All Forwards Considered

'Fire and Ice' Skiles on the power forward situation from K.C. Johnson's column:

"I wouldn't read a lot into who's declared the starter," Skiles said. "Much like P.J., Joe has a nice veteran way about him. We need that while Tyrus is still coming on, but Tyrus is, without question, better than he was. Joakim has unique things he can do. It's a matter of how quickly he'll pick things up. So far, so good. But each guy does something a little different."

sbulls9030 quickly responds:

Finishing inside better, taking better care of the ball, and rebounding better are the three areas where the Bulls should and need to improve this season. Replacing the trio of Brown, Allen, and Sweetney with better more athletic players is a clear and often overlooked improvement. I was surprised that John Hollinger didn't get past the low post scoring issue enough to notice the impact of the change in frontcourt personnel. Improvement in these areas will not only help the Bulls finish better than 20th in offensive efficiency, but will help the defense be even better as well. For the 1st time in Skiles's tenure, all of his frontcourt players will have the necessary physical ability to trap and recover in the Bulls' defensive system. That combined with improved defensive rebounding and better offense creates a real opportunity for significant improvement in the league's best defense. There are clear opportunities to increase the team's point differential. By how much will depend on the improvement of the individual players.

It wasn't really a response to the quote, but it's pretty clear that the Bulls are better off in the big man department this season. The starting spot may be a point of pride for whoever gets it, but it's not that important as all the options, unlike last season, should suffice. Except Nocioni (and that's not a knock on him, he's better off as a sixth man).