In Wednesday’s matchup with the Indiana Pacers, Fred Hoiberg decided to mix things up—still experimenting with lineups—in the continued absence of Lauri Markkanen. He chose to go with a starting lineup of Kris Dunn, Zach LaVine, Justin Holiday, Bobby Portis and Wendell Carter Jr.
The lineup change also shifted Robin Lopez and Jabari Parker to the bench, and the results certainly warrant a further look, as the Bulls turned in easily their best defensive performance of the preseason.
The Bulls held the Pacers to 39.2 percent shooting and eight free throw attempts. Obviously, Victor Oladipo isn’t going to shoot 4-for-15 many times this season, but his seven turnovers certainly showed that the Bulls were keying in on him on defense. Chicago was able to put more lateral quickness on the floor with Parker and Lopez on the bench. This allowed more switching on the perimeter, but the biggest change was the transition defense.
Chicago gave up 18 fastbreak points, but their overall effort in getting back on defense was noticeable early on. Portis has made a name for himself over the years by consistently running hard at both ends of the floor, and his attempts to beat his man down the court are contagious.
Portis is by no means a great defender, but at this stage of his career you can trust him more than Parker when it comes to guarding big men. If Hoiberg ultimately decides to stick with this lineup, it could actually be beneficial to Parker.
Parker has attempted 2.5 3-pt attempts per game through the four Bulls’ preseason games, hitting them at a dreadful 20 percent clip. And though general logic would say he should shoot less from deep, that is not the case.
His shot selection is not ideal for Hoiberg’s offense, and it will become a bigger issue if his cold-shooting from the preseason carries over to the regular season. Of Parker’s 12 shots against the Pacers on Wednesday, roughly half of them were long 2-pt shots from 16+ feet. These shots are generally agreed upon to be the least efficient shot in basketball, but over Parker’s career it has been a staple of his offense.
Parker has never been an elite catch-and-shoot player. So to succeed in Chicago, he will likely need to have the ball in his hands a lot, making the bench a logical move.
Spending more time on the floor with shooters like Cameron Payne (38 percent from 3 last season) and Denzel Valentine (38 percent from 3) would allow him more space to attack via isolations. And though opening night lineups are TBA, the ultimate roadblock to this move could be Parker himself:
Portis made a great case to get some run as a starter, but history indicates this is unlikely. Lopez is going to get minutes for his veteran presence on the floor alone. And Carter is looking like he should be a mainstay in the starting five. He finished with a +8 in plus/minus rating despite only scoring two points on six shots, continuing to show immense value even when his shot isn’t falling. And the Portis-Markkanen combo was one of the Bulls worst two-man pairings last year, finishing with a -6.9 net rating (in an admittedly small sample size).
What is clear from Wednesday night is that Holiday should be given an opportunity to start at small forward. He is a solid 3-point shooter from all over the floor, but more importantly, he isn’t shy about letting it fly from deep. Holiday played 42 percent of his minutes at small forward last year. And if the Bulls are serious about aiding the development of their core players, inserting Holiday’s steadying presence into the starting five could be a step in the right direction.