NEWSLETTER
Monday Mood = Missin’ the boys.
Coming soon to a TV near you … pic.twitter.com/bUoa6NO7Na
— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) November 9, 2020
• Ah, remember one year ago? No constant sanitizing. No social distancing. No fear to go outside. No confidence in the Bulls. Those were the days, er, well, if you remove that last thing. On November 9th, 2019, the Chicago Bulls showed us exactly who they were going to be all season – a team with absolutely no structure but just enough talent to tease fans every single game. Against the Houston Rockets, they kept things interesting for about two and a half quarters, even entering halftime down only a single point. The crew was then outscored 36-18 in the third quarter before losing an ultimately uncompetitive contest 117-94. What a joy to watch.
• Of course, like every grotesque loss last season, the Bulls still had a solid individual performance that gave fans an ounce of hope for the future. Against the Rockets Wendell Carter Jr. dropped 13 points and 16 rebounds in what would be his sixth double-double in 10 games. The game was by no means his best of the season, but upon a rewatch, it made me think about what he could potentially do for this team under Billy Donovan.
• He caught a couple of lobs and played with active feet on the offensive end. He only had two assists, but those passes reiterated his natural court vision.
• I also loved the fact that we saw him pop a transition 3 and mid-range jumper. Both may have missed the bottom of the net, but he played with a level of confidence on that end that, unfortunately, went away as the season dragged on. My favorite play, though, came when Satoransky fed the ball to Carter Jr. along the perimeter and he took one bounce to get to the hoop for the and-one. More of that, please.
• Anyway, it just felt like Carter Jr. was all over the floor in this game, which is what I expect to see next season. Whether it be Al Horford, Domantas Sabonis, Joakim Noah, Steven Adams, or Serge Ibaka, Donovan has grown accustomed to coaching big men. He knows how to get them involved and put them in a position to succeed. Carter Jr. became an afterthought as the season went on under Boylen, and I think it’s pretty safe to say he stands to benefit the most from a change of head coach.
• Bleacher Report tabs Otto Porter as one of the top-5 best 3-and-D players *technically* on the free-agent market (I say technically because there is a 0.5% chance Porter doesn’t pick up his $28.5 million player option this offseason). I think this should serve as a reminder that people still view Porter as a very solid talent; he just hasn’t been able to stay healthy. We talked about this more a couple of weeks back, but the Bulls really do have a lot to gain if Porter can just stay on the court … whether it be in the win-column or in the trade market.
• Interested in the complicated pre-draft process this year? Here’s an interesting read. As an aside, I continue to hear concerns about “overthinking” this draft. Executives have had so much time to evaluate talent, and there is a good chance it has been enough time to talk themselves into doing something they’d normally never do. I don’t think this will be an issue for the Bulls new front office, but I can totally understand the concern.
• Speaking of talking yourself into something, is there a world where the Bulls take Obi Toppin? I don’t see it with Lauri Markkanen and Carter Jr. on the roster, but the Bulls are probably not concerned about stacking up depth at a particular position. This draft is all about adding talent, and Toppin is one of the best options in this draft class.
If the Bulls draft Obi Toppin, a logjam of big men would eventually need to be solved, writes @KCJHoophttps://t.co/6EaZ8GVmgx
— Bulls Talk (@NBCSBulls) November 9, 2020
• Sterling Brown has been one of the league’s most important advocates for change, and The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported he will work continue the fight against systemic racism as a board member of the NBA’s Social Justice Coalition.
Bucks‘ Sterling Brown has reached a $750,000 settlement with city of Milwaukee for his civil rights lawsuit accusing police officers of race-based arrest and excessive force in January 2018, @TheAthleticNBA learned. https://t.co/3P87TPF3lb
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 9, 2020
