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Nikola Mirotic dilemma is a nice problem to have

Maybe one way to solve the Bulls' playing time problem is to rotate days off for their three main big men, Gregg Popovich-style, all the way through the end of the season.

This much is obvious: Nikola Mirotic shouldn't disappear on the bench once Taj Gibson, Joakim Noah and Pau Gasol are all healthy. Mirotic may quickly become one of the NBA's most dangerous X-factors, as evidenced by his 27 points and 6-for-6 performance from 3-point range in Friday's win at Memphis.

"Anyone who can hit 6 threes in a game for 6 attempts, I would say is pretty important," Gasol said after Friday's game, according to bulls.com.

When he plays at least 20 minutes, Mirotic is averaging 12.6 points and 7.3 rebounds, while shooting 47.1 percent from 3-point range and 48.5 percent overall.

A few more games like Friday and Mirotic will be a viable contender for rookie of the year.

"He's just such a different weapon with his ability to spread the floor," Noah told reporters Friday. "A lot of time with shooters, they're one dimensional. I think this guy is the real deal. And I think he's getting better every game. He just adds a whole different dimension with his 3-point shooting, his ability in the pick-and-roll, his passing. I think defensively he's going to get better and better."

It's been easy to find Mirotic playing time in recent weeks, because either Gibson, Noah or Gasol has been sidelined in 15 of the last 16 games.

Eventually, you'd think, everyone is going to get healthy. In those situations, Mirotic hasn't played much. The feeling is he's strictly a power forward and doesn't have the mobility to guard small forwards.

Simple math illustrates coach Tom Thibodeau's dilemma. There are 96 minutes at power forward and center to split among four players. He could play three guys 32 minutes each, and that's a good number for starters Gasol and Noah. To continue giving Mirotic 20 minutes, Thibodeau would have to cut Gibson way back to drop the other two below 30 minutes.

One idea is that the Bulls could trade Gibson, but then what happens if there's another injury to Gasol or Noah? And what would they even look for in return?

For the past few years, the Bulls have lacked an elite shooting guard, but one dropped into their lap this season, thanks to Jimmy Butler's dramatic improvement.

After consecutive 30-point games, Butler ranks 10th in the league in scoring at 21.9 points per game. The Bulls wouldn't replace Butler with Kobe Bryant right now.

Is it possible the Bulls could play Gibson, Noah and Mirotic together in some situations, with the more mobile Gibson and Noah guarding the forwards and Mirotic at center? That would be short term, at best, but could buy Mirotic more playing time, in theory.

So the only realistic move is to appreciate the abundance of talent at the four spot. Gibson has been one of the league's most talented big men coming off the bench, so he'll continue to play. But there may not be any 6-foot-10 players who can score inside and out the way Mirotic can. He could turn around an important playoff game.

Thibodeau just needs to mix it up, while the four big men appreciate the dilemma. If Mirotic has it going, someone else might have to sit for a while.

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