A poor start out of the gates for the second half of the regular season schedule for first-year head coach Billy Donovan and the Chicago Bulls has come to a head to round out the weekend. When the Bulls take on head coach Nick Nurse and the rapidly improving Toronto Raptors on March 14, they’ll need to find some traction quick.
Since the conclusion of the All-Star Break, the Bulls have lost two games in a row in two very winnable spots. The Bulls started out by falling shy of a shorthanded Philadelphia 76ers team that was missing both star point guard Ben Simmons and center Joel Embiid. It was back on March 11 that the Sixers downed the Bulls at the United Center by nearly a 20 point margin.
Then it was the Bulls that fell short to the shorthanded Miami Heat that didn’t have star center Bam Adebayo in the rotation back on March 12. The Bulls fell short to star shooting guard/small forward Jimmy Butler and the Heat by a double-digit margin on the road.
Throughout the last two games, Bulls fans got to see this team struggle even though the rotation is essentially back at full strength. Fourth-year power forward Lauri Markkanen has remained productive since returning to the lineup this week. That hasn’t made much of a difference, though, as all momentum the Bulls had coming into the second half is now gone.
With the Bulls getting set to take on the Raptors at home on March 14, what changes can Donovan make to the starting rotation to be more proficient down the stretch?