96 minutes

[Mstermisty [enjin:6864008]]

Every NBA game there is 96 minutes of PT available at the guard positions. We now have a trio of guards in Ricky, Dunn, and Zach that can (in my opinion) eat up all of those 96 minutes and make it work. That's 32 minutes each theoretically, but Thibs is smart enough to adjust who gets more and less time according to how the game is playing out.

Ricky and Zach: this combo flourished after stubborn Sam finally decided to start Zach.

Ricky and Dunn: Here are the two guys you might play the entire 4th quarter when you have the lead and you simply need to suffocate the other team. They could both handle the ball equally, with Rubio basically becoming a spot up 3 point shooter on offense when Dunn has the ball.

Dunn and Zach: Here's the twosome you probably play when you are down by ten or more or even if Ricky is having a 1 for 9 night, which we all know he will.

I've been watching full games of Dunn, not just highlights, and I have to say first off, I really believe we made the right pick. The comparison to Westbrook, athletically, is legit. What really strikes me is how fast he moves to the ball, especially on the boards. The guy is like spider man out there. My other observation is Dunn no doubt has two guard skills. When he has the ball in his hands he's looking to attack. If Rubio can simply continue to be a respectable 3 point shooter (as he was the second half of last season) Dunn can play off of him as the scoring guard.

I think these 3 guys will make it work. No need to go after Butler. No need to trade Dunn or Rubio. We have 3 guards here who all bring something different to the table, yet you can play any two of them together and not be concerned on D (assuming Zach continues to improve). Also no matter what two of them you have on the court, you always have two elite ball handlers out there. That's strong.

[Lipoli390]

Every NBA game there is 96 minutes of PT available at the guard positions. We now have a trio of guards in Ricky, Dunn, and Zach that can (in my opinion) eat up all of those 96 minutes and make it work. That's 32 minutes each theoretically, but Thibs is smart enough to adjust who gets more and less time according to how the game is playing out.

Ricky and Zach: this combo flourished after stubborn Sam finally decided to start Zach.

Ricky and Dunn: Here are the two guys you might play the entire 4th quarter when you have the lead and you simply need to suffocate the other team. They could both handle the ball equally, with Rubio basically becoming a spot up 3 point shooter on offense when Dunn has the ball.

Dunn and Zach: Here's the twosome you probably play when you are down by ten or more or even if Ricky is having a 1 for 9 night, which we all know he will.

I've been watching full games of Dunn, not just highlights, and I have to say first off, I really believe we made the right pick. The comparison to Westbrook, athletically, is legit. What really strikes me is how fast he moves to the ball, especially on the boards. The guy is like spider man out there. My other observation is Dunn no doubt has two guard skills. When he has the ball in his hands he's looking to attack. If Rubio can simply continue to be a respectable 3 point shooter (as he was the second half of last season) Dunn can play off of him as the scoring guard.

I think these 3 guys will make it work. No need to go after Butler. No need to trade Dunn or Rubio. We have 3 guards here who all bring something different to the table, yet you can play any two of them together and not be concerned on D (assuming Zach continues to improve). Also no matter what two of them you have on the court, you always have two elite ball handlers out there. That's strong.

Good analysis, Misty. I agree that Ricky, Zach and Dunn could turn out to be a really nice three-guard combo. And we have Tyus for additional guard depth. Wiggins can also play SG with Bazz sliding into the SF slot. Make think that we should strengthen our 3-point shooting at the SF and PF positions. That, in turn, makes me think of Dudley and Marvin Williams

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

I come at this from a different perspective, because I think Wig's poor rebounding numbers makes him a SG. at least until he gets stronger and more aggressive on the boards. I just don't think Thibs is going to be satisfied with a SF who ranked 58th out of 63 SFs last year in rebounding rate, and is going to target a solid defending and rebounding SF in free agency (Luol Deng, for instance). Wig would also get some minutes at SF with the free agent and Bazz.

Moving Wig to SG obviously presents some rotation challenges, because we now have too many potentially qualified guards available. I like Dunn and Tyus, but Thibs doesn't have a reputation of giving big minutes to rookies and their time will come, and I see them battling against each other for backup PG minutes. Here is how a rotation might look if everyone was healthy (Dunn, Tyus and Bazz obviously are the beneficiary of injuries):

PG: Ricky 34 Dunn/Jones 14
SG Wig 20 Zach 28
SF FA 26 Wig 14 Bazz 8

[AbeVigodaLive]

I come at this from a different perspective, because I think Wig's poor rebounding numbers makes him a SG. at least until he gets stronger and more aggressive on the boards. I just don't think Thibs is going to be satisfied with a SF who ranked 58th out of 63 SFs last year in rebounding rate, and is going to target a solid defending and rebounding SF in free agency (Luol Deng, for instance). Wig would also get some minutes at SF with the free agent and Bazz.

Moving Wig to SG obviously presents some rotation challenges, because we now have too many potentially qualified guards available. I like Dunn and Tyus, but Thibs doesn't have a reputation of giving big minutes to rookies and their time will come, and I see them battling against each other for backup PG minutes. Here is how a rotation might look if everyone was healthy (Dunn, Tyus and Bazz obviously are the beneficiary of injuries):

PG: Ricky 34 Dunn/Jones 14
SG Wig 20 Zach 28
SF FA 26 Wig 14 Bazz 8

I'll be disappointed if the Wolves #5 pick (22 years old) was battling with Tyus Jones and sharing 14 minutes with him, based on what we saw last season.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

I come at this from a different perspective, because I think Wig's poor rebounding numbers makes him a SG. at least until he gets stronger and more aggressive on the boards. I just don't think Thibs is going to be satisfied with a SF who ranked 58th out of 63 SFs last year in rebounding rate, and is going to target a solid defending and rebounding SF in free agency (Luol Deng, for instance). Wig would also get some minutes at SF with the free agent and Bazz.

Moving Wig to SG obviously presents some rotation challenges, because we now have too many potentially qualified guards available. I like Dunn and Tyus, but Thibs doesn't have a reputation of giving big minutes to rookies and their time will come, and I see them battling against each other for backup PG minutes. Here is how a rotation might look if everyone was healthy (Dunn, Tyus and Bazz obviously are the beneficiary of injuries):

PG: Ricky 34 Dunn/Jones 14
SG Wig 20 Zach 28
SF FA 26 Wig 14 Bazz 8

I'll be disappointed if the Wolves #5 pick (22 years old) was battling with Tyus Jones and sharing 14 minutes with him, based on what we saw last season.

I said Dunn/Jones because we don't know who is going to win the backup job, but knowing Thibs' preference for good defenders, I think there's an 80% chance Tyus becomes odd man out. But Thibs has an aversion to TOs too, so Dunn will have to protect the ball better than he did in college to gain his confidence.

The reality is Thibodeau has a history of not giving rookies just out of college many minutes. In fact, in his entire coaching career the most a player just out of college has played was Tony Snell, and the main reason he got his 16 MPG is because of several injuries. Even superstar Jimmy Butler only played 8.5 MPG his rookie year, and I don't think Thibs sees Dunn as being a better player than Butler. Maybe Thibs completely overhauled his philosophy about rookies' readiness during his year off, but I don't think that is likely. I'm hoping the Wolves stay healthy again this year and the guys we are relying on continue the progress they showed last year. That will allow Dunn to adjust to the NBA in a more relaxed fashion than recent Wolves' rookies. 12 MPG is a very Thibs-like way for a rookie to get his feet wet, and I think is a realistic expectation.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

LST, the big difference is that Thibs is now POBO and coach, not just coach. His fingerprints are all over Kris Dunn, so I think he gets a fair amount of playing time whether he deserves it or not. I agree that Tyus may actually outplay Dunn in training camp, but I just can't see Thibs making Dunn a 3rd stringer and giving him only spot minutes off the bench as the 10th man.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

LST, the big difference is that Thibs is now POBO and coach, not just coach. His fingerprints are all over Kris Dunn, so I think he gets a fair amount of playing time whether he deserves it or not. I agree that Tyus may actually outplay Dunn in training camp, but I just can't see Thibs making Dunn a 3rd stringer and giving him only spot minutes off the bench as the 10th man.

No, I agree with what you're saying about Dunn/Jones...Tyus will outplay him in training camp, but Kris will be #2. But Thibs loves defense and protecting the ball, so I expect Ricky will get more than the 30 MPG he got last year, and that we shouldn't expect big minutes from a rookie PG who may turn the ball over more than Thibs wants.

Now one thing to consider is that perhaps Thibs hasn't played rookies in the past as a FU to the Bulls' management if he wasn't consulted enough in the draft process. But what I think I know about Thibs is that he isn't that petty and is more about winning, and that he understands fully how difficult the transition to the NBA is.

[AbeVigodaLive]

LST, the big difference is that Thibs is now POBO and coach, not just coach. His fingerprints are all over Kris Dunn, so I think he gets a fair amount of playing time whether he deserves it or not. I agree that Tyus may actually outplay Dunn in training camp, but I just can't see Thibs making Dunn a 3rd stringer and giving him only spot minutes off the bench as the 10th man.

Yep. It's a different dynamic. And there are farther-reaching implications for keeping a 22-year-old #5 pick deep on the bench when all the fingers for his "disappointing" campaign are pointed right back at Thibodeau.

Conversely, the Bulls were an established team coming off a league-best 62 - 20 campaign and had the league's best record again in Butler's rookie campaign. It seemed to make sense (to fans) that the #30 pick in the draft had to carve out his role a bit more than a #5 pick joining a 53-loss team.



[Note: But I agree that Thibodeau has seemed reluctant to play rookies in the past. I just don't know if that's because the Bulls were simply playing for a title... or personal preference.]

[BizarroJerry [enjin:6592520]]

I have a feeling Tyus won't play much this year, due to Dunn and a free agent wing/sg coming this offseason. But he is still very young and cheap, so no reason to trade him yet.

[bleedspeed]

I think people are expecting way to much out of Dunn. I would plan on 24 minutes from him. Thibs will play who he thinks give him the best chance to win. If you show it in practice and back it up in games you will play. I think Rubio and LaVine are a lot better then Dunn. LaVine is still a year younger then Dunn and in his 3rd year in the NBA and already put up some solid numbers. Dunn is way behind these 2.