National Basketball Association

Fred Hoiberg Says Starting Power Forward Spot is 'Open Competition'

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

In a media scrum following the Chicago Bulls first practice of the year, Fred Hoiberg told reporters starting power forward is “an open competition.”

Since the “Three Alphas” came to fruition, it has been assumed that Nikola Mirotic would slot right into the starting power forward spot.

After all, the Bulls need some shooting in their starting lineup, right?

Not so fast, says Fred Hoiberg.

This could just be coach speak, but Hoiberg does at least leave the door open for both Taj Gibson and Bobby Portis to take the spot.

Power forward has been perceived as the only spot where there is any sort of competition in Chicago’s starting lineup. Rajon Rondo, Dwyane Wade, Jimmy Butler and Robin Lopez are all locked in at their positions.

Now, Mirotic, Gibson and Portis will all attempt to fight their way into the starting lineup.

Fred Hoiberg can find reasons for each of these guys to start.

Taj Gibson is probably the best player between the three and he is a huge plus on the defensive end. However, Gibson’s lack of an outside shot makes it tough to start him.

Sure, he can knock down the mid-range jumper, but it is essential to have at least one consistent threat from three on the floor.

Bobby Portis presents many of the same concerns as Taj Gibson. Not only that, but the defensive metrics were not particularly kind to Portis last year. The rookie ranked second to last on the team in defensive rating (108.3).

Even so, Fred Hoiberg dropped an interesting nugget regarding the second-year power forward:

Portis did look a lot more comfortable taking shots from deep in Las Vegas this summer. For what it’s worth, Portis shot 43 percent from long range on 13 attempts during the Las Vegas Summer League. Although, that’s about as small as a sample size gets.

Bobby Portis doesn’t present quite as compelling of a case as Nikola Mirotic.

Mirotic makes the most sense for starting power forward. The main reason being shooting. After coming back from injury, Mirotic ended last season shooting 45 percent from three-point range in his last 22 games. Of course, that could have been a mere hot streak, but he is still the Bulls most lethal threat from deep at power forward.

The Bulls offense figures to be fairly congested with Rondo, Wade and Butler manning the back court. Having not one legitimate three-point shooter in the starting lineup could be disastrous.

It would be an absolute shocker if anyone but Nikola Mirotic is the Bulls starting power forward.

Fred Hoiberg has a decision to make, but this is Mirotic’s job to lose.