Moving Forward With Fred Hoiberg

With the Chicago Bulls eliminated from the 2016 NBA Playoffs under head coach Fred Hoiberg, it is time for the team to look ahead to next year.

Although the 2015-16 NBA season is not quite over yet, the Chicago Bulls have already been eliminated from the playoffs. Ninth in the Eastern Conference as of Tuesday with a record of 41-40, the team was unable to clinch the eighth seed, making way for one of their Eastern rivals to take the spot.

While some fans may have been blindly keeping the faith till the very end, most of Chicago had long foreshadowed a postseason miss. To say the Bulls had a rocky year would be putting it lightly, with the reality being more along the lines of horrendous.

Chicago is certainly not the worst team in the league. Nor are they even the worst in the East. But in a way, that makes it even worse. It is one thing to simply not be good enough at the present time to have a successful season; an organization can work with that. Front office, coaching and player changes can be made. Young guys can be developed.

But to already have all of the appropriate pieces in place, to have the potential to do well but to utterly fail? That takes disappointment to a whole other level.

On paper, the Bulls should have been at the top of the conference. They should have finished with a better record. This season should have been one to remember.

Instead, it is one the entire fan base wants to forget.

So what happens now? Well, honestly, that is anyone’s guess.

If one thing is clear about this current franchise, it is that nothing is certain.

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But there are things that can be done moving forward, to ensure better results.

For starters, head coach Fred Hoiberg needs to get on the same level as his players

It is a well-known fact that Fred Hoiberg was hired in part for having a prior relationship with Gar Forman. Long-time friends, Forman brought Hoiberg on after Forman and partner in crime John Paxson had had enough of Tom Thibodeau. It did not matter that the team valued him as a coach or that he was one of the NBA’s greatest defensive masterminds.

The front office wanted someone they could get along with on a personal level.

Hoiberg is not one to ruffle feathers. And in a way, it seems anyone could understand why in this situation, he would want to stay on good terms with Gar/Pax. Just look what happened to good old Thibodeau. But it is becoming clear that the more Hoiberg takes solely what they want into consideration, the more the team resents him.

Jimmy Butler may have been both the first to call Hoiberg out and also the only one to do so in a direct manner , but he is certainly not alone in his feelings. Pau Gasol too has made it quite clear that there is a disconnect between the players and their coach.

If Hoiberg wants to turn things around, he needs to stop having Gar/Pax in his ear, and start hearing what his team is saying. The more included the guys feel in the direction the organization is going in, the better communication will be all around. And when that will start to happen, so will winning.

It may also be time to let go of some of ‘Thibodeau’s guys’

The truth of the matter is, some guys may never feel the same now that Thibodeau has been fired. Most players go through coaching changes in their careers, but the way in which Thibodeau was let go was historically shameful.

Take that on top of Hoiberg obviously starting off on the wrong foot with just about everyone, with his coaching style being the complete opposite of Thibodeau’s and well, some of the roster may never play here the same way again.

Roster changes need to be made, period. But when doing so, it may also help to consider who is a “Thibodeau guy” and if he can also survive under Hoiberg.

Thibodeau’s defensive genius may not be easily matched by many coaches in this league, but for Hoiberg, defense is practically non-existent. Any player who worked well under Thibodeau probably will not flourish in the same way now; especially if they were at the start of their career, and developed their skills under a totally different regiment.

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Some people have already lost faith in Hoiberg, but for now, he is sticking around. And maybe, just maybe, if the organization changes a few things, next year will be better.