NBA: 10 Best Frontcourts In the League
By Brad Rowland
10) Chicago Bulls
Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson, Mike Dunleavy
If we were attempting to evaluate complete frontcourts (i.e. including the bench), the Chicago Bulls would rank significantly higher based on their depth. However, the starters are quite capable in their own right, as the duo of Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson anchors an elite defensive unit, while Mike Dunleavy provides much needed floor spacing for a team that has traditionally struggled in three-point shooting.
The 29-year-old Noah is the center piece for Chicago’s unit up front, and he is coming off a career year in 2013-2014. Noah was the recipient of the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award to go along with a first-team All-NBA selection, and he is one of the more versatile big men in the league, averaging 5.4 assists per game to go along with 12.6 points, 11.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per contest. There is a school of thought out there that Noah “peaked” with last season’s effort, but even with a small amount of regression, he will be a top-25 player in the league.
At the power forward spot, Taj Gibson is finally beginning to get some of the credit that he richly deserves. At 29, Gibson is one of the oldest five-year veterans that you will ever see, but like Noah, the former USC star is coming off his best season as a pro. Gibson averaged 13 points and 6.8 rebounds per game in a career-high 28.7 minutes per night, and under the direction of Tom Thibodeau, he helps to anchor arguably the best one-two defensive punch in the NBA along with Noah.
Dunleavy is, unquestionably, the “weak link” here, but the now 34-year-old did knock down 38% of his threes last season. That number rose to a lights-out 46.2% from three in the playoffs, and even if he loses some playing time with the return of Derrick Rose and the addition of rookie Doug McDermott, Dunleavy is a solid role player that provides the element (shooting) that Chicago desperately needs offensively.