Jan. 19--The Bulls improved to 24-16 following their road victory against the Pistons. Here are three observations.
Taj Gibson is ready for an increased role
Coach Fred Hoiberg has said Gibson, who supplanted Nikola Mirotic as starting power forward in early December, also will see minutes at backup center. Gibson is up for the task. His offseason left ankle surgery has improved his mobility and quick jumping ability. And Gibson always has possessed the defensive ability to guard multiple positions.
Gibson can't match up with all centers. But he can certainly log minutes there against smaller lineups when the Bulls play small.
"I feel good," Gibson said. "Just trying to stay fresh and do what I can with defense and rebounding to help us win."
The Bulls play so much better with shooting spacing the floor
Pau Gasol had his pick-and-pop locked on autopilot. Doug McDermott and Nikola Mirotic shot the ball well off the bench. Like any team, the Bulls thrive on the better spacing that emanates from strong outside shooting.
Along these lines, the Bulls need to get McDermott involved more offensively. The few games he has disappeared have mostly resulted from little playing time. McDermott ranks seventh in 3-point percentage at 43.9 percent. Getting him more shots would behoove the Bulls.
Look for more lineups featuring Jimmy Butler shifting to small forward
With Joakim Noah out, the Bulls will play more smaller lineups. Hoiberg used a look featuring Derrick Rose and E'Twaun Moore at guards with Butler sliding to small forward. And the lineup played well.
"I thought it was good," Hoiberg said. "E'Twaun is going to make the right play offensively. So you don't try and do too much. You make open shots and you always know he's going to battle his butt off on that other end on defense. So you can put him on bigger guys and you can get away with that. Jimmy is obviously strong enough to defend bigger guys, so yeah, that's certainly a lineup that we want to go to."
