Threes a necessity with ‘Hoiball’
Tom Thibodeau teams have shot 39 three-pointers. Just not in one game. So what’s the most obvious difference between Thibodeau and first-year coach Fred Hoiberg? It was on full display in Tuesday night’s preseason opener, as the Bulls took 39 three-pointers in a 105-95 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Whether it will be a good thing or a bad thing for this team remains to be seen, but it was definitely different. And if outsiders think it was just a result of being a preseason game, well, think again. Hoiberg was asked after making his coaching debut if he expected to see 39 attempts in every game.
“If they’re open and they’re good looks . . . then yeah,” Hoiberg said.
The real kicker was that Hoiberg said he even felt some obvious threes were passed up, specifically by Nikola Mirotic, who finished with 18 points but shot just 1-for-5 from beyond the arc. Mirotic seemed more interested in using the pump fake to get to the free-throw line 10 times, and while Hoiberg praised the second-year player for that, he also wants him to be confident with his shooting range.
It was something second-year player Doug McDermott had no problem with after shooting 5-for11 from three, scoring 23 points and finishing with a plus-15 in the plus/ minus category.
“It’s a blast,” McDermott said of the ‘Hoiball’ offense. “He makes it a lot of fun for us. We just move the ball real well, real unselfish, get open looks. He’s not going to pull you out if you [take] a bad shot. It’s one of those deals where he just lets you play your game.”
The Game 2 look
McDermott will have a great opportunity to keep his confidence going against the Nuggets on Thursday night, with Hoiberg scheduled to start him in the three-spot vacated by the injured Mike Dunleavy (back surgery).
Tony Snell got the start at small forward Tuesday, playing 31 minutes and scoring seven points as Hoiberg continues to search for the best lineups.
As far as the rest of the roster, Hoiberg expected Pau Gasol to get his first start after sitting out against the Bucks in what was a scheduled day off, while Kirk Hinrich (toe) also could get minutes off the bench.
Taj Gibson (ankle) and Derrick Rose (orbital surgery) were expected to miss the game against the Nuggets.
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