Two Positives and Two Negatives on the Bulls’ First 2020 Preseason Game
The Bulls faced the Houston Rockets on Friday, their first game played in the United Center post COVID-19 since March 10, and the Bulls were not tantalizing to say the least, losing the exhibition game, 125–104.
Since it is only preseason, these games cannot be taken too close to heart. However, there were still some subtle parts of the game that may allude to opportunities and risks that the Bulls need to assess. So let’s look at some of these in detail:
Positives
- Wendell Carter Jr. will pull the trigger
Wendell Carter Jr. may have surprised us all; taking five three-pointers on opening night. Despite going (0–5) from deep, seeing him have the courage to take them and Billy Donovan’s trust is a good sign to me.
“They felt good. I know I’m a good shooter. We just implemented this offense [maybe] a month ago. [You know] Its all new for me. I went from just a dive guy to rebounding, blocking shots, and now that I am stretching the floor they trust me with the ball [you know] they trust me with the ball. First Preseason game, I tested the waters. More than likely I wont be popping as much as I was tonight but I wanted to see how it felt,” said Wendell Carter Jr. after the game.
Carter Jr. will possibly see more three-point shooting opportunities entering his third season. Many believe he’s a bit overrated and undersized for his position but he is an essential part of the starting lineup nonetheless. So his aggressiveness offensively is positive.
Also, subtly during an interview question when asked about Billy Donovan post game, he said Billy’s first name then quickly corrected himself to say “Coach Donovan.” Even though this is a general rule of thumb, it represents a lot of deference that Wendell Carter Jr. has to Coach Donovan and gives a totally different tone towards the coaching staff from when Boylen was in office.
2. Vonleh could be a hidden gem and the voice off the bench
Noah Vonleh has bounced around a lot in this league since getting drafted in 2014 and now he is getting his second stint with the Bulls after appearing in 21 games with the Bulls back In 2017-18 season. Vonleh showed aggression that I have not seen in a Bulls power forward since Bobby Portis (ironically they wore the same jersey No. 5 with the Bulls). The one-year signing went over a lot of people’s heads (including myself) but it is one that could ignite this Bulls bench. Vonleh is a very abrasive finisher in the paint and rebounder that the Bulls may need alongside Patrick Williams coming off the bench. Vonleh brings passion that Cristiano Felicio and Luke Kornet don’t have and he is more poised and skilled than Daniel Gafford, not to mention he is only 25. Vonleh brings the energy intangibles and skill that the Bulls desperately need in a big coming off the bench.
Negatives
1. Coby White will need some help defensively
Throughout most of his play on Friday night, Coby White was flat out getting worked by John Wall of the Houston Rockets. John Wall returned tonight for the first time with the Rockets after missing nearly two seasons after an Achilles injury, and got every where he wanted to on the court against White.
Coby White’s defense has been pointed as a liability as early as last season and it may cause problems for this Bulls team down the road. The Eastern Conference has gotten significantly better and White will have tough competition at point guard facing players like Trae Young, Russell Westbrook, LaMelo Ball, Cole Anthony, Killian Hayes and Collin Sexton, all players playing for teams that were fighting at the bottom of the Eastern Conference last year and will likely be in competition with the Bulls in seeding.
White was not heavily criticized for his defense last year because he wowed fans with his amazing offensive spurts on a terrible offensive team but he will more than likely be playing under a microscope this season. Defensive growth and stability as a playmaker and floor pacer are what many are looking for in Coby White’s upcoming season. Especially with Kris Dunn no longer here.
2. The Bulls may still be a pretty bad 3-point shooting team.
The Bulls shot 11 of 34 (32.4 percent) from 3-point range, which was very painful to watch as they shot brick after brick after brick. This percentage unfortunately, is very much congruent with how they shot last season which was 34.8% from three-point range. The Bulls didn’t do much this offseason to get three-point shooting threats outside of signing Garret Temple. Otto Porter Jr. is expected to play a lot more seeing that he is past his injury which could improve the Bulls’ percentage slightly, but the Bulls lack elite perimeter shooters outside of Zach LaVine. Their shooting from deep will rely mightily on the Bulls improving intrinsically. With a shortened preseason of four games, they will not have a ton of time to get into a groove so let’s hope that they were just rusty this game.
There were some other interesting takeaways during the game as well such as Patrick Williams showing confidence and the lack of defense against a scorching hot-shooting Rockets team, but I am not addressing these in detail yet because the Bulls had a ninth-rated defense in the NBA last year leading the entire league with 10.0 steals a game. Even though Dunn and Harrison are gone, I’m not sure if this will be an issue this season. I’ve also already highlighted some of the strengths that Patrick Williams conveyed in some of my previous articles, so I would like to analyze his play and the team defense a bit more in the upcoming preseason games.
