CHICAGO, IL – JUNE 02: New Chicago Bulls Head Coach Fred Hoiberg poses for a picture following a press conference on June 2, 2015 at the Advocate Center in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Randy Belice/NBAE via Getty Images)
With 4 games under his belt, Derrick Rose is starting to bring the homer out of me. Rose has looked more like himself so far this season, driving more towards the net, looking for contact, and shooting less midrange and 3-pointers. Now, some of that has to do with Derrick’s vision limited to one eye, as he recovers from his orbital bone fracture. So, with very limited vision, Hoiberg has had Rose driving more and getting as close to the hoop as he can. Either way, the results have been average (11.8 ppg, 5.5 ast) but it’s Rose’s playing style and the innovative plays Hoiberg’s run that have me excited. (Prepare yourself for too many GIFs)
“It seems like he’s forcing me into how I naturally play.” Said Rose after a 92-87 win against Orlando Sunday night. Rose also talked about wanting to get out and run in transition, as pushing the ball is something both he and Hoiberg like to do. Hoiberg loves to get his teams running with the ball and a fast break with Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler pushing the ball sounds like a dream (mainly because Rose’s MVP season feels like a dream it was so long ago). But the main reason Hoiberg is pushing the ball is to get his offense set and to figure out if the primary read is there or not. Hoiberg’s offensive sets have multiple reads in them, meaning if the offense comes down the court, run their play, and don’t get the look they were after, there is already a second option designed in the play. Something Hoiberg does that not many teams try in transition is early ball screens. On this break in transition, you’ll see Nikola Mirotic sprint down the court and peel off for a quick drag screen. The goal is to get two defenders covering one attacker, to open up space for the trailers or possibly just create a lane for the ball carrier to drive towards the net.
In this case, Minnesota tried to stay spread out with the Bulls coming into the offensive zone, so the screen set by Mirotic allowed Butler to find space in the lane. The defense collapsed, so Butler found the secondary option in the corner, Snell. Snell kicked out to Hinrich and then Kirk threw back to Snell for an open three pointer. All that started with one defensive player over committing on Butler driving off the screen. If Butler and the Bulls don’t get out and run on that play there is no way they are able to roll through that many progressions on one possession, so running transition sets with secondary options makes the Bulls lethal when pushing the ball.
Another strong point to Hoiberg’s offense is his use of screens and double screens to get players an open lane towards the hoop.
On this play, you see Hoiberg’s Iowa State run a double screen on the left side of the court. They run the eventual scorer around both screens, give him the ball at the top of the lane allowing him to turn the corner, and drive towards the basket. Picture Jimmy Butler or Derrick Rose on that catch and drive play.
A wrinkle to that play is when the screener sets the pick and then rolls towards the wing for an uncontested three. You’ll see Cyclones versatile big Georges Niang, set the pick and instantly roll to the wing for an open three. That’s an easy counter play to run with Mirotic or even Doug McDermott, but if neither of those stretch 4/wing players are on the court, just send the big on a dive to the hoop and have the ball handler reset the offense for a low post look.
“The Mayor” will also invert the offense, which bodes well for the Bulls great passing bigs in Joakim Noah and Pau Gasol, and also puts Butler and Rose (who are two strong guards) posted up against players who are not used to defending down low. Watch Butler get position on the left block, he sees the help-defense on the entry pass, so he pivots away from the rim for a fade-away jumper.
My favorite feature set to the “Hoi-ball” (judge me, I dare you) is his dribble handoffs along with his motion plays that create a ton of space off of quick movements and ball screens.
On that play you see Hinrich starts the handoff to Snell, Mirotic gets and then gives the ball right back to Snell. That tiggers Gasol to set the pick at the three point line. Gasol rolls and forces Minnesota to choose between a rolling Gasol or a spot up shooting Mirotic, and gets Nikola a great chance from deep.
On this play, Mirotic and Butler start the handoff, with Portis motioning to the top of the three point line, creating a high pick and roll. Butler drives through the lane off the screen and finds an open Hinrich who drills a three.
One last play to look for this season, is the Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler Pick and Roll. The Bulls ran it a few times against the Cavs in the season opener, and it’s an intriguing look from Hoiberg. You can see Butler come to set the pick and immediately roll to the corner for an open midrange jumper. Watch under the hoop, if Butler doesn’t have a shot or lane, he can pass to a wide open Pau Gasol.
Of course Hoiberg has the ISO plays or the 4 or 5 outs that will allow Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler to create chances for themselves and others in space. But Hoiberg’s simple weaves from the wing and high ball screen wrinkles are what is going to make offense a lot easier for the former MVP and his teammates. All of these plays require spacing and ball movement, and if Derrick can focus on facilitating, opposed to scoring, he and the rest of this team will succeed. And with the weapons the Bulls have on this team, it’s probably the first time in his career that Bulls won’t need to rely on Derrick to do all the scoring.
P.S. Big shout-out to Zak Boisvert’s “Pick and Pop” blog and BBall Breakdown, who put together these great videos I made these GIFs from.
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