I’m getting sick of season previews, lists, and rankings. I want some real #content and numbers off which to base things already!
Anyway, here’s the bullets, which are slightly late this morning because of the Bradley Beal extension news (in case you missed it).
The Chicago Bulls have a dress rehearsal tonight. After four games full of positivity, the Atlanta Hawks come to town to close out the preseason. Looking ahead to next week’s season-opener against the Charlotte Hornets, we should see the Bulls run, what they anticipate to be, their regular-season rotation. So keep an eye out for that.
As you know, Tomas Satoransky was officially announced as the starting point guard yesterday, which leaves Kris Dunn and Coby White to fight for No. 2. Although, we may not really have a clear idea of who’s this team’s number two with their issues at the wing. To start the season, I expect Dunn and White getting a lot of the same minutes and manning the second-unit backcourt together.
If Atlanta runs with their full starting rotation, this should be a great test for the Bulls. Trae Young and John Collins come with a lot of firepower, and after back-to-back close games in March last season (one was 4OT’s), I can see this growing into a rivalry. Both teams are at similar points in their rebuild, but Chicago’s offseason likely pushed them one step ahead of Atlanta (Wow, a good offseason!). I know it’s still the preseason, but if I’m Boylen, I’m telling my guys to take this game seriously.
Why? I’m glad you asked. The Bulls start the regular season off with four of the first five games against the Hornets, Grizzlies, Knicks, and Cavaliers (four teams who missed the playoffs last season/should be below them in Eastern Conference this season) – obviously, that’s not the best competition, but it is an opportunity to gain some early momentum.
For more of a preview on tonight’s game, check out Sam Smith’s article from earlier this morning.
Hey, the Bulls are big, and that’s worth something!
NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson put out a mailbag earlier today. A good amount of “ceiling” and “X-factor” talk, so check it out if that’s up your alley.
Is Bleacher Report trying to make up for completely disrespected Zach LaVine in their shooting guard rankings? LaVine has found his way onto the “Players Ready for Career Years” list with guys like Lonzo Ball, Jayson Tatum, and Devin Booker. That’s a nice way to make up for – oh, wait – Bleacher Report listed LaVine as getting snubbed from this year’s All-Star roster. Cool.
Markkanen at least found his way onto Dan Favale’s Top-15 power forward’s list … barely. The big man was put at No. 15 behind Julius Randle, Domantas Sabonis, and Robert Covington. I think it’s fair to say his ceiling is WAY higher than several of the players ahead of him, but I understand he still has to prove it with consistency. I do want to say though, a lot of these lists recently have been #wack.
You can barely see anything in this video but even the idea of Coby White in pinstripes is content I’m here for.
https://twitter.com/chicagobulls/status/1184563236395462656?s=20