Del Negro leaning toward a flexible starting lineup
Anxious for the NBA's regular season to start?
Vinny Del Negro isn't. The first-time coach would gladly accept a second training camp if it were a legitimate option.
"As a player, you want to get right to the regular season," Del Negro said Sunday. "As a coach, I wish I had another month or so to get some things in and get a little more comfortable at both ends."
The team's injury situation has improved to the point where Larry Hughes figures to be the only regular missing when the Bulls host the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday at the United Center. But that also means one of Del Negro's first difficult decisions will be to choose a starting lineup.
Some spots are filled. The thought of bringing rookie Derrick Rose off the bench is completely ludicrous after his awe-inspiring preseason, so he's the point guard.
Luol Deng is being paid starter's money, so he's the small forward. Drew Gooden is the only experienced big man, so he needs to be in there somewhere.
One issue is whether to use Gooden as an undersized center, or start Aaron Gray in the middle and let Gooden slide over to his natural spot at power forward. Gooden knew which option he would choose.
"I think I play a little more effective offensively when I am a center," Gooden said. "I'm facing guys up now (for jump shots) and they're playing off me. Centers aren't used to coming out there, so I feel like I have even more freedom to shoot that jumper and I'm more comfortable. Whereas when I'm playing another athletic forward, I don't have too much room to work with."
True to his word, Gooden did have two of his best games in the preseason while playing center, taking advantage of Dallas' Erick Dampier and Minnesota's Al Jefferson.
At the same time, Gray looked good in the preseason after dropping about 25 pounds during the summer. Del Negro also praised Gray for having a better knowledge of the defensive strategies than the other young big men.
At the end of his interview, Gooden excused himself to get to the weight room, suggesting he needs all the strength he can get before playing the five spot. So it appears the Bulls are leaning toward starting Gooden at center and Tyrus Thomas at power forward.
The other issue is shooting guard. Del Negro seemed to favor the presence of a taller two guard, starting Hughes before he got injured, then Thabo Sefolosha late in the preseason. That meant bringing Kirk Hinrich off the bench. Now that Ben Gordon is back from a toe injury, should both Hinrich and Gordon come off the bench?
Del Negro praised Sefolosha's defense after Friday's preseason finale against the Bucks. The 6-foot-7 Switzerland native did use his long reach to negatively affect a couple of Michael Redd jumpers.
In theory, it makes sense to free Hinrich from the burden of defending the other team's most dangerous guard. As he showed in the game last Friday, Hinrich (25 points) can be an effective scorer.
Pressed on the lineup questions, Del Negro conceded that he may alter the starters based on opponents, matchups and which players have a hot hand.
"Sometimes we'll be right and sometimes we won't," Del Negro said. "You just have to keep going with it. With all the injuries, it's hard to engrave something in stone.
"I think the flexibility with the starting lineup needs to be there right now. Maybe it needs to be there all year, I'm not sure yet."