There’s Wisdom in the Bulls Staying the Course With This Roster

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Feb 9, 2020
A lack of splashy headlining trades at the deadline doesn’t mean all is lost for the year with these Bulls.

3-6.

That uninspiring record was the result the last time the Bulls fielded a healthy starting lineup with the likes of Tomas Satoransky, Zach LaVine, Otto Porter Jr, Lauri Markkanen and Wendell Carter Jr. That time period seemed like eons ago.

And believe it or not, that record is what the Bulls front office lead by John Paxson is hanging their hopes on right now. And with the Bulls mired in a 4 game losing streak, sadly that record would be welcome from many in the Bulls fanbase.

The rebuilding Bulls seemingly have more questions than answers as they move ahead with year 3 in this process. And a healthy roster would go a long way in trying to ascertain what the makeup of this team should be moving forward. The team has some positives as the season progresses toward the All-Star break. Zach Lavine has proven to be a scoring force and has taken the next step in becoming a more defensive-minded player.

When he’s on the court, Wendell Carter Jr has shown the ability to be a defensive anchorwith the lateral quickness to switch on to opposing smaller players.

Before his MCL injury Kris Dunn was having an amazing year defensively despite playing much of the beginning part of the year in a reserve role.

And when healthy, the Bulls have gotten solid contributions from their young reserves in Daniel Gafford and Chandler Hutchison.

The Bulls have not had the needed growth from the areas that matter the most which is their starting lineup. Otto Porter and Lauri Markkanen both were not having the type of impact that was expected in order for their rebuild to take the next step, with Markkanen continuing to struggle as more of a scoring burden was placed on his shoulders when Porter was sidelined. Markkanen is averaging career-lows in scoring, rebounding and shooting percentage and his poor start has translated into a poor showing on the defensive end as well.

Tomas Satoransky also failed to live up to the team’s expectations that he would continue to thrive after his strong play in the FIBA tournament this last year.

The fact that so many players are not living up to their expectations though, could be looked at as a positive given the state of other teams that the Bulls are chasing if they hope to make a run for the playoffs. With everything that has happened as far as injuries go, the Bulls are still just sitting 3.5 games out of the playoffs.

All the Bulls need moving forward is for the roster to play to their career averages and the Bulls will have a better understanding of whether this starting five is legitimately capable of being relevant in the playoffs.

“We have to keep long-term in mind in terms of our young guys in how they get better and how they develop,” Paxson said to NBC Sports Chicago. “That’s going to be the key to our future.”

Plus with so many injuries that have taken place, the Bulls have seen how some of their other players have responded with having a more full share as they try to figure out how this roster will be construed moving forward.

All things considered, the Bulls could be in a worse state of affairs.
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