Chicago Bulls: Meet cute

The Step Back has been born from the aesthetics and traditions of the Hardwood Paroxysm Basketball Network. In the past, Hardwood Paroxysm has produced a massive stand-alone season preview. This year, that preview effort has been rolled up into the launch of The Step Back. 

The Step Back’s writers and illustrators have prepared a hefty deep-dive into each team, built from multiple smaller sections. This year’s theme is television comedies and each section is named after some of our favorite sitcoms. For links to all 30 teams, as well as details about the focus of each section, check out our guide on how to read this preview.

Community

By Daniel Rowell (@DanielJRowell)

Content Warning: This post spoils a major but obvious plot point from Sleepless in Seattle. You know… that 1993 Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan movie… the one with Rosie O’Donnell. That one.

In Sleepless in Seattle, Tom Hanks is a widowed sad-dad in Seattle trying to learn to love again and Meg Ryan is a Baltimore reporter that falls in love with him after hearing him on the radio on Christmas Eve. The movie explores a serendipitous series of events to get them to the point where they meet at the top of the Empire State Building — just like in An Affair to Remember. Except it is nothing like An Affair to Remember, because unlike the pairing in the 1957 flick, Hank’s character doesn’t meet Ryan until seconds before the credits roll. In fact, the only words they share are a casual and awkward hey — nice to meet you after chasing his runaway son across the country. And don’t get me wrong, I love Sleepless. It’s a great movie about the whimsy of love stories and meant to be and all that stuff. But it isn’t necessarily a model love story. And that’s the problem with the 2016-17 Bulls. The premise of their entire roster is all serendipity and whimsy, but… now what?

A year into the post-Tom Thibodeau era, the Chicago Bulls are still trying to shed some of their past life. In 2015-16, the team ran back almost an identical roster to the final Thibs season, and wound up at 42-40, two games outside of the playoffs. The ticket sales and TV ratings darlings of the NBA missed the playoffs for just the second time in over a decade. Since then, there’s been a few mix ups. Gone are the old guard — Derrick Rose was traded to the New York Knicks for Robin Lopez among other parts. Joakim Noah and Pau Gasol signed with other teams, with Noah following Rose to NYC. And in their place the Bulls looked to be rebuilding around a younger core of Jimmy Butler, Nikola Mirotic, Doug McDermott and Bobby Portis.

Lopez was a decent value for Rose. The Bulls made the best of their lottery pick and selected Denzel Valentine — a point guard from the Tom Izzo School of Final Fours. It wasn’t the greatest of playoff outlooks but it was a start.

And then July hit and the Bulls were buying a Valentine insurance plan on a budget with a two-year, $28 million Rajon Rondo contract. And when Dwyane Wade reached an impasse with contract negotiations in Miami, he took a hometown deal — two years, $47 million.

Queue up the Kanye West Homecoming and print the No. 3 jerseys. The chosen one has returned — at age 34 — just like the Return except… now what? Rings? I don’t know about that.

Wade led a thin Miami Heat team (no LeBron James, no Chris Bosh, two rookies) to a second round Game 7 and hit 12 three-pointers in the playoffs after making just seven in the entire regular season. He’s a veteran but he isn’t exactly an offensive weapon, and certainly not the pace-and-space guard that Fred Hoiberg once utilized in his signature offense at Iowa State.

And unfortunately Rondo has almost too much in common with Wade to work. He needs the ball, doesn’t like to shoot, is a slightly better three-point shooter, but still below-average, and hasn’t played meaningful defense since 2012. It’s the kind of eerie coincidences that one might discuss with Rosie O’Donnell over the phone while in a broom closet, but when you travel halfway across the country to stalk a guy you heard over the radio you hesitate to introduce yourself JUST yet.

Add in Olympic Gold Medalist Jimmy Butler and the Bulls have a odd three-guard love triangle offense going on — slide Butler to the three where he is undersized and not quite as useful as a two-way player? Yikes.

The solution might be something along the lines of a fast-paced offense that uses the strengths of three ball handlers with decent turnover creation to their advantage, but Wade is a bit old to be running for 20 minutes. Other solutions might mean staggering minutes between the three guards, but that still leaves the Bulls looking to a wing player like McDermott or Mirotic for all their spacing. Not quite playoff contending levels of talent here.

Robin Lopez, while a crowd pleaser, is a downgrade from Gasol’s double-doubles. Single-doubles are passable, though. Portis and Mirotic and McDermott could be intriguing if they take that next step, it justs hard for that to happen without playing time. And then there is Cristiano Felicio’s per 36 stats… right? Would Wade be willing to develop this talent?

And so here are the 2016-17 Chicago Bulls in their happily-ever after moment. Wade and Rondo and Butler meeting at the top of the Willis tower, Saint Pablo hovering above with all the lights, and Chris Martin accompanying on piano. Wade is coming home again. I just think Bulls fans will be wanting the movie to end before the season starts.

Friends

By Philip Rossman-Reich (@OMagicDaily)

The Chicago Bulls were not so friendly last year.

Fred Hoiberg’s first year was a difficult one as the team transitioned away from the veteran-laden, hard-nosed defensive style of Tom Thibodeau into a more motion-oriented offense. There was a lot of resistance to his coaching and the team floundered.

Chicago underwent a massive rebuild in response. Or at least a transformation. Hometown favorite Derrick Rose and team soul Joakim Noah were out. The Bulls brought in some nice role players in their place to support Jimmy Butler’s budding young star. Then they went out and spent some money. They went the route of the aging superstars to bolster their roster and return to the playoffs.

Dwyane Wade returned home to Chicago. Rajon Rondo needed a place and Chicago is as good as any place. The starting backcourt of Rondo, Wade and Butler is . . . going to need some work. Or at least some “getting to know you” or “learn some sharing.”

The key to the Bulls’ season rests on these three players learning to get along. Three players who have all shot worse than 33 percent from beyond the arc for their already illustrious careers. Three players who have all had great careers, but largely with the ball in their hands.

These three have to find a way to share and play nice — looking at you, Rajon Rondo.

With their lack of three-point shooting, these three players will have to rely a lot more on their movement and ability to work off the ball to create space. Otherwise things will turn into a one-on-one fest. And that will not get Rondo assists and he probably will not like that.

How Hoiberg gets these three All-Stars to work together could determine whether the Bulls make the playoffs or miss out again. There may not be enough space for them to attack the paint and do the things that made them so good. This Bulls team is light on shooting and that could ultimately determine whether this trio finds a way to work.

Rondo is the ultimate facilitator though. Even in his tumultuous season in Sacramento, Rondo had a 48.0 assist rate and a league-high 11.7 assists per game. Rondo can still dish it out. And Wade learned how to work off the ball when he played alongside LeBron James. Butler has had to share the ball too, playing alongside a ball-dominant point guard in Derrick Rose.

Butler and Wade though used a fair amount of possessions in isolation last year. Wade isolated on 11.0 percent of possessions, with an inefficient 0.72 points per possession. Jimmy Butler isolated on 12.3 percent of possessions with a much better 0.91 points per possession.

Both can clearly work in other ways. They had to in order to have the success they have. And this is going to be Butler’s show.

If anyone can balance all the moving pieces of a complex offense that needs to create space for non-shooters, it is Rondo. Provided he has bought in. Hoiberg could very well give these three freedom to figure things out. So long as they are not getting in each other’s way, the Bulls could find some success. Then again, how much is any team going to trust Rondo these days?

There is a way to make this work between the three former All-Stars. And it has to for the Bulls.

Third Rock from the Sun

By Rich Kraetsch (@OverandBackNBA)

“I’m stubborn but intelligent.” — Rajon Rondo (July 2016)

Much like the Solomon family, Rondo’s other-worldly intelligence has made him appear a foreign-being on unfamiliar planets since his departure from the Boston Celtics just two years ago.

Following an uneasy tenure on the Dallas Mavericks — one mired in controversy and arguments with head coach Rick Carlisle — Rondo had what he described as his best season yet as the veteran voice and commanding officer of the directionless Sacramento Kings. Rondo’s one-year in Sacramento didn’t lead the team to any substantial success on the court (what’s new?) but it was arguably Rondo’s best season since his late-2010s prime.

Still, things didn’t seem quite right for Rondo in Sacramento. Sure, the on-court duo of incumbent Kings star DeMarcus Cousins and Rondo performed admirably — notching +1.2 points per 100 possessions, per NBA.com/stats — but he never seemed to “fit”.

Rondo led the league in assists per game, tying his previous career-high of 11.7. Rondo also had his highest career total assist number by a wide margin (+35). Yet, it was also Rondo’s highest total turnover season (278) of his career. The mark is the 12th highest total for someone with a usage rate under 20 percent and the highest since Mark Jackson in 1996-97.

At this point, you know what you’re getting from Rondo: He’s a high turnover, high assist guy who demands the ball throughout the game while he slices and dices through defenders and keeps each and every offensive player on their toes waiting for the pass that they couldn’t have possibly seen coming. The first Chicago Bulls preseason game saw a litany of passes bounce off guy’s faces, off their hands, into the third row — it takes time to understand how to operate in a Rondo-led offense, but when it clicks, it’s a thing a beauty. We know this, this is all normal to us. This is just like our home planet.

Yet, Rondo changed one thing about his game last season and it could be the difference in the Bulls’ 2016 season: He started shooting threes. More than simply taking them… Rondo shocked the galaxy by starting to make them. Rondo’s 2.4 three-point attempts per game were his most since 2013-14. The key difference? In that year he shot a ghastly 28.9 percent from deep. Last season? 36.5 percent.

In a vacuum, the addition of a now-respectable three-point shooting, high IQ, passing dynamo to any NBA franchise is a win. Yeah, there’s baggage with Rondo and there needs to be a good fit team-wise for him to excel, but with the right coach and system in place, he’s great.

Too bad he’s on the Bulls, then.

Rondo will slot as the Bulls’ third-best player this season behind incumbent superstar Jimmy Butler and new addition, the former Miami Heat great, former NBA champion, Chicago’s very own, Dwyane Wade.

To the casual NBA fan, this Bulls “big three” fits the criteria: They’ve heard of them and they’ve been productive in the past. The acquisitions brought a new life to a franchise in turmoil following a disappointing 2015-16 campaign and the dispatching of former MVP (and also Chicago’s very own) Derrick Rose and arguably the heart and soul of the Bulls over the last decade, Joakim Noah.

In their stead, three current/former superstars ready to add a new chapter to Bulls lore. But does it work? Can it work? Will it work? This year, once again, Rondo appears an alien on foreign land, not quite sure where he slots in, if he’s a part of the franchise’s long-term plans, if he’s only here for research or if he’s simply a merc looking for the next contract.

The “fit” once again seems weird for Rondo. How does Rondo work if he’s only holding the ball some of the time? That, in of itself, seems foreign. We’re so conditioned to see Rondo with the ball in his hands, operating the offense, dipping and diving, slicing and dicing. But that’s what Butler does. That’s also what Wade does. While Butler and Wade’s final intentions are far different than Rondo’s, it doesn’t matter. There’s only one ball (unless the NBA wants to institute a two-ball policy for the Bulls, which would be fantastic, kthnxbye).

Last year, 15.2 percent of Rondo’s three-point attempts came with zero dribbles, per NBA.com/stats. The two years prior, Rondo’s zero dribble three-point attempts were only 9.0 percent and 10.3 percent respectively. This may just work.

It seems impossible to imagine an offense featuring Rajon freakin’ Rondo standing by the three-point line waiting for the kickout. Just typing that statement makes me feel like I’m on a foreign planet. But it could happen. Frankly, if the Bulls want to be successful this season, it has to happen.

Moreover, if Rondo wants to continue the next chapter of his NBA career, he’ll have to be successful in Chicago After two disappointing tenures in Sacramento and Dallas, Rondo is nearing the date where his services may no longer be needed in the NBA galaxy.

Another disastrous Rondo project could put any and all future research in jeopardy. Teams will have to ask if the on-court production is worth the time and trouble the off-court Rondo provides. Hell, even if Rondo’s off-court troubles are negated, teams will have to ask if his on-court work can’t evolve with the ever-expanding NBA. This season will tell us a lot about the rest of Rondo’s career.

If all goes well, the alien may finally find a planet he can call home.

Perfect Strangers

by Matt D’Anna (@hoop_nerd)

Ten Word Analysis: This is going to be really…interesting.

TeamSPACE charts are based on mapped clusters of shot activity. These areas are affectionately called Hunting Grounds, because they are the areas on the court where a player hunts for shots — and successfully scores most often. TeamSPACE takes the Hunting Grounds of all five players in a lineup and puts them on the court together — because, you know, they have to share that physical space, and there is only one ball.

In the past, it was one color per player; which meant that blending colors represented overlapping spaces for shot activity. But this time around, these are not your ordinary TeamSPACE shot maps. Each lineup is analyzed in the aggregate — one color! — and that unit is compared that unit to the rest of the league. So you will see a persistent red layer on every chart, highlighting the league’s Hunting Grounds from last season. The most prolific locations should come as no surprise: the paint, the corners, most of the top of the arc, and a couple of dabs at the foul line and top of the key.

So…how were these lineups chosen for each team? In the past, it’s been about projecting the starting lineup, estimating the most used lineup, or even designing the “most favoritest” lineup. This year? It’s the these charts represent the “most interestingly feasible” lineups….what? That’s a loaded phrase, so let’s unpack it a bit.

The goal is to identify the collection of five players on a team that could potentially play together, and if they did, the offensive results could be glorious. Ideally these lineups aren’t too far-fetched, but also slightly off-kilter and confusing to an opposing defense. While this type of analysis is not conducive for assessing defense, somewhat reasonable decisions are attempted to be made. So while it’s tempting to just put all the best shooters together…how realistic is it (outside of Houston, at least)? And, full disclosure: I favor some stretch in my lineups. It not only provides plenty of high-octane potential, but getting stretchy is also on par with current league-wide trends.

Each TeamSPACE chart has a couple of other sitcom-related features:

Family Matters: You’ll notice a series of Jaleel White’s across half court. Each lineup is scored on a scale of 0-7 Steve Urkels for how well it matches league-wide trends. Remember, there’s seven league Hunting Grounds (right corner three; at the rim; left corner three; foul line/top of the key; right wing; middle 3pt; left wing). A lineup gains points for matching each area; it loses points for messy excess shot activity.

Odd Couple: “Most interestingly feasible” is obviously debatable, so in order to account for some of those decisions, you’ll see Oscar and Felix on each chart. Often, there are players that are in the lineup…and maybe/probably they should not be. They get the Oscar label. And, there are those players that are out of the lineup…and maybe/probably should be included. They are the Felix for their team.

And briefly, a word about data. These strange visual displays are based on last season’s shot data, weighted by made buckets — so rookies and season-long injuries are sadly excluded. This analysis is nothing without the help of Darryl Blackport, and the research materials available atBasketball-Reference and NBA.com. Further, these charts feature some of the best logo re-designs I could curate from the ol’ Information Superhighway, including Dribbble.com and Pinterest. I made none of the logos; I merely selected some of my favorites. Enjoy!

Everybody Loves Raymond

By Jaylyn Cook (@yasiin_jay42)

The Chicago Bulls are not the same team that they were last season. If you’re a Bulls fan, that’s great news. If you’re not a Bulls fan, that’s still great news — because gone are the days of watching your favorite team play a sluggish game of basketball against a squad listlessly trying to figure out how to function in Fred Hoiberg’s system of offense.

While the recent change in the Bulls’ ultimate direction meant cutting ties with Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah — two long-time franchise cornerstones and fan favorites — it led to addition of a handful of talented veteran, on-the-rise, and rookie talent to the roster. The biggest and brightest of those signings was undoubtedly Dwyane Wade, who left his beloved Miami Heat to return home to Chicago.

In addition to being a bonafide first ballot hall-of-famer, Wade is just an immensely likable person. His personality is about as effervescent as an entire box of Alka-Seltzer tablets, dumped in a large glass of Diet Coke.

Seriously, it’s true. Have you seen his Snapchat account? If you’re constantly looking for something to improve your day, you gotta check out the dude’s Snapchat account. It’s only been a year since he joined the social media app, and he’s already considered one of the best celebrities to follow on it. In fact, Wade ranked sixth on USA Today’s list of Best NBA Players to Follow on Snapchat during the 2016 offseason. That’s quite the accomplishment for a rookie to the snapping game (#BlessUp).

I understand that some of you may not care one iota about Wade’s social media activity or what he does on the “ChapSnats,” but try to keep in mind that a widespread online presence is the closest most of us will ever get to interacting with a superstar athlete. Wade knows this, and makes sure to reach out to his fans on a daily basis — through the good times, and the not-so-good.

That interactivity with the general public is what puts Wade at the top of the Bulls affability scale. In fact, it makes him one of the most likable and recognizable faces in the entire league. Based on his interviews, public appearances, and Disney Channel cameos. Wade comes off as the kind of dude that will buy you lunch if he runs into you at McDonalds. He may even shell out the dough for some extra sweet and sour sauce for your McNuggets. He’s that kind of guy.

Wade’s career may be close to ending, but it doesn’t change what a genuinely fun person he is. Bulls fans should embrace him with open arms, because even though their team may be stuck in a hard-scrabble battle for 8th place this season, they’ll have a much more enjoyable time watching their team now that he’s on board.

Just don’t ask him to freestyle for you. ANYTHING but that.

Boy Meets World

By Brandon Jefferson (@pengriffey_jr)

The story of the offseason in Chicago have mostly been about the additions of 34-year-old Dwyane Wade and 30-year-old Rajon Rondo. However, it was a different move involving a former superstar that paints the true direction of the Chicago Bulls going forward. In late June, the Bulls decided to trade away face of the franchise, Derrick Rose. In return for Rose Chicago got Robin Lopez (surprisingly only 28 years old) and Jerian Grant, the New York Knicks first round pick (via trade with Washington) in 2015. Lopez is a proven big and can anchor a defense. It’s Grant, however, that could prove to be the real coup de grace of the deal.

Grant is a 6-5 point guard that loves to work out of the pick-and-roll, which happens to be the current hot trend in NBA offense. At Notre Dame, Grant played under Mike Brey who runs a NBA-style offense featuring pick-and-rolls and tons of off-ball motion and cutting. As a rookie he was no longer playing “Brey Ball”, he was instead forced into the geometrical stylings of the triangle with the Knicks. To the surprise of no one, it was a bad fit. Last season, Grant only showed flashes of the player he had been during his time with the Irish — and that was only when former Knicks coach Derek Fisher began to deviate from the triangle and run more spread pick-and-rolls. Now, with Fred Hoiberg’s spread system, it seems that Grant is back in an offense that allows him to show his better qualities when he’s on the court.

Yet Grant isn’t the only prospect the team added this offseason. With the 14th pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, the Bulls chose Denzel Valentine of Michigan State. Valentine was a shorter Draymond Green (according to Draymond Green) for the Spartans and really made the jump to the next level as a senior. Valentine was awarded with the Big Ten Player of the Year, Associated Press Player of the Year, NABC Player of the Year, and Consensus First-Team All-American following his last year in East Lansing. He hit the ground running since joining the Bulls. At the Las Vegas Summer League he and Bobby Portis helped lead Chicago to the title. He unfortunately twisted his ankle in the preseason opener against the Milwaukee Bucks. Hopefully he can continue the impressive play once he returns to the cour, it’s likely he’ll be sidelined for the remainder of the preseason.

Another name to be excited about in the Windy City is Bobby Portis. Portis was a diamond in the rough coming out of Arkansas. He dropped to the No. 22 pick in the 2015 NBA Draft and in one season made about 16 teams immediately regret not choosing him (the Knicks, Minnesota Timberwolves, Miami Heat, Indiana Pacers and Phoenix Suns would all probably rather have the players they picked over Portis). Like Valentine, he exploded during Vegas Summer League as an incoming rookie. Not only was he a wiry, athletic specimen, he could knock down shots from the perimeter. He was just as impressive once the actual games began. His per 36 numbers of 14.2 points, 11.1 rebounds, which would’ve placed him fourth in scoring and first in rebounding amongst rookies last year. With not much shooting elsewhere on the roster, look for Portis to get extended playing time in his second season with the Bulls.

Aside from these three first-rounders, the Bulls also have a nice collection of young pieces on their roster. Spencer Dinwiddie, Cristiano Felicio, Doug McDermott, Nikola Mirotic, Tony Snell and Paul Zipser all have the potential to be at worst rotational players on a playoff team. Dinwiddie, McDermott and Mirotic all have postseason experience and if things go well in regards to the Jimmy Butler, Rajon Rondo, Dwyane Wade trio then soon enough the rest of their young players will have played in the playoffs too.