Floor-spacers finally helping Bulls achieve offensive vision
For the Bulls, this process has felt like waiting too long for the cable guy or an appliance delivery to show up.
"Honey, the floor-spacers are finally here."
A vision the Bulls seemed to have for a few years finally came to fruition in Saturday's overtime victory over Toronto. Jimmy Butler got hot offensively and when the defense tried to gang up on him, he dished some passes to Doug McDermott and Nikola Mirotic, who knocked down some timely shots.
McDermott and Mirotic combined to score 17 points in the fourth quarter and overtime as the Bulls erased a 13-point deficit.
"It's taken some time and the last two games we've been able to really get going," McDermott said in the locker room. "It's a great feeling having the trust from the coaches, D-Wade and Jimmy and those guys, to be out there with them. We're just staying confident, staying ready."
Maybe if McDermott and Mirotic stay healthy and confident, this is what's in store for the Bulls. A couple of legitimate 3-point shooting threats seem to open the floor and create endless possibilities for Butler's offense. Butler averaged 38 points in this week's victories over Charlotte, Cleveland and Toronto.
McDermott has scored in double figures for five straight games while shooting 45 percent from 3-point range. In 11 games since getting benched, Mirotic has averaged 11.9 points and shot 35 percent from 3-point range - not where he should be, but better than he was early in the season.
Down the stretch against the Raptors, coach Fred Hoiberg used a lineup of Butler, Mirotic, McDermott, Dwyane Wade and Cristiano Felicio. That group erased a 13-point deficit in the final eight minutes of regulation.
"I think Jimmy's gone on a lot of his big runs with either me or Niko out there, just because it allows him room to work with," McDermott said. "We kept running that high ball screen where I set it on Jimmy and it's tough for defenses to decide what to do.
"It felt great, just having the trust from the coaching staff, getting better on the defensive end of the floor and rebounding. Continue to watch film and watch tendencies, that's what's allowed me to stay out there."
McDermott knows defensive issues have kept he and Mirotic off the court. On Saturday, Mirotic did a much better job of stepping out against the screen and roll, then knowing when to drop back to the man he was guarding. When Mirotic gets switched onto a smaller, faster player, it's usually automatic points.
But Toronto's lineup helped. DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry took most all of the shots in crunchtime, so Wade and Butler guarded those two, leaving McDermott on defensive specialist DeMarre Carroll and Mirotic on low-scoring power forward Lucas Nogueira.
It remains to be seen whether the Bulls can continue to thrive with their floor-spacer offense. They face another tough week, starting with a visit from Oklahoma City, then a road trip to Washington and New York.
"We're figuring out now what we want to do," Wade said after Saturday's win. "Early in the year, we didn't really know and we lost games we shouldn't have lost because of that. Our job from here on is not to worry about what our record says, but now in this new year to take the strides we are taking, to continue to try to put some games together and see where we end up."
In the meantime, Butler has been spectacular, taking over games against three good opponents this week. He scored 17 points in the fourth quarter against Charlotte last Monday, 14 at Cleveland, then 17 in the fourth quarter and overtime against Toronto, all while taking on the toughest defensive matchup.
The Bulls have reason to worry about Butler wearing down, but those 3-point shooters could also make his basketball life easier.
"The last few games he's been balling out of control." Wade said. "He's not just at home kicking his feet up because he had a 52-point game, a 40-point game. He's still working. The guy wants to be great. Now his confidence is there and he can do whatever he wants."
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Bulls game day
Bulls vs. Oklahoma City Thunder at the United Center, 7 p.m. Monday
TV: Comcast SportsNet
Radio: WLS 890-AM
Outlook: Russell Westbrook is about halfway to making history. He's averaging a triple-double with 31.4 points, 10.6 rebounds and 10.3 assists. The only player to ever do that was Oscar Robertson in 1961-62. As a team, the Thunder (22-16) has been up and down, losing its last four road games. SG Victor Oladipo is the second-leading scorer at 16.2 ppg, followed by C Enes Kanter (13.7 ppg) and C Steven Adams (12.2). Oklahoma City ranks 29th in the league in 3-point percentage, ahead of only the Bulls. The Bulls went 2-0 against the Thunder last season.
Next: Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center on Tuesday, 6 p.m.
- Mike McGraw