Did you see how far/much that ball was crushed!? Now all I can think about is sharing the equivalent Coby White highlight, as soon as this season finally gets going and he starts ballin’ out.
Speaking of getting this season started … As I was perusing the Twitter-verse this morning, I came across this important reminder:
In now just over 2 months, the Bulls will play the Bucks at the United Center to debut their 2019/20 pre-season. Hopefully, for the first time EVER, we can see a starting lineup which includes Otto Porter Jr, Lauri Markkanen, Zach LaVine and Wendell Carter play together.
I know last season was dismal, but with a pile of injuries stacking up and the number of minutes on the court dedicated to two-way players, we haven’t actually seen the Bulls starters together at the same time.
Wendell Carter Jr.’s last game of the season was on January 15th, which means he didn’t even appear on the court with newly acquired forward Otto Porter (whose first game with the team wasn’t until February 8th). In fact, as Tom Haberstroh has pointed out, the trio of Porter Jr., Lauri Markkanen and Zach LaVine saw only 325 minutes on the court together last season, themselves. But this season, things can be different.
Throw a healthy Carter Jr. into the rotation with those three, and we’re talking about a style/level of basketball we haven’t yet seen from this group of Bulls. And that’s exciting! These four players are about to grow together on the court right there in front of our eyes, and they might just pleasantly surprise you.
Of course, I wouldn’t expect things to click right away. The Bulls will use training camp and the preseason to get more comfortable with this starting rotation, but the regular season can be an entirely different beast. And while I believe this squad has the potential to get off to a strong start, I’m guessing we’re likely in store for more of a slow, upward trajectory over the course of the season. Considering the additions of Tomas Satoransky, Thaddeus Young, Luke Kornet, and the rookies, this coaching staff will need time to feel out their rotation early on.
Despite being two-years older than Markkanen and not necessarily putting up the same numbers, Kyle Kuzma does get more hype than our Finnish friend. To be fair, Kuzma is a flashy player on the Lakers and Lauri shines less brightly (in more superficial ways) on the Bulls, so it’s not particularly surprising. But if you ask me, I take Markkanen over Kuz any day. They’re obviously different players with different skillsets, but still.
With Markkanen on the mind, it’s the perfect time the shamelessly plug our post from yesterday! We talked about Markkanen’s potential and what it will take for him to step into “All-Star” status. I highly recommend giving it a read (no, I’m not biased).
— NBA The Jump Fanpage (@NBATheJumpFP) July 29, 2019
Speak of the devil! Look at this man get up! ICYMI: Aaron Gordon wants LaVine in the dunk contest again for a rematch… in Chicago! Announce it and I’ll buy my ticket immediately.
This stat is just absurd! If anyone ever tries to come at you with the GOAT conversation, just throw this tweet in their face and walk away like an absolute savage.
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.
Coby White will not be taking home any hardware after his breakout season. The Chicago Bulls guard was in the running for the NBA's Most Improved Player award this season, finishing as one of three finalists for the honor. However,...
Changes are already underway for the Chicago Bulls According to The Athletic's Shams Charania, the Bulls coaching staff is due for a shuffle. HOF player and long-time coach Maurice Cheeks is reportedly leaving his position as a full-time member of...
The 2024 NBA Draft is fast approaching! We're just about two months away from the NBA's premier offseason event. While we don't quite know the order of the teams selecting yet, we're starting to get commitments on who will be...
Nikola Jokic's brothers are in some hot water. During Game 2 of the first-round series between the Nuggets and Lakers, Jokic's brothers could be seen forcefully climbing down a row of seats to confront a fellow fan. A video posted...
After watching the Knicks hit back-to-back 3-pointers to steal the lead and Jamal Murray nail a nasty game-winning mid-range buzzer-beater, I was reminded of how special playoff basketball can be. Of course, I was also reminded of how we haven't...
In case you were sleeping - which let's be honest a lot of us probably were - Jamal Murray hit an awesome buzzer-beater to give the Nuggets a 101-99 Game 2 win over the Lakers. Murray's game-winner was the icing...
The New York Knicks just took a 2-0 lead over the Philadelphia 76ers in a sequence you'll just have to see to believe. With roughly 30 seconds left on the clock down 101-96, the Knicks looked destined to walk out...
Arturas Karnisovas sat in front of the media on Saturday and vowed that changes are coming to the Chicago Bulls. However, one report immediately puts into question how significant those changes will be. NBC Sports Chicago's K.C. Johnson reported shortly...
The Athletic released their anonymous NBA player survey on Monday, and the Chicago Bulls were surprisingly well-represented. While not all 142 players answered every question, the sample size is still large enough to get a pretty decent understanding of how...
Michael Jordan can't stop winning. The Chicago Bulls legend got a victory at Talladega Superspeedway this weekend. His racing team – 23XI Racing – took home the Cup Series victory thanks to Tyler Reddick's driving. While his crew has taken home...
The Milwaukee Brewers (14-8) hope to avoid an upset as -116 favorites when they take on Andrew McCutchen (with homers in two straight contests) and the Pittsburgh Pirates (13-11). First pitch is at 6:40 PM ET Wednesday, live from PNC...
The Tampa Bay Rays (12-13) and Detroit Tigers (14-10) meet Wednesday at Tropicana Field, starting at 6:50 PM ET on BSSUN. The Rays are -121 moneyline favorites for the contest, however, the Tigers are favored against the spread of 1.5...
Led by Shohei Ohtani (two-game homer streak), the Los Angeles Dodgers (14-11) are favorites versus the Washington Nationals (10-12) Wednesday at 6:45 PM ET. Bookmakers have named the Dodgers as -186 favorites for the game, which airs on SportsNet LA.Los...
The Miami Marlins (6-19 look to avoid the sweep when they visit the Atlanta Braves (16-6) in the final game of a three-game set. Bookmakers have listed the Braves as -240 favorites, while the Marlins are +198 underdogs to pick...
The Cincinnati Reds (13-10) and Philadelphia Phillies (15-9) meet Wednesday at Great American Ball Park, starting at 6:40 PM ET on BSOH. The Reds are -114 moneyline favorites for the contest, however, the Phillies are favored against the spread of...
The New York Yankees (16-8) are set to take on the Oakland Athletics (9-15) Wednesday at 7:05 PM ET, airing on Amazon Prime Video. The Yankees are listed as -228 favorites by oddsmakers, while the underdog Athletics have +187 odds...
The Houston Astros (7-17) square off against the Chicago Cubs (14-9) on Wednesday at Wrigley Field after a three-game losing streak. The contest starts at 7:40 PM ET.The probable pitchers are Jameson Taillon (1-0) for the Cubs and Spencer Arrighetti...
The Toronto Blue Jays (13-11) visit Kansas City to face the Kansas City Royals (14-10) at 7:40 PM ET on Wednesday.The Blue Jays will give the nod to Yariel Rodriguez and the Royals will counter with Alec Marsh (3-0, 3.22...
The Chicago White Sox (3-20) bring a five-game losing streak into a road contest against the Minnesota Twins (9-13) at 7:40 PM ET on Wednesday.The probable pitchers are Joe Ryan (0-1) for the Twins and Garrett Crochet (1-3) for the...
The Seattle Mariners (12-11) play on Wednesday in Arlington against the Texas Rangers (12-12). First pitch is at 8:05 PM ET.This contest's pitching matchup is set, as the Rangers will send Jon Gray (0-1) to the mound, while Bryce Miller...
NEWSLETTER
