Feb 22, 2013; Charlotte, NC, USA; Chicago Bulls power forward Taj Gibson (22) fights rebounds against Charlotte Bobcats small forward Jeff Adrien (4) during the second half at Time Warner Arena. Mandatory Credit: Curtis Wilson-USA TODAY Sports

After getting blown out by the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday night, things didn’t get any better for the Chicago Bulls on Monday as they learned that Taj Gibson will be out for up to two weeks.

Gibson hurt his knee during the game, and later went to get an MRI. A report from the Chicago Tribune’s K.C. Johnson has this to say about the injury,

“At least Gibson’s MRI didn’t reveal a torn ACL, although it did confirm a sprained MCL that could sideline the defensive-minded forward up to two weeks.”

The 6’ 9” Gibson has averaged about 8 points and 5.5 rebounds while playing about 22 minutes a night backing up Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer.

Losing Gibson will be tough for the already short-handed Bulls to deal with. His injuy means that Nazr Mohammed will now be the first big man off the bench.

Gibson is a great defender off the bench, as evidenced by his 1.5 blocks per game and 99.6 defensive rating (17^th in the league). He is able to keep up the level of defense played by Joakim Noah led starting unit.

The Bulls have a tough stretch coming up, including two big games against Eastern Conference foes Indiana and Brooklyn this weekend. And without Gibson, it will be even tougher for this weary Bulls team.

February 28, 2011; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards shooting guard Jordan Crawford (15) leaps to pass the ball between Chicago Bulls center Omer Asik (3) and forward Taj Gibson (22) in the first half at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-US PRESSWIRE

Super-Secret Stat: In the 747 minutes they played together last season for the Chicago Bulls, Taj Gibson and Omer Asik allowed a defensive rating of 86.4.  That number was the Bulls’ best among their top 25 most-used tandems and 8.9 points better than the team’s league-leading mark of 95.3.

Analysis: We’ll find out a lot about the Chicago Bulls and Tom Thibodeau this season, a team that will play without the 2011 MVP for half the year and one whose roster underwent a dramatic, if understated, overhaul in the offseason.  Frankly, if this were most any other organization with most any other coach at the helm, preseason prognostications predicting a Chicago playoff run in 2013 would be blasphemous.  But this is  the Rose-era Bulls and this is Thibodeau, and to expect such a significant drop-off isn’t prudent even given the new challenges this team will face once training camp opens in two weeks.

And putting the extended leave of Rose aside, there isn’t a bigger one than how the Bulls will adjust to playing without the departed Omer Asik, one of basketball’s most effective defenders and free agent signee of the Houston Rockets.  It sounds funny to say that the absence of a player who averaged just 15 minutes per game last season could have such a profound impact on a top-tier team like Chicago, especially when he’s a backup to one of the league’s best young centers in Joakim Noah.  But that’s how good Asik was defensively in his carefully managed minutes last season; he made Noah – a stellar, versatile interior defender that oft serves as Chicago’s on-court pulse – a fairly regular spectator down the stretch of close games.

But there’s a caveat here and it’s big, one that will prove instrumental in Asik’s career development as a Rocket and, more important for the purpose of this post, what it means for the Bulls in this season and ones to follow.  It’s today’s super-secret stat and whether or not Taj Gibson will be able to continue his nearly unmatched defensive prowess without the help of his Turkish frontcourt mate.

With Gibson’s continued development and the ever-underwhelming defense of Carlos Boozer last season, calls for increased minutes for the former were no longer hushed and ever-prevalent.  The difference in the Bulls team speed, quickness, and defense was clear as day to the naked eye when Gibson replaced Boozer in the lineup, and advanced statistics painted a very similar picture.  But this is where the need to dig even deeper into these complicated metrics is pertinent, because the numbers of Gibson were supplemented by the fact he played the majority of his minutes alongside Asik and vice-versa.  58% of Gibson’s floor-time was spent with Asik, and even more with the face-lifted group of Chicago’s defensively dominant bench units.

The Bulls signed veteran center Nazr Mohommed in the offseason to replace Asik, but logical signs point to Thibodeau shortening his post rotation in the long haul to a Noah-Boozer-Gibson triumvirate, and play smaller with Luol Deng at the 4 more frequently, too.  So, with an expanded role and Asik wreaking havoc in Houston, will Gibson’s huge defensive – and overall, it should be noted – impact carry over into 2013?

There’s no way to tell for sure, but his limited time on the floor with Noah last season is of great interest nonetheless.  The two yielded a defensive rating of 93.7 in 311 minutes last season, an exceptional mark still better than Chicago’s top-ranked average but one that pales in comparison to that of Gibson-Asik.  But just as important, the Bulls enjoyed a huge uptick offensively with Gibson-Noah manning the paint; their offensive rating in that same timeframe was an awesome 109.4.

Like with any roster change, it appears there is give and take with Asik’s departure.  Smallish historical sample size tells us when Gibson is on the floor in 2012-2013 the Bulls won’t be so otherworldly on defense but will be better on the other end, a take-off Thibodeau and company could surely stomach.  But there are just too many ancillary factors at play here – no Rose, new bench pieces, Deng’s health – to say that development is likely, meaning Chicago needs to pay close attention to Gibson’s effectiveness to keep pace in the East.

Take: The Bulls have the best quartet of bigs in the league and it’s hardly worth arguing.  That much has been clear since last season when Gibson teamed with rookie Omer Asik to form a defensively dominant pair of reserves behind Boozer and Joakim Noah.

Dec. 25, 2011; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Chicago Bulls forward Taj Gibson (22) and shooting guard Ronnie Brewer (11) with point guard Derrick Rose (1) at the end of the game after Rose made the winning shot of the game against the Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center. Bulls won 88-87. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

Since signing a massive free agent contract in that fateful summer of 2010, Boozer’s often been the scapegoat for Chicago’s lack of individual firepower behind Rose.  He was one of the NBA’s best post scorers during his time in Utah, and the Bulls no doubt acquired him with that in mind to help take pressure off of Rose and give him a worthy pick and roll partner.  Obviously, Boozer hasn’t lived up to the lofty expectations he set as a member of the Jazz despite subtle improvements he’s made in 2012.

Boozer’s relatively underwhelming play – combined with the consistently elite defense and often spectacular acrobatics of Gibson – has led some to believe Chicago is better off with the latter on the floor as opposed to the former.  Using the eye-test this makes some sense; Gibson’s superior athleticism gives him defensive versatility Boozer can’t come close to matching, and offensively he’s a more active offensive rebounder and aggressive cutter.  Still, we obviously need more than subjective analysis to confirm this suspicion, which is where today’s stats come into play.

Chicago’s awesome bench has long yielded fantastic +/- numbers, so using basic five-man unit statistics to prove the Bulls are better off with Gibson doesn’t make much sense.  What does is comparing how Derrick Rose’s numbers are affected by the presence and absence of these guys, because no matter what the analytics say he’s going to play a huge amount of minutes (provided his health, of course).

And that’s where Gibson really outshines Boozer.  Rose’s season-long plus/minus – regardless of who he’s playing with – is a robust +7.9 per 36 minutes.  With Boozer playing that total drops by .6 points while it ascends by 3.2 points when he’s paired with Gibson.  Just as telling is the net +/- Rose accumulates in relation to whether or not Boozer/Gibson is on the floor or on the bench.  Rose and Boozer? -2.4.  Rose and Gibson? +4.3.

Obviously there are other factors at play here (teammates, opponent, etc.), but these relatively raw advanced stats paint a clear picture that Rose – and therefore the Bulls – is better off with Gibson than he is Boozer.  This will no doubt prove interesting to watch in the playoffs, as often this season coach Tom Thibodeau has opted to close games with his reserve bigs as opposed to his starters.  One imagines that scenario might play out even more over the next two months, especially when Chicago inevitably runs into Miami in the Eastern Conference Finals and they need a mobile four man to help contain LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.

It’s not often that the Bulls are one of the teams playing the NBA’s best game of the night, but this is one of those nights on which the league didn’t really schedule much true entertainment.

That said, the Bulls aren’t that bad to watch anyway. Pair them with the best team to watch in the game, and you’ve got yourself something to watch on TV. This contest pits a waxing star in the league against a waning one, and both those players happen to fill the point-guard role.

Derrick Rose is an electrifying competitor. He’s unstoppable on his way to the rim and has the athleticism to pair the flash with the production. On the other end is Steve Nash, the constantly astounding and reliable distributor with one of the finest shooting strokes ever to grace the Association. When you pair that with the best post finisher in the game in Amar’e Stoudemire, you have quite the problem on your hands as an opponent.

Chicago has been playing well of late thanks to especially strong play by Rose and good work by rookie (and former USC player) Taj Gibson. The Bulls actually managed to top the Suns 115-104 in their January 22 matchup, in which the youngster running the show vastly outplayed the veteran.

But I really doubt the Bulls will take the season sweep. Phoenix is also playing very well of late, and Stoudemire is the hottest of any player league-wide. Averaging 30 points and 10 boards since the all-star break, he’s showing what he can do (even if it only lasts for the remainder of this season, his contract year). So chalk up a win for the Suns, who are still very, very competitive in the West. They’re trying to prove (in perhaps the final year Nashmar’e) that a stellar offense can bring home the hardware in June.