HOIBERG GIVES GIBSON STARTING NO DOVER MIROTIC
Beats out Mirotic to join Lopez in frontcourt for opener Thursday
The competition between Taj Gibson and Nikola Mirotic for the starting spot at power forward is over.
Coach Fred Hoiberg said Tuesday that Gibson will be in the lineup when the Bulls open the season against the visiting Celtics on Thursday, while Mirotic will come off the bench.
“We feel like he has played excellent basketball throughout the preseason,’’ Hoiberg said of Gibson. “He’s been good in practices. We’ve talked to our guys about that. Niko has had a couple good d practices in a row now. You try to getet him in good rhythm coming ming out of the gate. But that’s’ s the way we’re going to start.’’ rt.’’
And there is noo drama, unlike last season on when Joakim Noah wass moved to the second group oup from the starting lineup. p.
“Yeah, absolutely,’’solutely,’’ Hoiberg said when en asked if Mirotic’s selflessnessflessness made it easier. “And I’ve talked all along about the important thing is who is out there at the end of the games. We’ll try to establish estabp an end- of- game lineup. But there will be nights where certain guys have it going or we have certain matchups or a team is playing small and we’re going to have to adjust. It’s about doing what’s best for your team and fighting for your teammates. And I think our guys will do that.’’ Gibson, who joins Rajon Rondo, Dwyane Wade, Robin Lopez and Jimmy Butler as starters, brings experience and toughness to the group. He doesn’t bring any scoring prowess from beyond the three- point line. Mirotic was in the race be because of his ability to stretch the defense,defense so the Bulls startersstarter will have to look elsewhere for outside shooting.sho NotN an easy tasktas considering ing Rondo is a 29 percentp threepoint poin shooter for his career, while WadeWad is at 28 percent cent and Butler is at 33.33 RimsR across the league, beware. wa “We just haveha to step up,u take them, shoots them withw confidence like we do every day in practice,’’ ButlerBu said. “I thf think we’ll be fine. As long as we’re guarding, the offense will take care of itself. We’re constantly in attack mode. There’s more than just shooting threes. You have to get in transition. There’s pick- androll, free- throw line. There’s a lot more to the game than just shooting threes. But yeah, I think we’ll take them and make them.’’
They didn’t in the final preseason game, as Atlanta provided the blueprint on how to stop the Bulls. They packed the paint, went under screens on the outside and dared them to hit from the outside. In the 97- 81 loss, the Bulls went 4- for- 22 from three- point range, while the trio of Butler, Rondo and Wade were a combined 2- for- 12.
“I think they play well off each other,’’ Hoiberg said of Butler, Wade and Rondo. “Rondo has had some really good moments out there as well. The turnovers were much better at the end of the preseason. It’s about taking care of the ball, getting a good look, valuing the possession. If we do that, hopefully we’ll be able to take advantage of some matchups with different guys and play to our players’ strengths. It’s about putting them in the right positions, staggering the rotations and getting the right guys playing with the right players.’’
As far as Gibson, his job description is very basic.
“Taj is a fighter,’’ Butler said. “That’s one thing you know you’re going to get from him. He’s one of the toughest guys that we have, somebody that’s always working.’’