize how bad Irving was defensively until I watched him on Team USA. He literally chases Rose and can't catch up. Rose, on the other hand runs/hustles and gets in front of Irving. My buddy and I didn't even realize Love was in the game until after a few minutes went by.
Victor Devaldvielso
Another exciting season is coming up for the Bulls. The team looks great on paper and is starting to look like they are gelling on the floor a bit more too. I still think we will not see what this team is really capable of until December-January, though. There have been a number of additions that will take time to fully acclimate. Like many others, I have been watching Rose closely to see what he still has and honestly, it is all still there. Most impressively his defense has really benefited. We may have the best defensive three guard rotation in the NBA with Derrick, Jimmy, and Kirk. When did Rose become such a stout defender? Was the added bonus of all that time off the opportunity to really learn other players' tendencies? Has he spent more time with Thibs learning the finer points of defense?
Michael Aumiller
I wanted your take on all of these naysayers claiming D Rose will never be "MVP caliber" ever again. I know it was a preseason game vs Cleveland and that he's two years removed from basketball, still has rust, etc. but what I saw on Monday was the most dominant player on the court. It bugs me with idiots claiming he will never be that type of player as he can’t shoot, play mediocre defense, has to rely on his athleticism, etc. when all they care about is player efficiency ratings and stats that are irrelevant. Kevin Love has a great PER but hasn't even been to the playoffs so does that make him an MVP caliber player I know he has a long way to go and still has to prove everyone that he can stay healthy, but what I saw on Monday was an MVP caliber player.
Alex Mattucci
There are some GMs that basically answers "LeBron James" in every player category (of the annual GM survey) right? It sounds ridiculous that he gets votes for almost every category... man the guy is the best but let’s calm down a bit, no?
Rui Dias
Why does coach Popovich get a somewhat pass from the media for sitting his players? There are a lot of coaches that would get slammed for this but no one seems to call him out in the media. I know you might say it's because of all the rings, but does winning change how you should feel about someone's personality?
Ateeq Ahmed
You think if D Rose stays healthy and with the addition of the new team members that they have a good chance at making it to the playoffs?
Shane Mangra
Since Thibs said best to play 9 guys, who is your fantasy top 9 Bulls of all time? I'm 37 so mine is Rose, Jordan, Pippen, Grant (more two player than Worm) Noah. Bench is Kerr, Kukoc, Butler (proven he can play shooting guard and small forward as a backup) and Gibson so bench has mix of shooting and D.
Kevin Franzen
Should there be a reason to worry about D Rose maybe not being as explosive as he was or should we just sit back, relax and have faith in him.
Josiah Regencia
Nationally everyone's selling high on the Bulls right now, but as a longtime fan and someone who's watched the Thibodeau years closely, I think it's going to take a month or two of the regular season for the team to really gel. It's always taken that long for the team (especially the new players) to really start playing the defense that Thibs expects. While the Bulls are finding themselves, all the sportswriters will jump ship and write a lot of "Bulls are tuning Thibs out" and "Rose is not what he once was" baloney. By Christmas the Bulls will be back to being the underdog playing with a chip on their shoulder and it's going to be fun to watch. Did I get anything wrong?
Zachary Greenwood
