It’s Daniel Gafford’s Time To Shine, No Zion (Yet), Scottie Wants Zach, and Other Bulls Bullets

Jan 08, 2020

Tomas Satoransky is playing well, and I will not hear otherwise.

Tomas Satoransky is 14th in total assists among starting guards. He's also 7th in total steals.

I know some weren't too excited by his signing this offseason, but he's showing why several analysts saw him as one of the more underrated guards in the league. I'm a fan.

— Elias Schuster (@Schuster_Elias) January 7, 2020

Bullets time!

Daniel Gafford has gone from benchwarmer to (likely) starter over the course of the Bulls first 37 games. Despite proving to be quite the force in Summer League and preseason, head coach Jim Boylen opted to keep him out of the rotation and on the sideline for the team’s first 13 games of the season. Then, the second-round pick dropped 21 points in his first real taste of NBA action on November 18th against the Milwaukee Bucks. In other words, he gave Boylen a metaphorical middle finger.

For the most part, since his breakout performance, Gafford has taken over the primary backup duties to Wendell Carter Jr. He currently leads the Bulls in effective field goal percentage (68.8 percent) and leads the NBA in blocks per 36 minutes (for players who have played at least 20 games). With Wendell Carter Jr. suffering an ankle injury in Monday night’s game against the Dallas Mavericks (which we still haven’t gotten a real update on), Gafford will likely be inserted into the starting lineup tonight against New Orleans. I think some of Gafford’s success can easily be attributed to his matchups against second-unit bigs, but I’d be very excited to see the energy he could bring to this starting group. NBC Sports Chicago has more on his possible start.

Mark Schanowski is also reminding us, there is a lot to like about Gafford’s game already. My only major remaining question, can he had a jumper?

It's not just the dunks…. even though we really love the dunks. @MarkSchanowski takes a closer look at what else Daniel Gafford brings to the Bulls pic.twitter.com/G19WitUdRi
— Bulls Talk (@NBCSBulls) January 8, 2020

According to the Pelicans injury report, the Bulls will not be on the other end of Zion Williamson’s NBA debut. In fact, the Bulls are catching yet another shorthanded team, as the Pelicans announced yesterday that Jrue Holiday will miss his second-straight game with an elbow contusion. If the Bulls want to get “back on track” (Full disclosure, I’m not quite sure what that track is right now), a win against the Pelicans tonight feels like a good place to start. The last four games should be the Bulls hardest stretch of the season until around the end of March (when they go Heat, Celtics, Heat). Of course, the rest of the Bulls schedule from this point on is significantly harder than anything they’ve seen before, but for what’s it’s worth, they should not be playing another prolonged stint against all above .500 teams until March.

Reminder: Shaquille Harrison’s contract became fully guaranteed yesterday. The Bulls are now on the books to owe him $1,620,564 this season.

Contracts for the below players will become guaranteed today (5PM EST):

BOS: Ja. Green
CHA: Ca. Martin and J. McDaniels
CHI: S. Harrison
DET: C. Wood
HOU: B. McLemore, G. Clark and I. Hartenstein
LAC: D. Walton Jr.
LAL: D. Howard
MEM: B. Caboclo

— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) January 7, 2020

If Scottie wants Zach, I think that means he has to do it, right?

https://twitter.com/ScottiePippen/status/1214707215518572544?s=20

Do I think Anthony Davis is coming to Chicago? Heck no. Does this “technically” mean it’s possible now … sure.

Anthony Davis Reportedly Rejects Extension Offer from Lakers, Will Instead Aim for Free Agencyhttps://t.co/s5EsqpdAW9

— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) January 7, 2020

Derrick Rose is going OFF.

Derrick Rose tonight

24 points
7 assists
3 rebounds
1 steal

Last 5 games
28 PTS – 5 AST
22 PTS – 2 AST
14 PTS – 6 AST
20 PTS – 4 AST
24 PTS – 4 AST pic.twitter.com/OAPFnzKLB5

— NBA Central (@TheNBACentral) January 8, 2020

The former Bulls star is having arguably his best season since leaving Chicago. He is averaging 17.5 points off the bench this season with 5.8 assists. Specifically, over his last six games, Rose is averaging 22 points per game and shooting 40 percent or better from both the field and downtown. He’ll make his return to Chicago during the All-Star break for the Skills Competition, but at this rate, he also might very well be in the game itself.

I’ve never been so excited for the Skills Competition. https://t.co/whvBtjrD4E

— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) January 7, 2020

No right hook? Kentavious got lucky.

Bobby Portis clocked Kentavious Caldwell-Pope across the noggin, knocking KCP's headband off and sending the Lakers guard sprawling to the floor. After an official's review, Portis was assessed a flagrant 2 foul and ejected.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) January 8, 2020

written by

Elias Schuster

Elias Schuster is the Lead Chicago Bulls writer at Bleacher Nation. He started with BN full-time in 2019 immediately after graduating from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign with a degree in Journalism (yes, he started with the Jim Boylen Era). Since joining, Elias has been the driving force behind Bulls and NBA content for both the site and social accounts. You can follow him on Twitter/X @Schuster_Elias.

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It’s Daniel Gafford’s Time To Shine, No Zion (Yet), Scottie Wants Zach, and Other Bulls Bullets

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