Mirotic having fun while filling in at small forward
In less than a week, Nikola Mirotic has gone from someone who supposedly wasn't quick enough to play small forward in the NBA to the Bulls' newest special weapon on an oversized front line.
Given a chance to experiment while Mike Dunleavy missed the two games with an ankle injury, coach Tom Thibodeau started Mirotic at small forward last Saturday against Boston. In Monday's 114-105 win over Houston, Mirotic didn't start, but finished the game at the three spot, producing 17 points and 8 rebounds in 27 minutes of action.
His sideline 3-pointer with 39.6 seconds left essentially sealed the victory over the Rockets.
"First of all, it was fun," said the 6-foot-10 rookie. "I just want to play, I don't care if it's three, four. I want to help my teammates. The most important thing the last two games, we won with me playing the three, so I'm very happy."
Those difficult defensive matchups didn't develop. Mirotic guarded Boston's Jeff Green, who hit just 4 of 18 shots for 11 points on Saturday. Houston's starting small forward, Trevor Ariza, scored 7 points against the Bulls.
Mirotic turned out to be a mismatch himself. During the second quarter on Monday, the Rockets tried using James Harden to guard him, and Mirotic scored 8 points in just over two minutes, mostly by taking Harden inside.
"He's more comfortable, I think, away from the basket, but he's not afraid to get inside," Thibodeau said Tuesday at the Advocate Center. "I think what it does, especially when he's out there with Jimmy (Butler), one of those guys will have a smaller guy on him."
There's a good comparison in recent NBA history to the Bulls' tall finishing front line of Mirotic, 6-foot-11 Joakim Noah and 7-foot Pau Gasol.
When the Los Angeles Lakers won championships in 2009 and '10, they often used Gasol, 7-foot Andrew Bynum and 6-foot-10 Lamar Odom together. Those three, plus Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher, was the most common Lakers lineup in '09, with Ariza the sixth man.
"Yeah, obviously with Niko at the three, it give us more size, more length, which I like a lot," Gasol said after Tuesday's practice. "Even though we might lose a little quickness and speed at times, you cover ground, you put bodies on people, you secure rebounds. Those are key factors for me.
"So I like what I see. I like always having size. I think size makes a huge difference in the game. I couldn't be happier with our frontcourt and overall team."
Taller lineups don't always work in the NBA, but the Bulls have some advantages. Noah is one of the most mobile big men in the game and Gasol ranks second in the league in blocked shots. Even if a quicker player gets past Mirotic, the Bulls still have Noah, Gasol or the long-armed Taj Gibson waiting to help.
"I like length," Thibodeau said. "I think that's been great for us. You look at Pau and Jo and Taj and Niko, that's a lot of length. Mike is long as well at the three, and Jimmy is big for a two."
Until Dunleavy got hurt, it didn't seem likely Mirotic would even try playing small forward this season. He got plenty of chances at power forward and played well during a series of injuries to the other big men. Thibodeau admitted last week he was reluctant to ask Mirotic to learn a second position.
The Montenegro native is new to the NBA, but is a seasoned basketball player, having spent the past few seasons playing for European power Real Madrid. Mirotic clearly has confidence in his skills.
"I don't care what people say. Some people are going to say yes, some people are going to say he can't play (small forward), but the most important thing is what my teammates think and the coach," Mirotic said. "I'm here to help.
"It was a great feeling, playing the last minutes. I feel very lucky and very happy. I have to say thanks to the coach, because he trusts in me."
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