Chicago Bulls: 5 Reasons Why Offense Is Clicking

4. Nikola Mirotic Thriving At Small Forward

The last month of 2015 was not kind to Mirotic. Not only did he average just 7.6 points per contest, but he shot 36 percent from the field, including 31 percent from three-point range.

However, things have been trending upward for the second-year forward since the start of the new year. Over the last four outings, Mirotic has scored in double figures, including consecutive 17-point outings against the Raptors and Bucks.

Furthermore, Mirotic’s is shooting 48.6 percent overall and 43.4 percent (10-for-23) from beyond the arc. While the Bulls don’t play as well from a defensive standpoint with Mirotic at the 3-spot, Fred Hoiberg is not overly concerned about that fact for the time being.

"“Our defensive efficiency has gone down but our offensive efficiency has gone up, pretty significantly with [Mirotic] at that spot,’’ Hoiberg told the Chicago Sun-Times. It’s continuing to work with him, getting him comfortable guarding fours pretty much all through training camp. Now getting him in that mindset of guarding threes, and guarding smaller players and isolation actions. And again, he’s done a solid job of that.’’"

Whether or not Mirotic will improve from a defensive standpoint remains to be seen. But as long as he continues to show that he can space the floor effectively, the Bulls will be in pretty good shape.

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