The Chicago Bulls conclude the first month of the 2015-2016 NBA season with a nine and four record. The team learned a new system this season as it transitioned to a new head coach. The team excels on the defensive end of the game while working to improve their offensive style so they can put points up on the board. With a new head coach, the offense is heading in a direction set for success.

Former Iowa State head coach and current head coach of the Bulls , Fred Hoiberg, made the changeover from college basketball to NBA basketball.

“I think the big thing for me is I have always run an NBA-type system,” said Hoiberg. “I’m not coming into this [having] never experienced NBA basketball.”

Fred Hoiberg was selected in the second round, fifty second overall of the 1995 NBA Draft by the Indiana Pacers. Hoiberg played 14 seasons in the NBA. For ten of the seasons he played for three teams: Indiana, Chicago, and Minnesota. The last four seasons he spent in the front office of the Minnesota Timberwolves. He was a member of three playoff teams.

The Chicago Bulls have struggled offensively this season, but they have excelled in the defensive end of their game.

“In short, they’ve looked like exactly what they are: a deep and talented—yet flawed—team trying to learn a new system and growing in the process,” said Bleacher Report.

Hoiberg planned to reinvent their offense this offseason so they could be contenders this season. Hoiberg plans to change the style of the Bulls offense. He plans to use drag screens and a mix between fast and slow-style offense.

“It’s watching film and trying to get better,” said Hoiberg. “I’m confident [we’ll get there]. This team has a lot of weapons-different guys are going to have it going different nights and we’ve got to make sure we find the hot hand.”

Ball movement is a critical asset to any offense in the NBA. It leads to success on the court. Swinging the ball contributes to opening players and lanes for baskets to be scored and points put up on the board. Hoiberg is looking to translate ball movement in practice to the games.

“We’ve got to keep the ball moving,” said Hoiberg. “We’ve had too much ball stoppage. We’ve got to get the ball swung.
“We’re doing it in practice. We’ve got to carry it over to the games.”

The pairing of Gasol and Noah on the court last season proved to be unsuccessful. Together, they were having the lowest averages for a pair of players on the court for all Bulls players last season.

“I wouldn’t say it didn’t work,” said Hoiberg. “I thought they had a lot of great moments out there together.”

Tony Snell and Doug McDermott offer talent to fill the missing gaps in the roster. With Mike Dunleavy Jr. out for ten weeks with back surgery, Snell and McDermott have stepped up offensively for the Bulls. They are both proving themselves as key players with high scoring percentages.

McDermott establishes himself as a key player off the rotation. Although his preseason numbers don’t add up to his success on the court, McDermott is proving himself as the lock-in for the sixth man in the rotation.

Snell is getting the start in place of Dunleavy. His talent proves his position as the top three point-shooter and D-shooting guard.

“Hoiberg gave Snell the starting nod over McDermott because of his defense. Snell has nearly a 7-foot wingspan and great defensive instincts. Hoiberg wants him to take some of the pressure off Jimmy Butler defensively,” said Bleacher Report.

The Bulls style of offense is heading in the right direction. The Bulls are on the road to sucess