3) Chicago Bulls with a lot to prove in regular season
Finally finding that niche that Bulls fans know the former Duke Blue Devils 6-foot-9 and 270 pound 21-year-old center Wendell Carter Jr. can early in his NBA career is something he needs to do this season. This will be the third year in the league for WCJ, and he didn’t make many positive strides in his game last season.
There are obvious areas of improvement in WCJ’s game heading into this regular season. Adding more offensive versatility to his arsenal (namely improving his shooting from deep), letting his court vision develop, and fine tuning his responsibility on the defensive end of the floor, are all areas for which Donovan can help his game.
During the shortened 2019-20 regular season, WCJ played in 43 games for the Bulls (all of which he started in). And he averaged 11.3 points per game, 9.4 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.8 blocks. WCJ shot 53.4 percent from the field, 20.7 percent from beyond the arc, and 73.7 percent from the free-throw line.
And Basketball-Reference projects WCJ to average 14.8 points per 36 minutes, 11.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.3 blocks, during the 2020-21 season. He’s projected to shoot 52.5 percent from the field, 26.5 percent from beyond the arc, and 76.4 percent from the free-throw line.
WCJ needs to have a big 202-21 season to prove that he’s worth the role of the starting center moving forward for this rebuild.