1) Chicago Bulls reserves that should get more minutes
Garrett Temple, Shooting Guard
Without a doubt one of the most underrated performances that the Bulls got out of anyone in the loss to the Pacers on Dec. 26 was from the 34-year-old former Brooklyn Nets veteran shooting guard Garrett Temple. The Bulls meeting with the Pacers was the first game for Temple in a Chicago uniform, and he definitely impressed at times.
Temple got to play in 20 minutes off the bench for Donovan and the Bulls on Dec. 26. While it wasn’t nearly enough to get the Bulls over the hump in a 19 point loss to the Pacers, it did show a glimpse into the solid veteran presence he can bring to the table for this young team. He’s also a very good one-on-one defender that Donovan can utilize off the bench.
But in his 20 minutes on the floor in the loss to the Pacers, Temple registered six points, two rebounds, two assists, two steals, no blocks, and no turnovers. He shot only 2-of-7 from the field, but hit on half of his four attempts from beyond the arc. There were certainly flashes that Temple showed in this game of the veteran presence he can provide for this rotation.
The Bulls saw one of their biggest net negative presences on the defensive end of the floor through the first two games out of 25-year-old shooting guard Zach LaVine. Backup shooting guard Denzel Valentine isn’t very good on that end of the floor either. Temple will be pretty valuable moving forward for this rotation, especially on defense.