Bulls' new-look second unit making progress

The old "Bench Mob" is gone, with the exception of Taj Gibson, but the Bulls' new second unit showed it has some potential in Saturday evening's home win over Minnesota. On a night when Kirk Hinrich had to leave the game with a strained right hamstring and fellow starter Carlos Boozer went 0-for-5 from the field, the Bulls were partially bailed out by their reserves.
In place of Hinrich, Nate Robinson came through with 18 points, which already isn't unexpected at this point in his short tenure in Chicago, but Marco Belinelli also stepped up, knocking down three three-pointers in a fourth-quarter stretch, en route to 11 points. Gibson played in his typical fashion, recording eight apiece of points and rebounds, along with three blocked shots, but subtle contributions from Nazr Mohammed and rookie Marquis Teague were also evident.
"Our bench was terrific. I thought Marco gave us a big lift, but Nate was very good, Taj was really good, Nazr was good. I thought when Marquis came in, he was ready and did a terrific job, so that was very, very encouraging," Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau said afterwards. "Were hopeful thats the level of the "Bench Mob what well get to. Well see. I dont want them looking backwards, I dont them looking ahead. I want them to focus on exactly on whats in front of them, just strive for improvement. Everybody came in Friday, I thought they worked hard and it showed. I thought they were ready to play and hopefully each game, they get better."
While the second unit didn't get extended minutes together--starters Luol Deng and Joakim Noah were on the court with them most of the time--for the first time, they displayed a critical trait of its predecessors. Instead of playing inferior basketball and the starters having to rescue them, they maintained and slightly extended the Bulls' lead over the Timberwolves.
The chemistry of the Bulls' bench is still a work in progress, but just like the past two seasons, it's a group that likes each other off the court, something not found in every NBA locker room. Of course, it helps when the team wins and the player under the most scrutiny has a breakout performance at a significant juncture of the game.
"Were good. I love every guy on this team. Nate, Nazr, Taj, Jimmy, were a good team. Everybody wants to win," Belinelli observed. "Me, Nate, Jimmy, Nazr and Taj, I think everybody from the bench contributed. We played good minutesthat was important for us.
"I know they want me to score and be a better player. I know that I can be a better defender, so thats the thing that Im working on. Step by step, every time is better. I just want to win," he continued, showing his understanding of the team's meritocracy under Thibodeau. "I just want to be complete. I dont want to be just a three-point shooter. Thats part of my game, but I want to be much better than that.
"In the last couple of games, I didnt play a lot and I watched the game, and I dont think I was aggressive on defense, so thats the mistake that I made. I know that on this team, you always have to play defenseaggressive on defense first, then be aggressive on offense, too."