Robin Lopez is playing great for the Chicago Bulls this season, but his play continues to fly under the radar.
After shocking the league in 2010-11 by winning 62 games and making the Eastern Conference Finals, the Chicago Bulls hung around 45-50 wins the next four seasons before missing the playoffs last season at 42-40.
The bench mob slowly left until only Taj Gibson remained, Derrick Rose underwent multiple knee surgeries, and Joakim Noah‘s plantar fasciitis continued to come back. The Bulls were treading water in the middle of the conference, the worst place to be in the NBA, and desperately needed a culture change.
The Bulls finally admitted to themselves that a core of Rose, Noah and Jimmy Butler couldn’t win a title. So, they let Noah sign with the New York Knicks and traded Rose and Justin Holiday to the Knicks for Jerian Grant, Jose Calderon and Robin Lopez.
Lopez instantly became the Bulls’ starting center, but was quickly overshadowed by the likes of Rajon Rondo and Dwyane Wade. As he still is flying under the radar, and a second-thought to Butler, Wade, Rondo and now even Gibson, Lopez has quietly been everything the Bulls hoped for when trading for him.
His scoring and rebounding averages don’t jump off the sheet at 9.8 and 7.7 per game, respectively, but his 1.9 blocks per game ranks sixth in the league.
Unlike Noah, who was simply a great defender but didn’t block a lot of shots, and Pau Gasol, who blocked two shots per game with the Bulls but didn’t move more than two feet on any defensive possession, Lopez can guard on the perimeter and act as a rim protector.
Lopez doesn’t have the same reputation as Noah, the 2013-14 Defensive Player of the Year, on the defensive end, but he’s blocking shots at a remarkable rate.
Through 18 games, Lopez is averaging 2.4 blocks per 36 minutes and 3.4 per 100 possessions. In comparison, Noah’s career-highs with the Bulls came in at 2.1 per 36 minutes and 3.1 per 100 possessions, both in 2013-14.
Defense is obviously more than just blocking shots, and that’s where Noah thrived. However, to say that Lopez is only a rim protector would be undervaluing his impact on the defensive end.
He moves well on the perimeter, is filling the “energy guy” role in the starting lineup that Noah left and plays very physically in the paint. Taj Gibson has been great for the Bulls this season, but Lopez is clearly the anchor on the defensive end.
Lopez’s rim protection and versatile defense exemplifies his willingness to do the dirty work. He doesn’t block shots into the 10th row or put players on posters, but he does all the little things that go unnoticed.
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Lopez sets hard screens, puts an emphasis on rebounding and doesn’t demand shots to be effective.
While his 7.7 rebounds per game only ranks 34th in the NBA, Lopez averages almost as many offensive rebounds as he does defensive rebounds. Only Hassan Whiteside and Dwight Howard average more than his 3.8 offensive rebounds per game.
Even though Lopez’s seven-foot frame and hustle is helpful in grabbing offensive rebounds, a big reason is because he’s always in the paint on offense. Aside from setting screens at the top of the key, Lopez hangs on the blocks and waits to post-up his defender for his now-becoming famous hook shot.
In a league where almost all big men are becoming stretch-4s/5s, Lopez still attempts 66.5 percent of his shots from inside 10 feet and only has one three-point attempt this season. It’s not to take away from his innate ability to work the offensive glass, but his style of play also allows him to have more offensive rebound opportunities.
In turn, it’s helped the Bulls lead the league with 13.9 offensive rebounds per game and 16.6 second chance points per contest. In fact, Lopez is second on the Bulls behind Jimmy Butler and 14th in the league with 3.2 second chance points per game this season.
Lopez simply knows what to do when he grabs an offensive rebound. He doesn’t hesitate or try to make a play that isn’t there. It’s how Lopez gets a lot of his shot attempts, too.
Even with five other players averaging at least nine points per game, the Bulls have made a more conscious effort to get Lopez involved in the offense recently. After not recording double-digit shot attempts in any of the first eight games, Lopez took at least 10 shots in nine of the past 10 games.
Part of it goes back to the offensive rebounding, although the Bulls are having him post-up more. As previously mentioned, Lopez likes to back his defender down and use his signature hook shot. It’s not the prettiest looking shot in the world, but it works more often than not.
That being said, Lopez is still shooting just 44.7 percent from the field this season and a career-low 51.6 percent from inside of three feet. However, Lopez’s 44.4 shooting percentage from 10-16 feet out is well-above his 36.2 percent career-average.
The Bulls would love Lopez to improve his efficiency from the floor and shoot his career 52.9 field goal percentage and 65.6 shooting percentage from inside of three feet. Although, the way Lopez is shooting now isn’t any worse than Noah shot in recent seasons with the Bulls — 44.5 field goal percentage and 51.5 shooting percentage inside three feet in 2014-15.
It’s a place the Bulls would like to see improvement in, but it’s also not an area to panic about.
Arguably his biggest asset, though, is his health. He’s played in all 18 games for the Bulls this season and isn’t battling any lingering issues. The Bulls have been hit with the injury bug every year since the start of the Tom Thibodeau era, and having a big man who is not constantly on the injury report is a different and needed change.
In fact, Lopez has played in all 82 games, while averaging at least 26 minutes per game, in three of the past four seasons. The Bulls needed a culture change, and they also needed stability from key players.
Robin Lopez isn’t putting up All-Star numbers, his play isn’t sexy and he won’t replace the love Chicago had for Joakim Noah. That being said, it’s time for the league to take notice of his stellar play.
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