6. Chicago Bulls 2010s all-decade starting lineup
- Derrick Rose
- Jimmy Butler
- Luol Deng
- Pau Gasol
- Joakim Noah
The Chicago Bulls of the early 2010s were one of the fiercest defensive units in the league in large part due to several players who appear in this lineup.
We know what the trio of Jimmy Butler, Luol Deng and Joakim Noah bring to the defensive side of the ball. All three have made at least one All-Defensive squad while Noah is a former Defensive Player of the Year.
They weren’t just ball stoppers. They were ball-hawkers, bringing a physically draining brand to their defense that annoyed even the most premier of superstars in the league at the time.
Where this Chicago unit is marketably better is offensively. The Derrick Rose who won MVP was something special, but whereas he could at times be neutralized as the only threat for those Bulls teams, this one affords a certain level of assistance.
Jimmy Butler became an All-Star two-way force in part because of the absence of Rose. He blossomed into a consistent 20-point per game scorer and someone who was more than capable of sealing games in the final minutes.
Both Noah and Pau Gasol are two of the best passing big men in NBA history. Put them together with athletes like Rose and Butler and the type of action the four could run involving cuts and dribble handoffs is oozing with potential.
These Bulls don’t have the superstar name recognition, but that hardly matters when you have what they bring to the table: An imposing defensive unit with enough pieces to have the offense not lagging too far behind.