The Chicago Bulls are hot off a big win over the crumbling Cleveland Cavaliers and their stellar defense the reason behind the big win. Chicago currently sits third in the NBA’s Eastern Conference standings, only 3.5 games behind the Toronto Raptors and 5.5 games behind the Cavs. They’re doing pretty good for a team that started the season rough under a rookie head coach and missing two important parts of their lineup from 2014-15.
Joakim Noah’s time with the Bulls is all but over after he recently suffered a shoulder injury that will set him back about 4-6 months. As Noah’s season comes to an end, it appears that the start of Mike Dunleavy’s season may soon be coming after suffering a setback earlier in the season.
Following from K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.
Dunleavy will take contact tomorrow and will travel on West Coast trip. How he reacts depends on if/when he returns.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) January 25, 2016
Dunleavy: "My back feels great." Targeting return sometime in February.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) January 25, 2016
Dunleavy: "It's been awful from personally. But I feel mostly bad for the organization, my teammates and coaches, not being there for them."
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) January 25, 2016
Dunleavy isn’t known as a lockdown defender but he is an important part of the Bulls defense with his length on the wing and his toughness, which was showcased in the Bulls playoff matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Not to mention he also stretches the floor for Chicago’s offense, a team who is desperate for some consistent perimeter shooting. They have three guys who attempt an average of three, three-pointers per game but their percentages aren’t fantastic. Out of Jimmy Butler, Nikola Mirotic and Doug McDermott, it’s McDermott who is the only one who is shooting above 40% from three. Jimmy is shooting 31% and Mirotic is around 35%. In comparison, Dunleavy shot 41% from three last season and 48% from three in the playoffs.
With his return nearing, there might be a new rotation for the Bulls wings. Would Dunleavy or Mirotic benefit playing a stretch four role? Does coach Fred Hoiberg play with putting Tony Snell or Doug McDermott as an additional shooting guard alongside Derrick Rose or Jimmy Butler? That’s up for him to decide but whatever move Chicago makes to their lineup has to help continue the development of their young players while giving Mike his minutes.
