The panic meter should not be very high for the Chicago Bulls fan base right now, but that won’t stop everyone from overreacting to the season opener.
Gauging where this Chicago Bulls rebuild is at in its fourth year is a tall task since they have only played one game through this regular season slate. Although this team’s regular season opener loss back on Dec. 23 at home at the United Center at the hands of the Atlanta Hawks didn’t do much to inspire confidence in the direction of this rebuild right now, patience must win the day.
That won’t stop some from having overreactions taking over here in the meantime. One of those overreactions came in an entire list of them from the first two days of the NBA regular season, thanks to a piece from Dan Favale of Bleacher Report earlier in the week. This Bleacher Report piece mentioned that an overreaction to the Bulls season opener is that the young core should essentially be broken up at this point.
Here’s more on what Favale had to say on this matter.
"I will not be burned again.Injuries didn’t help the Bulls’ cause last year. Nor did head coach Jim Boylen.However, Game 1 did nothing, zero, zilch, nada to assuage the doubt. Wendell Carter Jr. seems at once hesitant to shoot and pass. That feels like an awkward and detrimental combination. The offense at large—and I’ll confess to watching approximately only half of this game—has a certain stickiness. They need a floor general to balance touches and encourage movement."
The specific mentioning of third-year center Wendell Carter Jr. and his lack of confidence in the regular season opener is notable. But there’s going to be a lot of rust for these players to shake off early in the season.
Keep in mind that this is meant to be an overreaction, but it is still worth noting that there are some that really believe the Bulls should break up the young core through just one game this season.
The good news for first-year head coach Billy Donovan and the Bulls is that there is a chance to get an impressive initial win of the season just around the corner on Dec. 26. The Bulls next game up comes against their divisional foe, the Indiana Pacers at home at the United Center, with tip off time set for 7 p.m. CT.
Donovan and the Bulls do need to find some traction soon so that they don’t fall too far behind in the Eastern Conference standings. There is a difference between a slow start and falling too far behind to make up room in the standings, if the ultimate aspirations are to make the playoffs this season.