Nikola Mirotic Training Camp: What the coach/players are saying...

[poido123]

http://www.chatsports.com/chicago-bulls/a/Mirotic-making-a-nick-name-for-himself-1-10492332


Some interesting insight into how Mirotic is seen by the players/coach recently.

[TheMilkyBarKid]

http://www.chatsports.com/chicago-bulls/a/Mirotic-making-a-nick-name-for-himself-1-10492332


Some interesting insight into how Mirotic is seen by the players/coach recently.

I hope Thibs can get him to start by the end of the year. He is a very crafty player.
Is he not a pf?
I doubt he would start ahead of pau and Gibson.

[poido123]

Is he not a pf?
I doubt he would start ahead of pau and Gibson.


He could play SF. His footwork and effort on D would make him serviceable enough to play there, he has nimble feet. He would be a mismatch for anyone defending him, he can post up and he can shoot.

He would struggle against some of the better SF's on D, but who doesn't.

[oarabbus]

I predict Thibs will be a moron with him, play him very little, and when he does, not let him play his game.

Sounds like if he unleashes the guy, he can be a starting level player though.

[poido123]

I predict Thibs will be a moron with him, play him very little, and when he does, not let him play his game.

Sounds like if he unleashes the guy, he can be a starting level player though.


That isn't unique to Thibs.

A lot of coaches bury euros on the bench in their first year.

I do think Mirotic may be a step ahead of a few of them though...He has played international ball and has been playing in the euroleague for quite some time.

My guess is Thibs will start out with players who know the system, then slowly introduce more minutes to McDermott and Mirotic as they learn the system with time.

My guess is either Dunleavy or Snell will start alongside Butler, then as the season progresses, Mirotic and McDermott will push for more minutes and perhaps even a starting job.

[artificial]

The article says that the Bulls might have an overloaded frontcourt, but I disagree.

Noah, Gasol, Taj, Mirotic. Obviously out of those, Mirotic is the odd man out for major minutes as of now. With Noah's injury recovery for the early part of the season and Gasol's age / stamina, I think Thibs could use all of them efficiently.

That frontcourt is looking really strong and versatile assuming they all stay healthy.

[Crown&Coke]

Joakim Noah spoke highly of him. I wasn't too intrigued until he did sign. Now I'm def interested to say the least.

http://fansided.com/2014/10/01/chicago-bulls-joakim-noah-praises-nikola-mirotic-hell-player/

Tweet from Sun-Times Basketball

"You don

[Pointguard]

Wow, really curious to see the offense this year. I heard Snell was looking good too.

Hinrich
Snell
McDermott/Mirotic
Gibson

McDermott might be the odd one out this year if Thibes goes the 9 man rotation. Which is ok. Tribes should just do the second unit thing and rest the Noah and Pau.

Nazir
Brooks

Still can be very valuable.

[ralph_i_el]

Who needs Mirotc when you have McBucket?

[chips93]

He could play SF. His footwork and effort on D would make him serviceable enough to play there, he has nimble feet. He would be a mismatch for anyone defending him, he can post up and he can shoot.

He would struggle against some of the better SF's on D, but who doesn't.

the spacing would be horrible if you posted mirotic around with pau and noah on the court at the same time.

ive only seen a few of mirotic's games, but he looked far too slow to defend SFs, he looked fairly slow against euroleague PFs, but i guess we'll have to wait and see.

[poido123]

the spacing would be horrible if you posted mirotic around with pau and noah on the court at the same time.

ive only seen a few of mirotic's games, but he looked far too slow to defend SFs, he looked fairly slow against euroleague PFs, but i guess we'll have to wait and see.


One of the Bulls main concerns going into this season is filling that SF spot.

Out of the 3 or 4 guys who can play there, there are negatives to all of them.

Yeah, Mirotic can look slow, but it's his long strides that make him look slow. He stays with the play well, even if he does get beaten, he knows how to recover and contest the shot.

If Bulls are to be successful this year, they need to know how to use Mirotic. He is a matchup nightmare. Can post up, drive, shoot and run the floor like a guard.

[poido123]

Who needs Mirotc when you have McBucket?


McBucket is my choice. He will make mistakes, he will get beaten by athletic SF's, but he can equally punish defenses at the other end.

Doug will provide an extra threat out there to keep defenses honest.

[chips93]

why not start snell and butler? with rose gasol and noah you probably have enough offense already anyway

[Pointguard]

why not start snell and butler? with rose gasol and noah you probably have enough offense already anyway

You are right. Dunleavy is 34 shot 43% last year and will likely be used more-so in spot duty, Doug might move into regular back up. Only problem is that they could use Snell with Gibson's and Mirotic's energy/athleticism off the bench. They can go a lot of ways.

[Andrew Wiggins]

i've watched him live several times. he absolutely can't play sf

[poido123]

why not start snell and butler? with rose gasol and noah you probably have enough offense already anyway



Report out of latest scrimmages is that Thibs isn't all that impressed with snells consistency and is leaning towards starting dunleavy.

I dont see why we are going to give dunleavy significant minutes. I hope this changes by end of season.

[Thorpesaurous]

I'm absolutely fascinated by The Bulls this season. I'm a Celtic fan, and as such have a great fondness for Thibs, and frankly like the defensive minded game.

But even at their ECF Rose winning MVP peak, I've had serious issues with the Bull offense. And I think it says something that for a few years in a row, this team has gotten value out of a PG who was borderline out of the league (Nate and then Augustine - and ), because Thibs just lets those guys go almost as if he's not sure what else to do. And for what it's worth, I don't think he's the only successfull coach to do this. I've long made this case about Jim Calhoun, who's titles seem to coincide with dynamic ball handlers who can create for him on one end while he turns guys who were often raw prospects into elite level defenders on the regular.

Anyway, I feel like this roster is super interesting. Especially considering what Noah did toward the end of last year, with the offense running through his passing at the high post.

I see a number of alignments with a variety of strengths.

Noah and Pau on the floor together means you can play out of the high post like the old Kings teams.

Mirotic, who I don't believe is really a SF, can play there to go big. Or he can fit as an undersized overskilled PF, which I think may be his truer identity (not unlike Parker). That means you can go big or small with him depending on where you play him. If you can survive defensively, Playing Mirotic at PF and McDermott at SF give you crazy elite level spacing you can play around Rose and Noah as a top tier PnR unit. Gibson is a really excellent low post player, and a really great defender. He also can space midrange with his faceup. Playing Him and Noah together gets you back to that top level defensive alignment. And if you put Noah, Gibson, Butler, and Snell out there with Rose, that could be an incredibly fast, transition based offense, defensive monster lineup. Snell did look really good from what I saw in the summer league.


I hope the Bulls really play with this stuff this season. I'd love to see them go from the single defensive identity to this multi-dimensional identity that almost no one in the league can do.

[La Frescobaldi]

Why can't he be on the Wolves?

[Pointguard]

Report out of latest scrimmages is that Thibs isn't all that impressed with snells consistency and is leaning towards starting dunleavy.

I dont see why we are going to give dunleavy significant minutes. I hope this changes by end of season.
To be honest Doug, Snell, Dunleavy and Mirotic are all going to be inconsistent this year. Dunleavy couldn't keep a quick SF in front of him (Butler will be guarding the scoring SF so Dunleavy will be matadoring SGs) when he was younger. Snell is going to be the only one somewhat consistent on defense. Thibes is going to have to be patient this year. Dunleavy is going to give Thibes a heart attack because DoneleaveMe was showing signs of aging last year.

[beastee]

To be honest Doug, Snell, Dunleavy and Mirotic are all going to be inconsistent this year. Dunleavy couldn't keep a quick SF in front of him (Butler will be guarding the scoring SF so Dunleavy will be matadoring SGs) when he was younger. Snell is going to be the only one somewhat consistent on defense. Thibes is going to have to be patient this year. Dunleavy is going to give Thibes a heart attack because DoneleaveMe was showing signs of aging last year.

Probably about right. That is why I still feel Melo was the best fit this offseason. I do have faith that McBuckets can be a 15-17ppg SF in this league though with starter minutes. Just not yet.

[poido123]

Why can't he be on the Wolves?


Over my dead body :oldlol:

We love mirotic

[mehyaM24]

start pau/noah.. not high on mirotic. at least from the footage ive seen.

[poido123]

To be honest Doug, Snell, Dunleavy and Mirotic are all going to be inconsistent this year. Dunleavy couldn't keep a quick SF in front of him (Butler will be guarding the scoring SF so Dunleavy will be matadoring SGs) when he was younger. Snell is going to be the only one somewhat consistent on defense. Thibes is going to have to be patient this year. Dunleavy is going to give Thibes a heart attack because DoneleaveMe was showing signs of aging last year.


Yes they will. All have weaknesses that thibs will yank them for during the season.

I really think we should look at starting mirotic by the end of the year at SF. Dunleavy isnt exactly stopping other SFs either.

Hes got experience in international ball, he can exploit other SFs with his height, and he has nimble enough feet to recover and contest a shot if beaten off the dribble. Thats the benefit of having two twin towers behind him, he can afford to lose his man occasionally. He will be able to feel comfortable playing with gasol.

He has a post game, and he can stretch the floor for rose penetration. Hes also one of the first guys up the other end if the court, so when rose gets a fastbreak opportunity he can look for him on an outlet pass or finish.

Thibs may not be brave enough to go with him though. I think the benefits outweigh the risks.

A 6 foot 10 guy at SF with speed and range? That would make this team more dynamic IMO and would compliment a starting lineup in need of a third scorer.

[poido123]

start pau/noah.. not high on mirotic. at least from the footage ive seen.


Pau/noah is almost certain to start with gibson assuming the same backup role hes had for years.

Instead of burying mirotic on our bench with no minutes, we need to get him more time at the 3