3 things the Chicago Bulls will want to leave behind from 2020

3) 3 things Chicago Bulls want to leave behind in 2020

Any struggles for Coby White and Lauri Markkanen

This part of the list of New Years wishes for Donovan and the Bulls concerns two extremely crucial pieces of their young core. Second-year former North Carolina Tar Heels 20-year-old point guard Coby White and 23-year-old former Arizona Wildcats fourth-year power forward Lauri Markkanen might have the most pressure on them of all the Bulls players this season.

The former of those two Bulls lottery picks White had a roller coaster ride of a preseason, and start to the regular season through four games. That is a bit of a shame since White finished the shortened 2019-20 regular season on such a high note. He was scorching hot in 10 games played after the All-Star Break, averaging just shy of 25 points per game.

But White did have some struggles in this calendar year both at the outset of this season and in January and early February. And in four games played to start off this season (all of which he’s started in), White was pretty inconsistent. He’s averaged 14.8 points per game, 4.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 0.5 steals, and 0.3 blocks. White shot 37.0 percent from the field, 39.3 percent from beyond the arc, and 100.0 percent from the free-throw line.

Meanwhile, Markkanen didn’t have his best season last year, but he is off to a nice start this season. Through four games played (all of which he started in), Markkanen averaged 17.3 points per game, 6.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.3 blocks. Markkanen shot 50.0 percent from the field, 47.8 percent from beyond the arc, and 77.8 percent from the free-throw line.

Another thing that the Bulls will want to leave behind in 2020, and just in years past in general, is any injury problems for Markkanen. He could miss some time with a lower-body injury heading into the turn of the calendar year for the Bulls, which would not be a good start in this regard.