Bulls may be at full strength vs. Magic
Taj Gibson tried giving a plug to the Bulls' second unit last week when he mentioned the second stringers have beaten the starters regularly during scrimmages.
Asked to confirm this report, backup point guard Aaron Brooks backpedaled, using the kind of defensive fundamentals that would make Tom Thibodeau proud.
“I don't want no part of that,” Brooks said Monday.
Pressed on the issue, Brooks passed off all the credit.
“I don't know. Taj has been killing,” he said. “I've just been passing the ball to Taj. That's it. I just pass the ball to Taj and Taj scores all our points. If he said that we win, it's all because of him.”
The Bulls' depth has been a key storyline in the opening week of the season. Not only have Gibson, Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler missed games, the second unit turned the game around on opening night in New York. So far, 11 players have been getting significant minutes.
Rose and Gibson, who missed Saturday's narrow win at Minnesota with sprained ankles, both practiced Monday and appear to be on target to play Tuesday when the Bulls host Orlando at the United Center.
“I feel like I should be able to go tomorrow,” Gibson said. “You never know, we'll see. Looked good in practice … felt good.''
Butler missed the first two games with a sprained left thumb, then returned to score a team-high 24 points against the Timberwolves. Thibodeau said Butler did not experience any problems with the thumb. So there's a chance the Bulls could be at full strength against the Magic.
Tuesday's game begins a stretch of four games in five nights for the Bulls, although the opponents finished with the four worst records in the league last season — Orlando, Milwaukee, Philadelphia and Boston.
Thanks to the injuries, the Bulls have 11 players averaging at least 15 minutes per game and six averaging at least 13 points. Other than Gibson, the second unit struggled to score during preseason, but those issues seem to be resolved.
“We're just loosening up a little bit, being more free,” said Brooks, who is averaging 13.3 points and 4.3 assists off the bench. “We know the offense better, so it allows us to make other plays besides within the offense … knowing where we can get shots up, instead of just being robots and stuff. We're starting to get there.”
It's easy to compare this group to the Bulls' successful “Bench Mob” from 2010-11. Gibson is the only player common to both groups. One difference with this year's bench is it features two rookies, Doug McDermott and Nikola Mirotic, whose roles could increase as they get comfortable with NBA competition.
“It's always good to have depth,” Thibodeau said. “But it's also important to have your main guys play as well. You're building habits now for the end.”
While defense and rebounding are two areas where the Bulls need to improve, their goal of better offense is off to a good start. They've scored 100 points in three straight games. Last season, their third 100-point game arrived on Dec. 2. the 16th game of the season.
“It's really fun,” Gibson said. “The thing about the squad is everybody's really unselfish; everyone wants everybody to succeed. It's never, ‘Why you ain't look for me on that last shot?' Everybody's like, ‘Take that shot, we'll live with it. We'll get back on the next one.'”
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