This morning, I was going to tweet about how the last time the Bulls played the Celtics, they suffered that atrocious 56-point loss.
However, I totally forgot that the Bulls somehow beat the Celtics at the end of last season 126-116 thanks to a 42-point performance from Zach LaVine. If Chicago stands any chance of making it two-straight against Boston, LaVine is probably going to have to drop 50.
Psssh, easy peasy.
Coby Content Alert!! NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson sat down with the Bulls rookie to discuss the start of his NBA career. Earlier this week, White mentioned hitting the “rookie wall” in mid-December, which makes quite a bit sense when considering the slower-nature he grew accustomed to last season in the NCAA. The Bulls’ last game against the Jazz marked White’s 35th game in the NBA, which ties the total amount he played last year with North Carolina.
White tells Johnson that the physical aspect of the NBA has been a far bigger challenge than the mental. With White relying heavily on his speed and transition game, it’s not surprising to hear that he lost his legs a bit. Also, like many rookies, White had to learn what it takes off the court to compete at the NBA level: “You have to take your recovery serious. You gotta eat right. There’s a lot that goes into it besides just on the court. Off the court is a main ingredient also. That has surprised me.” Time to hire an entourage of chefs and personal trainers!
Anyway, I recommend giving the Q&A a read. White saves his best answer for last when simply asked whether he’s “having fun.” Spoiler Alert: He’s having A LOT of fun.
Zach LaVine is making his presence felt.
LaVine currently sits 10th in total points, one spot behind Donovan Mitchell and one ahead of Devin Booker. Hm, he sounds like an All-Star to me.
Sam Smith talks third-quarter woes, Markkanen’s resurgence, the trade market, and much more in his latest mailbag.
Although, the question he tackles first has been on my mind lately as well: What should the Bulls do with Dunn when Porter returns? I want to say the answer is obvious and Dunn moves back to his spot on the bench, however, the team can’t discredit everything he’s done to bump this team’s defensive rating. Dunn has single-handedly limited players like Trae Young, Donovan Mitchell, Jimmy Butler, and Kyle Lowry (among others). The Bulls need him on their opponent’s best backcourt player, and (duh) he can’t accomplish that if he’s on the bench. Still, Porter’s two-way talent and veteran presence are obviously needed in the lineup, so the only other option, if the Bulls want Dunn in the starting lineup, is to bench Satoransky. Smith mentions, Satoransky could work well with White in the second unit (it would help channel White’s scoring ability even more), but the starting lineup also needs him out there to facilitate. He hasn’t been a liability on defense and his general basketball IQ is too high to throw on the bench in favor of Dunn. All in all, it’s a bit of a tricky situation.
At the moment, NBC Sports Chicago’s Mark Schanowski has the Bulls picking 13th in the 2020 NBA Draft. Thoughts?
WE STAN WENDELL!
WE REALLY STAN WENDELL.
Chandler Hutchison played a rehab game in the G-League last night, and, uh, I think he might be ready to come back.
https://twitter.com/BN_Bulls/status/1213308164415905792?s=20
The second-year player who’s missed 16 games with a shoulder injury, had 14 points, 11 rebounds, 3 steals, and 3 blocked shots in last night’s game. Yeah, it’s the G-League, but he dominated across the stat sheet … as he should.
Aaron Gordon and LaVine need to say they’re doing the dunk contest already.
https://twitter.com/BR_NBA/status/1213262973247975426?s=20
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