With Wendell Carter Jr. out 4-6 weeks, the Chicago Bulls have to replace his impact collectively. That starts with an expansion to Daniel Gafford’s role.
Another year, another injury. During Monday’s game, the Chicago Bulls lost Wendell Carter Jr. to a High Ankle Sprain. This is not only a blow to the rebuild and the development of the core but also a blow to this season’s playoff chances.
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The Bulls are five back of the loss column from the 8th-seeded Nets. With the loss of Carter, the Bulls lost their best defensive player. The aggressive Pick-and-Roll scheme the Bulls run is going to be tested in his absence.
The center has a lot of responsibility in this scheme; he has to show on the screen and then quickly recover back to the paint. Carter is easily the best defensive player that the Bulls have, and Boylen even said as much.
Carter was also starting to show more comfort shooting the ball in recent games. In his last six games, Carter shot at least two three-pointers four times. Carter has shown the touch and the form to make jump-shots regularly, It was all about him getting the repetitions in-game.
Though Thaddeus Young started Wednesday’s game against the Pelicans, It should be Daniel Gafford getting the bulk of the minutes at center going forward. In 12.1 minutes per game, Gafford is averaging 1.4 blocks per game. His raw athleticism jumps off of the page as soon as he steps on the court.
However, Gafford doesn’t have that same savy of the position that Carter Jr. does. I mean, he’s a rookie! Most players in the NBA don’t have the defensive capabilities that Carter Jr. has. However, this is an excellent way for Gafford to get exposure to the NBA.
In the first game without Carter, the Bulls started Thaddeus Young alongside Lauri Markkanen. Thaddeus Young played solidly by looking at the basic box score numbers. Young scored a season-high in points (18), along with six rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
However, Markkanen being asked to fly around defensively in Carter’s role isn’t going to end well. Playing such a demanding defensive PnR scheme – that leads the league in steal – works when you have excellent communication and a reliable rim protector at the rim.
Markkanen isn’t either of those things. In his career, the Finnish forward has never averaged one steal per game or one block per game. Gafford might mess up on a rotation that Young will make, but Young doesn’t provide that shot-blocking expertise or athleticism that the former Razorback does. According to NBA.com, The Bulls have a -0.5 net rating with both Markkanen and Gafford on the court, granted, in a small sample size.
If Gafford is given the opportunity to start, the Bulls can have their best depth at the center position since the days of Joakim Noah and Omer Asik patrolling the paint. K.C. Johnson has reported about some rumblings regarding a Thaddeus Young trade, but It’s more likely Young is here for the remainder of the season. Gafford gives the Bulls a better chance to win,