Boylan is ruining everything

Why … Jim Boylan is ruining everything
By Kelly Dwyer
Friday, Feb 29, 2008 5:00 pm EST

The news isn't surprising, but that doesn't make it any less enervating: Chicago Bulls interim coach Jim Boylan is rumored to be thinking about benching starters Tyrus Thomas and Thabo Sefalosha (or Kirk Hinrich) for former Cavaliers Drew Gooden and Larry Hughes.

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But things seemed to be looking up this time last week. First off, I picked up this bad boy on 180-gram vinyl. Then, the Bulls sent Wallace and Smith to the Cavs in an addition-by-subtraction deal, ostensibly freeing up time for Joakim Noah (who had out-played Wallace, per-minute, all season) and Thomas (who hadn't out-played Smith, but had shown the capability of doing so if given extended minutes). For once, and for the first time in a long while, it appeared as if the Chicago Bulls front office was getting it. The coaching staff, with no stiffs left to start, had no choice but to run the kids.

Though Noah continues to work through the rookie wall, Thomas has been brilliant: averaging 12.8 points on 55 percent shooting, eight rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.8 blocks, and a steal since the deal. If those numbers seem modest, consider that they came in only 27 minutes per game, and that those minutes were only limited by the presence of Gooden, whose explosive (if not efficient) offensive (if not defensive) start has the coaching staff thinking about switching forwards.

This makes no sense. Gooden has been great, but his play has come while on the court with Thomas in tandem. Now, dumping a starting-quality 7-footer for a 6-8 forward in Gooden makes little sense, but if Boylan had any hair on his chin, he'd start the forwards together (letting Gooden, who is a horrible help defender, guard post-up guys while Thomas roams for blocks and rebounds).

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What's the issue with playing these guys off the bench? Gooden's a free agent after next year, so what happens when he jets off for a bigger payday? Do you go back to a seething Thomas? What's wrong with establishing a youthful core? Why can't these teams pay attention to ages? I am NOT going to pay a lot for this muffler!

I'm not telling Boylan to relegate Hughes and Gooden to the end of the bench. Far from it. I'm not even suggesting he play them less minutes than the players they'd be replacing. In fact, I'd prefer Hughes sees more time than Thabo overall (though not as a rule), and the potential for Gooden to do the same should his defensive come around. Stop laughing.

What I am asking him to do is try and establish some sort of chemistry within the young rotation that has to be Chicago's core from here on out. It's no chore to get vets like Hughes and Gooden to shoot a lot and score a lot. What is a chore - and separates the great coaches from the also-rans - is putting the youngsters out there, and then making on-the-fly decisions as to who has it some nights, who doesn't, and who should be on the court when things count.

With the starting five listed above, plus the pair of Cavs, plus hold-overs like Ben Gordon (still this team's leading scorer), Andres Nocioni, and rookie Aaron Gray, the Bulls boast a ten-man rotation that a great and ballsy coach could turn into something special. A coach looking for easy answers and the chance to save his own hide goes with what he already knows. A coach who aspires to greatness has the confidence to take chances on what might be.

Sadly, after a week of "what might be," the Bulls are back to easy answers, and that unfortunate embrace of the predictable, pleasant, and ultimately mediocre. Awesome.