Whether its filling in for Rip Hamilton at shooting guard, being the de facto backup point guard when Derrick Rose and C.J. Watson were simultaneously sidelined or his current role, starting at small forward in place of the injured Luol Deng, Ronnie Brewer is ready.
Thibs prepares you by telling you to come in with the early group and learn every position, Brewer, who started at small forward Monday and will start again Wednesday, when the Bulls host the Central Division rival Pacers, said following the teams morning shootaround. He tried to throw me in at the point guard position a few times, Rips been out a few times and now, Lus out, so youve got to be ready whenever your name is called and thats what Ive been trying to do all season long.
However, while Thibodeau is certainly confident in Brewers abilities, the Bulls head coach admitted that he loves having the versatile swingman come off the bench, as the second-generation NBA player has great chemistry with the fellow members of the Bench Mob, the teams second unit.
Well see. Well see how it goes, said Thibodeau, when asked if Brewer would be a permanent starter during Dengs absence. What Ronnie has shown, whether hes starting for Rip or starting for Luoland hes started a number of games in this leagueis that he can handle starting. He handles coming off the bench. I thought last year him coming off the bench was a great asset. I value greatly what a guy like that can bring coming off the bench, so in some ways, I do miss what he brings coming off the bench. But I also like what he does as a starter, so its a tribute to him and his versatility.
Brewer explained the difference mentality required to start a contest.
Coming off the bench, you get to watch and see the flow of the game, and the pace and analyze things. As a starter, youve got to be ready to go from the tip, so its a little different, but at the same time, youve got to be ready to play, he said. I feel like I can play off those other guys. D-Rose has so much attention, Luol got a lot of attention when he was out there, learning to play off Rip, knowing Boozplaying with him my whole career, Im able to cut on the baselineand Joakims such a great passer, so its easy to fit in with the starters and I played all last year with the Bench Mob, so I was able to learn all their strengths and weaknesses, as well.
Hamilton, the teams lone new starter this season, has fit like a glove, Boozer predicted early on in his new teammates tenure. Brewer, who started at shooting guard when Hamilton was out with a groin injury, explained that hes quickly adjusting to the veteran shooting guards game.
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Watching him, it allows me to learn a lotbeing able to move without the basketball and get your shot off a little quickerand its making the game a lot easier. Hes a seasoned vet and youve got to be like a sponge, and learn as much as possible from him. He draws so much attention coming off double screens, single screens. Guys opposing defenders have got to stunt to him, double to him and hes such a great player, hes making a lot of easy plays for other people and getting them involved, so hes making the offense flow a lot smoother, he said. It shows the work he puts in because he sat out so many games, then he comes back, he fits right in. Hes shooting the ball phenomenally, hes dishing the ball and guysevery practice, every gameare learning to jell a little bit better with him.
While playing against starting shooting guards in the NBA is no piece of cake, Brewer also faces a new challenge in matching up with small forwards, one of the leagues most high-profile positions, featuring the likes reigning scoring champ Kevin Durant, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony, the latter twonormally the primary responsibility of Deng, one of the top perimeter defenders in the gamehell face on the Bulls upcoming road trip.
Its fairly the same position, just a little bit bigger guys. Sometimes the twos start lower, the threes start higher, vice versa. Working with Thibs and the early group, Ive been able to learn the plays at both positions. Its not going to be any easier playing the three than it is the two. High-caliber players every night that youre going to face, so youve got to be ready for the test, said Brewer. Well see. Im going to have to do what Ive been trying to do since Ive been with the Bulls and thats hustle on both ends of the court, run the floor, be a tougher defender. Tonight, we have a tough matchup, trying to guard Pacers small forward Danny Granger. These upcoming games, we have a lot of tough guys that were going to face, so Ive just got to come in there, try to do my part and be an energy spark for this team.
Its going to be tough. Whenever you have a guy of Lus caliber outhes one of our leaders vocally and by his playhes definitely going to be missed. A lot of different guys are going to have to step up and bring something differentif its on offense, defense, assistsbecause he does a lot of things for this team, so somebodys going to have to step up, he continued. We have a lot of guys on this team who can step up and make plays on either offense or defense. When we had D-Rose out, we had C.J. Watson come in and John Lucas III and Mike James. When C.J. was out, John Lucas came in there and stepped in. Weve got a lot of guys who come in and make plays. Thats what you expect from a deep team and weve got a lot of depth on this team.
Although Brewers skill set arent an identical match to Dengs, the players do have a lot in common. Both are versatile, willing passers, aggressive slashers, move well without the ball and defend at a high level. But like Deng, Brewer is also a much-improved shooter, something the modest wing refuses to toot his own horn about.
It goes back to my teammates. D-Rose makes a lot of plays and has enough confidence in me to find me when Im open and Ive got to reward him by knocking down the shot. He gets so much attention, it makes the game a lot easier for him, so Ive got to continue to work hard, continue to work with the coaches and in the game, try to knock down as many shots as possible.