Woke up looking forward to the leftover pizza I can have for lunch and BULLS BASKETBALL IN THREE DAYS. It’s the little things in life, people.
• The Chicago Bulls may be on a more optimistic path after this internally eventful offseason, but they still have a lot of work to do on the court before they can garner national recognition. In the 2020-21 season, the organization is only scheduled to have one nationally televised game over their first 37 contests. For some reason, yet again, that matchup will come against the Philadelphia 76ers on February 19th. With the NBA releasing the schedule in two parts, I suppose the Bulls may play well enough in the first half to warrant more national coverage, but I wouldn’t advise anyone to get their hopes up. In fact, as weird as it sounds, not having nationally televised games for this young team might prove to be an advantage. According to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, the league has advised teams that played deep into the bubble to rest players in games that aren’t on national TV.
New ESPN story: The NBA sent a memo to teams Monday giving them flexibility, specifically early in the season, to rest players in non-national TV games, including veterans "who played a substantial role on a team that advanced deep into the 2020 Playoffs." https://t.co/AqedsA6HHB
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) December 7, 2020
• Over the first 12 games of the season, the Bulls are scheduled to play the following teams: Milwaukee, Dallas, Portland, Los Angeles (Lakers), Los Angeles (Clippers), and Boston. I’m not saying we should go into any of these matchups expecting star players to sit, but we also shouldn’t be too surprised if they do. And while I want this young Bulls team to be tested early by playing these tough teams at full strength … I also wouldn’t mind seeing their win probability go up in a few games. Additionally, this still gives the team something to strive for. The chip on the shoulder mentality is rarely a bad thing, and this team has yet to prove they deserve any extra eyes. Not to mention, those extra eyes can oftentimes come with extra scrutiny, and I don’t think this team needs any more of that right now.
• I feel like I’m fangirling over an accountant. He crunches some numbers in the calculator, and I scream. He takes a sip of his coffee, and I shed a happy tear. He opens an excel sheet, and I faint. All things considered, Billy Donovan is a regular head coach. And, all things considered, that’s so freaking exciting. Sure, it helps that he has a proven track record and a winning resume, but I’m just so relieved by the fact that he is normal. Listening to his press conferences have been excitingly uneventful, and his plans for the roster seem to be refreshingly sensical. For those who want to claim that nothing has yet changed inside this organization, I point toward Donovan as a clear example of the opposite.
Our Coach ✊@BMOHarrisBank | #BullsNation pic.twitter.com/1TXhsXIeOT
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) December 7, 2020
• Even better, the players sound like they absolutely love the guy. Perhaps some of that is also triggered by a newfound infatuation with normalcy, but I have to bet a bulk of it is truly because they can already tell Donovan is a damn good coach. Practically every player who has spoken to the media over the past week or so has sung his praises, and the Chicago Tribune’s Jamal Collier shared those positive thoughts in the post below:
Players have taken the high road on openly criticizing their old coach, but having not-Jim Boylen on the sideline seems refreshing: https://t.co/LpuT4kKPzy pic.twitter.com/PBLwfpvHYy
— Jamal Collier (@JamalCollier) December 8, 2020
• Look, buying into what the head coach is selling is at least half the battle for a successful team. The roster’s disdain for Jim Boylen was like Shaq trying to hide behind a fire hydrant – obvious. To truly see what this young talent had to offer, the front office needed to find a head coach that could put them in a position to succeed and earn their respect. Donovan still has a lot to prove in Chicago, but all signs point to him being the right coach to do just that.
• Billy Donovan has been a coaching chameleon over the past couple of seasons. However, there are still some things his recent teams did that we should expect to translate over to the Bulls this season.
What We Can Guess About the New Bulls Offensive System from Billy Donovan’s Pasthttps://t.co/Vv02hZz9cR
— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) December 7, 2020
• “Different Wendell” continues to be one of the key phrases this offseason.
Coby White said Wendell Carter Jr. has been shooting 3s "really well" at camp. Said he'll get chance to handle, make reads and shoot more this year
"He's gonna get to show a lot more versatility… Everyone's going to see a way different Wendell and it's gonna be better for us."
— Rob Schaefer (@rob_schaef) December 7, 2020
• I don’t care if the next season hasn’t even started yet, this organization has already come a long way.
the double loss! https://t.co/zhchhQzyWq
— Jason Patt (@Bulls_Jay) December 8, 2020