Time For A Bounce Back, Fixing the Defense, Getting Healthier, and Other Bulls Bullets

Once again, being in a relationship with the girl who lived five houses down from me growing up has proven all kinds of clutch. She and I were able to easily cross off time with both families during this complicated holiday season (and did so in a safe manner, might I add). So, to all you young BNers out there, if you like the girl or boy from next door, just go ahead and lock them up for the long-haul. Life becomes a bit easier.

•   As far as I’m concerned, Wednesday never happened. The Bulls never went down 40 to the Hawks. Coby White never not shot 2-11 from the field. And the starters never looked like one of the most dysfunctional units in the NBA. If anything, this definitely-did-not happen game was just another preseason contest, one that provided another batch of learning experiences. The Bulls can now show us exactly what they’ve learned in tonight’s matchup against the Indiana Pacers.

•   All things considered, this is a harder game for the Bulls. The Hawks are certainly a much-improved squad from last season, but the Pacers are still a multi-All-Star filled, playoff-caliber squad. They swept this familiar Bulls team in all four games they played last season, and that was without a couple of key players in each matchup. Indiana may not be fully healthy yet again, but they should have their most important personnel on the floor – Victor Oladipo, Malcolm Brogdon, and Domantas Sabonis. The Bulls backcourt already had their hands full with Trae Young, and while neither Brogdon or Oladipo can score at the same explosive rate, they are two of the more well-rounded guards in the league. Coby White and Zach LaVine did not do much to ease nerves about their defensive limitations, so tonight is another good opportunity to take a step in the right direction.

•   This is also a good opportunity for us to see just how big of a difference Billy Donovan’s presence can make. With Jim Boylen at the helm, this team mastered the art of spiraling out of control. The player’s lack of buy-in would lead to a head-down mentality that made it that much easier to stack-up losses. Donovan has become known for having his team do pretty much the exact opposite. We’ve seen Donovan-led squads play with short memories and with no absence of motivation. After all, his OKC team was one of the most clutch groups in the NBA last season. What is already encouraging to see – and it is silly that I even have to point this out – is the fact that Donovan referenced specifically what the team must do better moving forward. Ya know, rather than saying the team’s “spirit,” “soul,” “character,” and “effort” have to improve and that he coaches “by faith.”

•   The Bulls have plenty of speed in their backcourt with Zach LaVine and Coby White, and they also happen to have two big men in Lauri Markkanen and Wendell Carter Jr. who can run the floor quite well. However, despite that fast and athletic starting group, the team looked plenty slow in transition last week. Like, I know they were excited about being able to reserve some of their energy for the offensive side of the ball with the removal of the blitz-heavy defense, but that doesn’t mean they can just take off possessions on that end of the floor. I also think the third point Donovan mentioned in the tweet above is key to their success on both offense and defense. The Bulls played with some concerning tunnel vision for practically the entire game. As we all know from watching preseason, as well as the numerous Donovan press conferences, that is pretty much exactly what this team is not supposed to do. This is an equal opportunity system on offense and a help-based system on defense. This roster doesn’t have a superstar – Donovan knows that – which means these players must constantly think about how they fit the group rather than how the group fits them.

•   Something that I think should help this team moving forward is the return of guys like Tomas Satoransky, Garrett Temple, and Denzel Valentine. Sato may be the only one who is guaranteed a consistent role in the rotation, but all three of these guys can provide something the Bulls clearly lacked on Wednesday. Satoransky can be a security blanket for when White is struggling to distribute, and he’s also another long, versatile body that can help on defense. I know Valentine isn’t the most exciting player for Bulls fans, but there is a reason this team decided to extend him a qualifying offer. The fourth-year guard is actually one of the team’s better passers, and he should be able to help promote the kind of ball movement Donovan wants in the second unit. Temple, on the other hand, is basically a jack of all trades. He is a component defender and an overall solid veteran presence for such a young (and, thus, oftentimes reckless) team.

•   Great read ahead of tonight’s game.

•   Funny enough, arguably the best play from Wednesday’s season-opener (which, again, didn’t really happen) came from the guy with the least experience. Bulls rookie Patrick Williams received his first start in his first-ever (non-preseason) NBA game, and he put together one of the best debut’s out of any rookie in the 2020 class. Time to see if he can build off such a strong outing in what will be a tougher test against the Pacers.

•   My heart … it’s so warm.

written by

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.

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