A rusty Game 1 is in the books! Last night marked my highly-anticipated return to the world of organized hoops. There was a line around the block full of adoring fans and youngsters dying to get their replicas of my high school intramural jersey signed.
The league features 20-minute halves with two refs on the floor and subs on the bench. Sure, it may have been in the gym of a catholic middle school, but the adrenaline was pumping like head coach Billy Donovan just threw me in with 2:00 minutes left against the Greek Freak.
Good news: I hit the first bucket for my squad – a 3-pointer at the top of the key – and didn’t look like a fragile stack of bones running up and down the court. Bad news: I air-balled my only other 3-point attempt, and we let the opponent pull away in the final minutes to start the year 0-1.
I also woke up with a heavily swollen and jammed ring finger. BUT I DON’T RUN FROM THE GRIND, FOLKS. We’re going to rest up, watch some tape, and prioritize crashing the glass and looking for my shot a little more in Game 2.
I tried to take on a very similar role last night to what we’ll see from Torrey Craig this season. I wasn’t the main offensive weapon, but I hit a few open looks, forced a couple of turnovers, and simply tried to be in the right place at the right time. I expect all of that and more from Craig as he becomes one of the Bulls’ most important role players next season. And, if he meets those expectations, he could very well feel like one of the best minimum signings of the offseason. In case you missed it, we wrote a little bit more about his surprising contract earlier this week:
Who starts at power forward will be the most fascinating storyline of training camp. I understand that some might naturally gravitate toward the point guard discussion between Jevon Carter and Coby White, but both feel like similarly “fine” options. Neither player is considered a true point guard nor a particularly gifted facilitator. With that said, both are capable of pushing the pace in transition and hitting their open catch-and-shoot 3s. The only reason I can see Carter having the upper hand right now is simply because of his more proven on-ball defense.
As for the power forward slot, the Bulls are in desperate need of more physicality and rebounding. Craig snagged a career-high 5.4 rebounds per game last season, including 2.7 OREBs per 36 minutes. Williams has continued to struggle when it comes to consistently cleaning the glass, which is something I’m sure the coaching staff will keep in mind. Where Williams should have the edge on Craig, however, is in the physicality department. While Craig is a switchable and talented defender, there is little question that Williams’ frame and sheer athleticism can be a real asset. I’d also say that there is comfortably more offensive upside with Williams. But this could actually end up as a reason to put him in the second unit, as he’ll be able to tap into this side of his game more without Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Nikola Vucevic on the floor.
When we consider how important Williams remains to the Bulls’ long-term future, I’d probably prefer to see him eating up starting minutes. But I also can’t deny that Craig is a great fit next to the team’s “Big 3” on paper. We’ll just have to wait and see where Donovan’s head is at. If one thing is for sure, this is a decent problem to have.
I guess the other sneaky option at the four would be Alex Caruso. We all know the team tends to be at its most efficient when Caruso is on the floor, so permanently adding him to the starting lineup might be on the table. With that said, I just don’t want Caruso to be tasked with that size matchup on a nightly basis. While we’ve seen him play the spot before and Donovan has shown he isn’t afraid to play small with Jevonte Green at PF, I’d either start Caruso in the backcourt or keep him off the bench to have maximum flexibility with his minutes throughout the game.
Speaking of which, if Caruso is part of the second unit, I’m going to immediately go door-to-door to begin his Sixth Man of the Year campaign. I know the bucket-getters will always take home the honor, but why can’t an argument be made that Caruso’s impact off the bench is even greater? I mean, the dude was an All-NBA First Team member last season and only started 36 games. As far as I’m concerned, a player like that should be in the conversation.
Coby White continues to work on his ball-handling. I’m very glad the team made re-signing him a priority this summer.
If I had to guess, these recent Christian Wood rumors are likely founded on his camp trying to leverage a greater payday. In other words, I wouldn’t be shocked if the Bulls’ interest is minimal, but Wood’s agents are using their recently acquired DPE as a way to make other front offices think they need to submit a more competitive offer.
The Phoenix Suns are reportedly looking into adding a G-League team, per The Athletic. This would officially mean that every NBA franchise has a G-League affiliate. All things considered, I’m really glad that we continue to see this side of the league growing. There is so much darn talent out there, and the more opportunities those players have to show what they can do, the better. Honestly, there is much freakin’ talent that expansion should be only a few years away.
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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