Chicago Bulls: Comparing this team to our last playoff team
By Keith Cork
2016-17 Notable Players: Jerian Grant, Michael Carter-Williams, Doug McDermott, Paul Zipser, Bobby Portis (6th Man), and Taj Gibson
Vs.
2019-20 Notable Players: Kris Dunn, Ryan Arcidiacono, Coby White (6th Man), Denzel Valentine, Thaddeus Young, and Daniel Gafford
The Bulls have always relied pretty heavily on their benches. According to NBA.com they rank 11th this year in giving them minutes per game whereas the bench logged enough to earn them 9th in 2016-17. The Clippers obviously have the best bench in the league, but the Bulls are up there this season at 10th with 38.5 points per game contributed per contest.
In 2016-17 they scored just 34.1 and were actually 28th in the league in field goal percentage in the second unit. Hilariously, they are also 28th in the league this year in percentage and are a whole percentage point lower than their predecessors.
The Bulls are 18th in the league currently in plus minus with a -1.1 differential while their bench is in, compared to just -0.1 in 2016-17, good enough for 12th in the league. The Bulls benches have a shockingly mirrored 32.9% success rate from three-point land, but it happened to rank them several spots lower in 2016-17.
In short, this seems like a wash though I’d give the current Bulls squad a slight edge given the fact that they have put up significantly more points in less minutes, which is going to make this thing come down to the 6th men.
In 2016-17, the 6th man was definitely Portis who came off the bench for the oft-struggling Mirotic. In his per 36 stats, he would have averaged 15.7 points, 10.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.4 blocks, and 1.3 TOs on 48.8% shooting, 33.3% from beyond the arc.
Coby White is the man this year. The rookie has solidified himself in an instant offense role, though his consistency has been terrible. Let’s look at the numbers. His per 36 would net him 17 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.1 steals, and 2.1 TOs on 35.9% shooting, 33.3% from beyond the arc.