Chicago Bulls: WCJ thinks he can play ’50 times better’ than he is now

The reactions that some particular Chicago Bulls players had following their tough six-point loss at the hands of superstar big man Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets at home on March 1 were very mixed. There were some in the camp of Bulls players like star shooting guard Zach LaVine that felt like this team is very close to winning, and just needs one last push to finally get over the hump in clutch time. And there were others like third-year center Wendell Carter Jr. that focused more on how improvement in their game can help the team as a whole in the near future.

To be fair to the way that WCJ spoke about his outing in the loss to the Nuggets in the 24 hours following the loss, it was definitely not his best game since returning from injury a few weeks back. WCJ didn’t get in double figures in any major stat category in that loss to the Nuggets, and Jokic dominated him down low most of the way.

Following the loss to the Nuggets WCJ stated that “I feel like I’m definitely playing OK” and that he “can play 50 times better” than he did in that one game (per Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic on Twitter on March 2).

Where the Chicago Bulls frontcourt goes from here

Hopefully WCJ can come back with a vengeance as the Bulls take on the rolling New Orleans Pelicans on the night of March 3 on the road. He played really well in the last six or eight games outside of that one against the Nuggets.

In the month of February alone, WCJ averaged 12.6 points per game, 7.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists. And he shot 59.0 percent from the field, 50.0 percent from beyond the arc, and 77.8 percent from the free-throw line. February was his most efficient month of the season to date.

Returning to that form will be key both for WCJ in improving his game in his third year in the NBA, and helping the Bulls frontcourt rotation find more success as. The Bulls frontcourt rotation as a whole is looking to continue rolling without the services of fourth-year power forward Lauri Markkanen.

It looks like it will at least be another few weeks (after the All-Star Break) before the Bulls get a healthy Markkanen back in the rotation. A lot more pressure will continue to fall on the shoulders of Bulls bigs like WCJ and second-year center Daniel Gafford here in the meantime.

On the night of March 3, the Bulls will try and snap their two-game losing skid as their take on the star forward duo of Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram in NOLA. WCJ could play a hand in their success to try and nab their 16th win of the season to date.