2. Otto Porter Jr., Small Forward
The wing depth problem for the Chicago Bulls is partly due to injuries and also due to poor play on the court. This left Bulls head coach Jim Boylen scrambling for solutions, and he’s not doing well with the void of his top two small forwards thus far.
The focal point on the wing for the Bulls should be the former Washington Wizards small forward Otto Porter Jr. Behind him is the former Boise State Broncos wing and 2018 Bulls first round draft pick Chandler Hutchison.
Boylen needs Hutchison to keep progressing and come back healthy on a regular basis. Mainly, Porter Jr. is the key to the Bulls success on the wing.
Hutchison and Porter Jr. have both played in less than half of the Bulls games during the regular season (we’re 19 games in).
So far this season, Hutchison has the lowest box plus/minus rating on the team (-5.1). He did show signs of improvement when healthy this season, but he has clear faults that will be tough to progress. Hutchison doesn’t have much of any value as a creator or spot up shooter from deep in a halfcourt offensive set.
Moreover, there is still about one week until Porter Jr. is reassessed with his foot injury that held him out of game action for going on almost one month. The last time that Porter Jr. saw the floor in a Bulls uniform was against the Los Angeles Lakers in a loss at home at the United Center. His numbers (11.2 points per game, and 13.6 player efficiency rating) when he was healthy weren’t great either.