Dunleavy obviously is a glue guy!

[czman]

It isn't just the starting 5. When you don't have Dunleavy starting Kirk starts which means unless Thibs dramatically changes the rotation Brooks is the point guard off the bench and Snell is playing the 3 or Moore is at the 2 and they don't have the leadership that Hinrich gives the second unit. This is even more out of whack with Noah out because Mirotic plays more minutes as the stretch 4 with Gibson or Gasol in the middle with Brooks in that second unit. It's like when Nate Robinson or Watson or Augustin was the point guard, they didn't direct the offense very well when they weren't shooting the ball. But now you're seeing the effects of people playing slightly out of where their best slot in the rotation is on the defensive side.

To add on to this point. Hinrich is a back up PG. As a back up PG he has more size and strength then most of the people guarding him and he is going against. As a starting to who is undersized and not nearly as athletic. As a backup PG Hinrich is a plus player. As a starting SG he is a negative.

That is one of the problems with Snell and McDermott not being able to fill in when a wing goes down. It pushes people out of their plus matchups on both offense and defense. the Bulls need a starting SF. Dunleavy should be coming off the bench.

I am not sure why Snell/Mcdermott/Mirotic can't start at SF right now. I think this is one of the failures of the coaching staff. In stead of having one player out of their natural rotation they throw both units upside down.

 

[clonetrooper264]

I am not sure why Snell/Mcdermott/Mirotic can't start at SF right now. I think this is one of the failures of the coaching staff. In stead of having one player out of their natural rotation they throw both units upside down.

It's also strange considering that all 3 have played in starting roles at some point this season (preseason for McDermott). Mirotic I thought looked pretty darn good starting at SF that one game. Hopefully Thibs looks to at least start Snell again after his solid play the past couple games.

 

[Naptastic]

It's also strange considering that all 3 have played in starting roles at some point this season (preseason for McDermott). Mirotic I thought looked pretty darn good starting at SF that one game. Hopefully Thibs looks to at least start Snell again after his solid play the past couple games.

Miro has played really good at times, but at other times he looks just awful defensively. Honestly there's been moments where my girlfriend, who is not at all sports minded yells at him for standing there. I would think this drives Thibs mad, seeing how hes defensive minded. It does seem like they really are lacking the perimeter shooting, because teams are just flooding the paint.

I don't know if dunleavy's absence is the complete issue, but maybe he is the key guy that got everyone to work together. Him and Noah out would definitely hurt. It seems that right now the problem is everyone, not just one player.

 

[clonetrooper264]

Miro has played really good at times, but at other times he looks just awful defensively. Honestly there's been moments where my girlfriend, who is not at all sports minded yells at him for standing there. I would think this drives Thibs mad, seeing how hes defensive minded. It does seem like they really are lacking the perimeter shooting, because teams are just flooding the paint.

I don't know if dunleavy's absence is the complete issue, but maybe he is the key guy that got everyone to work together. Him and Noah out would definitely hurt. It seems that right now the problem is everyone, not just one player.

Mirotic's defense at the SF is definitely an issue, but he is a matchup nightmare offensively too. He gives us spacing and good rebounding. That's usually something we could expect from Dunleavy so we could at least not lose a ton outside of the defense Dunleavy gives (not that he's great, but that he's better than Mirotic).

I've stated before, without Dunleavy playing, the only consistent 3pt threats are Brooks and Mirotic...they don't play for half the game usually. That's a lot of offense with inconsistent shooting on the floor. At least with Dunleavy in the rotation there's maybe another quarter of the game where we have one, maybe two consistent options on the floor. It does help. That said, if the team puts forth no defensive effort, who cares? It's definitely a team issue. Last year's team never would've had these problems.

 

[Naptastic]

That said, if the team puts forth no defensive effort, who cares? It's definitely a team issue. Last year's team never would've had these problems.

What changed?.... Boozers gone. Clearly he was their motivational leader. and then logically that makes Pau a locker room cancer. Logically.

 

[clonetrooper264]

What changed?.... Boozers gone. Clearly he was their motivational leader. and then logically that makes Pau a locker room cancer. Logically.

It's because no one is telling the team to "GRAB DAT SHIT" so they don't know how to rebound anymore.

 

[knoxville7]

Dunleavy is very important. he is especially important to Pau's game. when they post pau up, Dunleavy keeps the double team off of him to let him go to work. Dunleavy is one of the few players that can do that and is certainly the best at doing so. those two were playing so well off of eachother all year till Dunleavy got hurt of course. the offense will look a lot better once he is back

 

[Scoot26]

From Reddit:

Starting 5 of Rose, Butler, Dunleavy, Pau, Noah: 12-3
Starting 5 of Rose, Butler, Dunleavy, Taj, Noah: 3-1
When Rose starts: 19-9
When Kirk starts: 11-8
When Dunleavy starts: 23-10

 

[Axl Rose]

From Reddit:

i seen you over there

 

[Scoot26]

i seen you over there

I usually get bashed for my unpopular opinions like Rose isn't an MVP anymore.

 

[Axl Rose]

I usually get bashed for my unpopular opinions like Rose isn't an MVP anymore.

yeah you can't say anything negative there without getting down voted to hell

unless of course its about Hinrich....hes the universal whipping boy

 

[Crystallas]

He's not a glue guy as much as the Bulls miss having a two-way SF that offloads assignments from Butler. Snell has been showing improvement, adding quality minutes, but he simply isn't there yet and he doesn't have the veteran IQ or height that MDJ brings. That is what we are missing.

 

[cjswan232482]

He's not a glue guy as much as the Bulls miss having a two-way SF that offloads assignments from Butler. Snell has been showing improvement, adding quality minutes, but he simply isn't there yet and he doesn't have the veteran IQ or height that MDJ brings. That is what we are missing.

That is what makes him a glue guy. When a glue guy is out, dominoes fall. Couple that with Noah, forget about iy.

 

[Crystallas]

That is what makes him a glue guy. When a glue guy is out, dominoes fall. Couple that with Noah, forget about iy.

A glue guy holds the team together. A glue guy keeps the personalities in check. Glue guys have a presence in the locker room, even when they are injured. Let's not redefine what a glue guy is(the past 10 years has seen a lot of that going on with certain specific terms with a long history of being used correctly beforehand). MDJ's only argument for being a glue guy is by some default, because the Bulls have no player behind him that fits the position. McDermott is a rookie and injured, Snell has been a guard in the NBA, and Niko is an experiment at best at SF, also a rookie. Butler has been a primary SG for nearly two years, and his temporary jump back to SF only highlight further depth issues with real swingmen.

Noah is a glue guy. But MDJ really isn't. By definition, teams can't have more than one glue guy, then it just becomes chemistry.