This was a special, iconic moment for Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls:
While the incredible Rose shot is what will be remembered from Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, the reasoning that put the Chicago Bulls in position for that to happen is what interests me most.
In any aspect of life, leaving your comfort zone can be a difficult thing to do. You have a way you like doing things and it works. Why risk trying something different that could bring a variety of results, some of them bad?
Through the years Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau has clung to a stubborn methodology, and he’s had a ton of success with it. He played his guys and he played his guys lots of minutes. Within a certain scope, it’s worked.
Under Thibodeau, Chicago has gone 255-139 (.647 winning percentage) in the regular season, and the Bulls have advanced past the first round of the playoffs in three out of five years. That’s a hell of a lot of winning, even though the Bulls haven’t won a championship or even made it to the NBA Finals in that stretch.
For this Bulls team to be put in the best position to win, it’s going to involve Thibodeau pushing the limits of how he views basketball.
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During Thibodeau’s five years, the Bulls’ most-played lineups have always involved two traditional bigs, with the list including Joakim Noah, Omer Asik, Kurt Thomas, Carlos Boozer, and Pau Gasol.
Chicago beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 3 because Thibodeau eschewed that philosophy in a long-overdue move. Thibs went away from his natural instincts and got creative in a way he’s typically avoided doing.
Forward Nikola Mirotic played 22 minutes after seeing only nine in the first two games combined. In those 22 minutes Mirotic was a +19, by far the highest on the team. Truthfully, Mirotic still didn’t play enough, but at least this was a step in the right direction.
With Mirotic in the game it’s painfully obvious how much the Bulls’ offense opens up. Not only is he capable of scoring himself, his ability to stretch the floor from the four position creates driving lanes for Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler by expanding the Cavaliers’ defense. Cleveland has to cover a larger area of the court when he is playing.
In the fourth quarter Joakim Noah didn’t play one minute and neither did Pau Gasol (although it sounds like Gasol sat because of a hamstring injury, which means that Thibs went to the right lineup partly because the situation forced his hand).
Noah provided some contributions in his 22 minutes, mainly doing dirty work on the glass and offering some rim protection. He grabbed six offensive rebounds and enjoyed more success turning away some of Kyrie Irving’s attacks at the rim. The fact that he’s become a severe offensive liability no longer allows those positives to shine through. He was 1-8 from the field, missing layups, airballing floaters, and getting nothing but backboard. It was difficult to watch.
While benching Noah in the fourth quarter was smart, once again refusing to play Mirotic for a long stretch almost cost Thibs. The Bulls were outscored by seven in the seven minutes Rose, Kirk Hinrich (inexplicably played for almost the entire final quarter), Mike Dunleavy, Butler and Gibson were together.
Chicago was a +9 in Mirotic’s four minutes during the fourth quarter.
The Bulls have taken a 2-1 series lead on LeBron James and the Cavaliers. Chicago has never been ahead of a James-led team this late in a series. It’s new territory.
The question now is: Will Thibodeau continue to expand into the unknown as the series continues, or was playing Mirotic for more minutes in Game 3 the primary result of Pau Gasol’s injury? Did Thibs really see the light on Friday with Mirotic, or will he trend back toward what he’s done for the majority of his time in Chicago?
The answer to that will be the difference in whether the Bulls have a legitimate shot to beat LeBron James for the first time, or if their season once again ends earlier than they would like.
