New lineup set for Bulls preseason opener

Fred Hoiberg broke from Bulls coaching tradition by announcing the starting lineup for Tuesday's preseason opener vs. Milwaukee a full 30 hours before tipoff.

For the record, he going with E'Twaun Moore, Jimmy Butler, Tony Snell, Nikola Mirotic and Joakim Noah.

With former Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau often refusing to reveal a lineup an hour before games, this was an interesting switch, no matter how unimportant the news might be. Surely, the Bucks are salivating over the early lineup reveal and plotting how to use it against the Bulls.

"Yeah, I guess I'm not supposed to divulge that information," Hoiberg joked.

Actually, the Bucks likely don't care who starts for the Bulls. This is preseason game No. 1, which is seen as little more than a chance to break up the monotony of practice.

Several key Bulls will take the night off Tuesday. Pau Gasol won't play, simply to give him extra rest after playing heavy minutes for Spain in the European championships.

Taj Gibson is recovering from off-season ankle surgery and Kirk Hinrich has a toe injury, so neither will play against Milwaukee. Derrick Rose is out with a broken orbital bone and Mike Dunleavy will miss a couple of months after his back surgery.

"It's great for our young guys," Hoiberg said Monday's practice. "(Rookie forward) Bobby Portis will get a great chance to get his first game experience in an NBA arena. I know he's pumped up about that. And it gives some guards a chance to see what they can do and fight for minutes in the rotation."

The main task during the opening week of training camp has been installing a new offensive system. One of the buzzwords among players has been "freedom." Hoiberg's system is supposed give players a chance to read the defense and then react.

"The spacing is really critical in this system, so that's a good thing," Gasol said. "That's something we need to understand and just get used to the names and technicalities.

"To me it's not complicated. At the end of the day it's all basketball, and if all players are locked in and we move the ball and we're willing to make it work, we'll make it work."

So the preseason opener at the United Center might give fans a glimpse of what to expect from Hoiberg's offense. Although some regulars won't be on the floor, guys who played in summer league - Portis, Doug McDermott and Cameron Bairstow - probably know the new offense better than the veterans.

Hoiberg warned the team is in the early stages of learning. The Bulls have worked at playing at a faster pace, but not on many set plays.

"We haven't really gotten into any isolation actions, but we've put in a lot of our flow offense," Hoiberg said. "If the primary break isn't there, just flow into a secondary break. Again, our timing - we have a lot of guys running into each other because they're almost too quick trying to get into the action. You've really got to survey the floor before getting into those actions and hopefully they'll be effective."

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