The Chicago Bulls have a new head coach in Fred Hoiberg, and even though they didn't make any significant changes to the roster there should be changes made to the style of play and lineups.
Last season the Bulls lost in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, and Hoiberg will try to adjust things to make sure they maximize their talent. Pau Gasol and Joakim Noah started alongside each other last year, and that didn't work out as well as the Bulls had hoped it would. So it is possible that one of them will be coming off the bench next season, according to Sam Smith of NBA.com.
Smith says that Hoiberg has not been forthcoming with what he plans to do with his starting lineup, but he does know that Hoiberg wants to play faster, and that likely means either Gasol or Noah coming off the bench. The options to start at power forward alongside either Noah or Gasol are Nikola Mirotic, who is a stretch four, or Taj Gibson.
Gasol has said that he isn't coming in expecting to have the starting center spot handed to him, but either way he expects to have a big role.
"It's not that I see myself starting, I'm going to work and earn (my spot). I don't take anything for granted no matter how well I played or how great of a player I think I am. You have to prove yourself in practice, earn your minutes, I'm not expecting to play the most minutes on the team...I expect to have a substantial role as I always have in my career and be a key part of our team," said Gasol.
Gasol seems open to coming off the bench, but the most likely scenario is that he starts and Noah comes off the bench, as Gasol is coming off a tremendous year and Noah is coming off a down year. Gasol averaged 18.5 points and 11.8 rebounds in 34.4 minutes per game last season on 49 percent shooting, while Noah averaged 7.2 points and 9.6 rebounds in 30.6 minutes per game while shooting 45 percent from the field.
Both centers are very good passing big men, but as of right now Gasol is the better of the two players. Noah will be able to come off the bench and use his energy to provide a spark for the Bulls should he be relegated to a bench role. It is also said that it is harder to bring an older player off the bench, especially when he is used to starting his entire career, and Gasol is now 35 years old while Noah is just 30.
The Bulls didn't make any major roster changes, but, as Smith writes, the changes will come from the new head coach implementing a new style of play and a potentially new starting lineup. It is unknown how Noah would feel about coming off the bench, but he is the ultimate team guy so it shouldn't be a problem.
