Up-tempo basketball is the path to success for 2019–20 Bulls
The personnel is solid, now time it’s to let the young Bulls run.
The Chicago Bulls are entering the 2019–20 season with a much-improved roster — which is somehow almost both an understatement, but also an overstatement at the same time — and coaching staff. The new additions on the roster and to Boylen’s staff will greatly aid the development of Lauri Markkanen, Wendell Carter Jr. and Zach LaVine. This is more important than anything. At least one of those three players need to develop into a superstar for the Bulls to reach true contender status one day in the future.
Following the on-court blueprint that the 2018–19 Sacramento Kings set would bode well for the Bulls, meaning that now that they have both crawled and walked, it is finally time to let the kids run. A system based on getting out in transition early and often would be great for next year’s Bulls team, as it opens up even more opportunities for the two cornerstones to find each other when defenses are in help-and-recover mode.
Per NBA.com/stats, the 2018–19 Bulls were 5th in the league in 3-point percentage on shots early (18–15 seconds left) in the shot clock. These early shots are often the results of simple reads like the one above and it would behoove the Bulls to put LaVine in these situations even more. LaVine finished with 22.5 assist rate in 2019, which is elite, ranking in the 94th percentile among wings per Cleaning the Glass. And with more scoring threats and improved Markkanen by his side, LaVine could be in a for a career year.
There were times last season when multiple defenders would crash down on Markkanen in the paint, making life hard on “The Finnisher”. Markkanen actually had quite the tough time finishing in the paint —60 percent at the rim, which is very bad, 23rd percentile among bigs per Cleaning the Glass — but this was somewhat expected as he was recovering from injury.
Lauri is quicker than his matchup on a consistent basis and playing a more up-tempo brand of basketball will afford him more opportunities to get easy baskets. Imagine plays like the clip below, but with 2019 №7 overall pick Coby White (35.3 percent from 3 in college) and Tomas Satoransky (career 40 percent 3-point shooter in the NBA) spacing the floor rather than Kris Dunn and Bobby Portis.
The team I brought up the Bulls emulating next year, the Kings, had a league-low 75.2 percent of their plays come in the halfcourt. The Bulls were the exact opposite, with 82.2 percent of their plays coming in the halfcourt, which was good for third-highest in the league.
The Bulls don’t need to completely do away with their San Antonio Spurs impression, but there is no need to bog down the offense with too many set plays. The combination of White and Satoransky in the backcourt, and rookie rim-runner Daniel Gafford and Carter in the frontourt provide horizontal and vertical spacing that will unleash the best versions of Markkanen and LaVine.
Last season the Kings finished with the third-highest pace in the league, the 17th best offense, 18th best defense and a surprising 39–43 record. Reaching anything in the 30s feels like a major win for a Bulls team won 22 games in the 2018–19 season. But that doesn’t mean fans shouldn’t root for this team to snag a playoff spot.
The Bulls front office did a solid job of adding veteran talent that fits their young core, now it is time for everyone in the organization to get on the same page.
Win or lose, there needs to an appealing brand of basketball played next year, especially after some of the rock fights BullsNation had to sit through last season. The Bulls have the personnel to become an effective transition-based offense but if they don’t push the pace, we will need to see them stop their reliance on midrange shots. You’ve heard some form of this before, but the difference is the Bulls now have the pieces in place to actually change the way they play.
The Bulls have yet to fully embrace the 3-point shot, despite posting a 39.7 percent mark on corner 3s in 2018–19. White, Porter, Satoransky and even Thaddeus Young (36 percent on corner 3s in 18–19) will give Carter, Markkanen and LaVine more space to work with than ever before. And the pace that White plays with should open up plenty of opportunities for Carter, who didn’t present much of a threat on offense last season.
So there it is. Playing faster and aggressively hunting for (smart) 3-point shots will open up the Bulls offense, helping our core players develop. And the pace can be increased by upping the pressure on the defensive end, creating more turnovers and dominating the defensive glass as a unit. Playing hard on defense, free on offense and taking lots of efficient, 3-point shots is exactly what the 2018–19 Sacramento Kings did to start their dramatic transformation from rebuilding the team to playoff contender.
It’s time for the 2019–20 Bulls to do the same.
