If the Chicago Bulls can find the right slotting for forward Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, he could be worth consistent minutes amid a host of injuries.
It seems like the rotation for the Chicago Bulls is really starting to thin out at this point of the regular season with some regular starters and role players out with injury. In the loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Feb. 25, the Chicago Bulls were missing point guard Kris Dunn, forward Chandler Hutchison, and center Wendell Carter Jr., all to injury.
Dunn could be returning for the Feb. 27 matchup with the Memphis Grizzlies, but that is still reportedly up in the air. Chicago Bulls head coach Jim Boylen stated that Dunn will be traveling with the team along with small forward Otto Porter Jr. to possibly suit up to face the Grizzlies tonight.
If Dunn and Porter Jr. aren’t fully healthy and ready to return, it doesn’t seem like it’s worth risking further injury and fatigue to two of the team’s more important young players. Porter Jr. first went down with a leg injury in the big Feb. 23 home win over the Boston Celtics. He has yet to play any minutes for the Bulls since.
Boylen says Kris Dunn (migraine) will travel with team to Memphis today. Says both Dunn and Porter (leg strain) questionable for Wed. #Bulls
— Mike McGraw (@McGrawDHSports) February 26, 2019
In the absence of players like Hutchison and Porter Jr., Boylen resorted to giving some heavier minutes to players deeper in the rotation like former Oklahoma City Thunder and Philadelphia 76ers wing Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot. In the loss this past weekend to the Bucks, Luwawu got in the starting five and played 28 minutes.
https://twitter.com/BullsLead/status/1100234099892121600
Luwawu is getting much more playing time in general of late. He double-digits in scoring in an individual game for the first time with the Chicago Bulls and the third time this season in the loss to the Bucks. It was one of his more efficient games, shooting 50 percent from the field and posting 12 points total.
If Porter Jr. and Hutchison are out of the lineup again with the showdown against the Grizzlies looming, Luwawu could be looking at another spot in the starting five. This could be a big opportunity for him to get things rolling finally.
If Boylen does want to keep the usually inefficient Luwawu in the thick of the rotation now, he could get some out of it. Luwawu is a potent developmental talent that still has a high ceiling that he could reach. It seems like that high ceiling is getting further and further away. But, if he’s given a shot in the right situation who knows what could happen.
The other option for Boylen would be to shift the rotation a bit to either play small ball or move some other players like power forward Lauri Markkanen to the five to play even heavier minutes. That is certainly a viable option too if he doesn’t want to give more minutes to Luwawu.