Bulls at the Break: Frontcourt
A look back at the performance of the Chicago Bulls frontcourt pre-All Star break.
Through 58 games, the Bulls stood as one of the four-worst teams in the league. At 15–44, the organization is was no doubt disappointed at a team that was objectively worse than last year, but also definitely happy that they will likely have 12.5 percent or better chance of landing generational talent Zion Williamson of Duke (Editor’s note: Sounds very regal right?).
The other big picture thing to keep in mind for the Bulls is how the trade deadline acquisition of Otto Porter Jr. has made them a more functional team on both sides of the ball. Here is a breakdown of the Bulls frontcourt through the pre-All Star break portion (58 games) of the 2018–19 NBA season.
Otto Porter Jr., SF/PF:
I’m sure Bulls fans have probably heard enough about Otto-matic Otto at this point, but I figured to start with him because his importance can’t be understated, even with his shooting numbers as a Bull being ridiculously unsustainable.
Per NBA.com, the Porter-Lauri Markkanen duo has a +12.4 net rating in 154 minutes. THAT is what is most important about Porter. And on the same note, the Porter-Zach LaVine duo has a +9.4 net rating over a 160 minute sample size.
The point of all this being: Otto Porter Jr.’s mere presence helps put the Bulls best players in a position to succeed and that is a major key.
Regardless of the players the Bulls draft or sign in free agency, Porter’s 3-point shooting and defensive acumen will make him a solid fit next to them.
As far as Porter’s limited growth opportunities at this stage of his career, he can still improve as an off the dribble shooter, particularly on pull-up 3-pointers. Last season he shot 0.5 pull-up 3-pointers per game, and he has double that rate in Chicago. Of course, the percentage has dropped from 45.2 percent to the mid 30s. As I’ve said before, an uptick in percentage with a healthy dose of pull-up 3s could make OPJ an even more dangerous offensive weapon that he was in Washington.
Wendell Carter Jr. PF/C:
Carter was the №7 overall pick in the 2018 draft, and he was doing a solid job in a rookie season that saw him face a decent amount of the league’s best centers right off the bat.
As we have talked about here at BC, being 19-years old, he obviously has a lot he can improve on.
This writer’s biggest frustration with WCJ was just how seldom he looked to score. Being a team-first player who is capable of contributing on offense without dominating possessions is a big part of Carter’s appeal. But that team-first attitude isn’t always needed on a Bulls offense that has had few nights — if any — of flawless execution, and lacks any sort of efficient scorers besides Zach LaVine.
Carter is taking just under 9 shots per game in the 2018–19 season. His averages through 44 games played are 10.3 PPG, 7 RPG, 1.8 APG, 1.9 STOCKS (steals + blocks) PER GAME. The stocks are most impressive.
Carter also posted a ridiculous 50.7 percent contested rebound rate over 44 games, a mark that would’ve been first in the league among players averaging more than 7 RPG.
The number one thing Carter needs to do in the offseason is get up plenty of 3-pointers (and stay healthy of course). Under Fred Hoiberg, Carter was shooting at least one 3-point shot per game. Once Jim Boylen took over as head coach, the philosophy change was clear as Carter rarely shot 3s anymore and overall shot less in general. WCJ shot 41 percent on 3-pointers at Duke, and that has translated to the NBA.
Per Cleaning the Glass, he is hitting 41 percent of his long midrange jumpers with the Bulls. So it isn’t hard to imagine Carter turning in a low 30s (percentage-wise) 3-point shooter, which would add even more floor-spacing to the Bulls suddenly adequate offense.
Lauri Markkanen PF/C:
What can I say about Lauri Markkanen that I haven’t already said about my loved ones? In all seriousness, I don’t know if there is a Bull I’ve enjoyed watching this much since early-DRose.
After making the 2017–18 All-Rookie first team, expectations were reasonably high for Markkanen, whose 2019 season was delayed by an elbow injury. He responded by looking more engaged on defense, improving his jump shooting shooting and defensive rebounding rate.
Markkanen was playing 32.3 minutes per game pre-All Star break, putting up 18.5 PPG, 8.7 RPG and knocking down 38.3 percent of his 3-pointers. He was even better on catch-and-shoot 3-pointers, and teams rightfully treat that as the primary threat when facing the Bulls, but proper ball movement has occasionally made life easier on Lauri.
We’ve already seen Markkanen, up his rebounding post-All Star break, and his scoring and rebounding numbers have been off the charts as well. When we check back in on him at the end of the season, it will be fun to see just how much his playmaking and ballhandling — his weakest skills among coming into the league — have improved.
Robin Lopez, C:
Robin Lopez has been a great, consistent NBA center all year, and that’s all you can ask for at this point. His raw numbers of 7.9 PPG and 3.2 RPG may not scream improvement, but RoLo has become more efficient on the offensive end.
Per Cleaning The Glass, not much about Lopez’s shot profile has changed, but he is draining the midrange shot at an elite 52 percent rate.
He is still focusing on his hard box outs on defense that free up rebounds for his teammates, and along with the offensive improvement, he has increased his block rate significantly on D.
It’s easy to get mad at Lopez for being a veteran player playing well when you may personally want the team to tank, but just remember that reports indicated that Lopez wants a buyout and we know what heavy Felicio minutes would like, but more on that later.
Oh and RoLo also doubled his 3-point attempts per game from last season, and is shooting 28.6 percent from 3-point range (25 percent pre-All-Star break), while breaking out celebration that even the reigning champs can get behind.
Chandler Hutchison, SF/PF:
Hutchison remains out with a fractured right toe, with no definitive date for return. But in the 44 games he played he showed off some promise. Hutchison is taking over half his shots attempts at the rim, but he is converting them at a 58 percent mark. This a poor number for a forward, a figure that ranks in the 31st percentile per Cleaning the Glass.
Advanced stats don’t favor Hutchison at all. His true shooting percentage is an awful 50.7 percent per NBA.com, and that is because he is posting awful numbers from the free throw line and 3-point line. On top of that, he rarely takes 3-pointers or gets to the charity stripe.
But Hutch has a monster defensive rebounding rate for a forward (16.9 percent) and a positive 1.39 assist-to-turnover ratio. He still has a loooooong way to go as a shooter, but in a more up-tempo offense he should be able to make up for his lack of shooting through sheer grab-and-go ability.
Cristiano Felicio, C:
Last but not…..anyway, Cristiano Felicio has been the same in 2018–19. His field goal percentage at the rim is down slightly, though obviously most of his offense comes from there or the short-midrange area.
His 10.4 minutes per game are the lowest since his rookie year. But with Carter added to the fold, it obviously became hard to find tons of minutes for Felicio. And his lack of rim protection or foot speed to be an effective switch defender make him increasingly tough to trust on D.
His offensive rebound rate (10.1 percent) is in the 77th percentile among bigs per Cleaning the Glass, so that still stands as the strongest part of his game, as it did on day one. Outside of that, keep it movin’ when it comes to discussing Felicio’s contributions to 2018–19 Bulls.
