Chicago Bulls: 3 most underappreciated players from 2019-20 team

2. Shaquille Harrison, Combo Guard

Somehow, Boylen and the Bulls didn’t give more playing time to the former Tulsa Golden Hurricane 6-foot-4 and 190 pound combo guard Shaquille Harrison, despite him being one of their best perimeter defenders and having a career season. Harrison played in a career-low 11.3 minutes per game. In total he played in 43 games prior to the COVID-19 pandemic-induced NBA season hiatus (starting in 10 of them).

While registering a box plus/minus rating of 2.8, .153 win shares per 48 minutes, 0.6 value over replacement player rating, 3.4 percent steal rate, 3.7 percent block rate, 55.9 true shooting percentage, and a solid 30.3 percent free-throw rate. He also registered a 116 offensive rating and 105 defensive rating.

Harrison’s shooting efficiency is also getting much better of late. His field goal percentage was two percent better than the league average, three-point shooting three percent better, and free-throw attempt rate was 18 percent better. His trends should only go up from here too.

Overall, Harrison averaged 4.9 points per game, 2.0 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.4 blocks. He shot 46.7 percent from the field, 38.1 percent from beyond the arc, 78.0 percent from the charity stripe, good for an effective field goal percentage at a career-best 51.5.

Hopefully the Bulls front office and fan base doesn’t realize the true value that Harrison brings to the table before it’s too late. The second-year Bulls combo guard is coming to the end of the one-year contract he signed last offseason.