With Taj Gibson now a member of the Thunder, the Bulls have shifted Bobby Portis into his spot at power forward and rookie Paul Zipser into the sixth man role, writes Sam Smith of Bulls.com. Zipser, a 23-year-old forward, has stepped up of late as a competent two-way player able to defend opposing team’s scorers while hitting the occasional big shot.
Smith isn’t the only one touting the rookie who returned to the lineup after a month’s absence. “He really kind of solidified himself as our sixth man (before the injury) and a guy who’s closing games for us,” Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg told Mark Strotman of CSN Chicago. “We missed him, there’s no doubt about that. He’s got size, he’s got length, he can put it on the floor and he can really defend.”
The change in rotation goes to show that trades aren’t always about what a team acquires, Smith writes, but also about who they open up opportunities for. Portis has averaged 12.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game since stepping into the larger role with the Bulls seven games ago.
There’s more out of the Central Division:
- All season long LeBron James commented that he’d like the Cavaliers‘ front office to go out and get a playmaker. Little did he know then that one would fall into their laps. In Deron Williams, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com writes, the Cavs got just what they wanted. In his first game with Cleveland, Williams became the first reserve to dish out more than four assists in a game all season (he managed seven).
- The Pistons made the wrong choice when deciding to shake up their starting lineup, Stephen Shea of Basketball Analytics Book writes. A deep dive on Tobias Harris reveals that he is Detroit’s most efficient scorer and that the team performs better when he’s on the floor.
- The 15-year-old son of Dwyane Wade won’t stop talking trash, Bulls teammate Jimmy Butler tells Alysha Tsuji of USA Today. Zaire Wade is highly regarded as a high school player. “When he makes it to the league, every single NBA player is going to try to score 50 on him,” says Butler.
I’m happy Taj left. We need to start transitioning to the new NBA filled with stretch 4’s and long range big man. I think Portis defensively will still have issues going forward but offensively he can shoot it, drive, finish. Portis can be used effectively like a Mo Buckets for GSW and now lob city. He can be that 6th man if we can find a real 4 the next year or so. Zipser I’m not really a big fan of his game. He’s just a body to me. Reminds me of Steve Novak but less shooting and more athleticism. We are at the point where we need to evaluate the young kids in crunch time as well.
Blah blah blah. Nothing happens until the two boneheads in their front office get fired. Paxon and Foreman
Zipser can ball. I like this kid.
Not so sure on zipser. Valentine can be a player and he’s getting minutes finally
At the very best, the Bulls are a .500 team at best. What a great job putting this garbage together.
Sad to say, but the Bulls will be a .500 club as long as Butler’s on the roster. I don’t blame him, I blame the front office and their inability to build a winning roster around franchise players.
Even if, by some miracle, Gar is fired and the Bulls clean house from Hoiberg on up, nothing changes. They must rebuild the roster starting with a Butler trade and tanking for a lottery pick next year.
I smell funny.