In case anyone was still unclear, this Chicago Bulls roster is not ready to contend for anything. Not that many thought a title was on the horizon anyway. But now, following a 23-point lead that turned into a seven-point loss to the Spurs, we have to acknowledge that pushing for a playoff spot via the play-in game may not be in the best interest either.
And, if we’re being completely honest, there is no way out of this as currently constructed.
That’s because very few of the players, including the perennially-enigmatic “young core”, are at the same points in their careers. To take it one step further, some of the guys getting doubted might turn into the players we all want them to be at some point.
But even if so, when?
That’s the problem the Bulls faced entering this season and still face now. Zach LaVine is clearly ready to be on a winning team. He’s said as much. But the two guys who are supposed to be the second and third-best players, Lauri Markkanen and Wendell Carter, are still going through growing pains and bordering on full-fledged basketball identity crises.
In reality, Thaddeus Young has been, by far, Chicago’s second-best player this season. That’s not a bad thing in a vacuum, but it’s not how this roster was constructed.
Billy Donovan has been experimenting with different lineups trying to maximize the talent on this team. He got a good immediate return after sending Carter and Coby White to the bench amid their struggles.
The former had a 12-points, 11-rebound double-double in his first game off the bench in his career and played with great energy and aggressiveness. Those were two things he had been lacking in recent outings. Meanwhile, the latter had 13 points and five assists, though he continued to struggle from downtown.
It’s been the law of diminishing returns ever since.
The problematic details for the Chicago Bulls
White was just 1-for-7 from deep against San Antonio which represented an improvement percentage-wise over his 0-for-3 night the game prior. Carter pulled down just six rebounds to go with his 10 points. He also shot 42.9 percent from the floor; unacceptable for an interior player.
Lauri’s return has been okay for him individually but the Bulls are 2-3 since he came back. He had back-to-back 20-point games in his first two contests back but has been inconsistent in the last three, twice failing to break even 15 points. He’s never been a great rebounder so if he’s not scoring he’s not really helping, as the Bulls found out against the Spurs.
Those three are supposed to be Zach’s supporting cast. But as Donovan said in the post-game, they get caught watching LaVine on offense. That’s because Zach is almost literally on another level than those guys.
That’s not necessarily a negative, just reality. LaVine has been in the league since 2014. He’s gone through an attempted position change, suffered a devastating knee injury in 2017, and been a part of two dysfunctional organizations. In other words, he’s been there and done that with growing pains that many young players go through.
Markkanen, his most senior core-mate, entered the NBA three years later in 2017. It took LaVine until his fifth season to crack the 20-point mark and only this season did he get recognized outside of Chicago as more than a third option on a contender.
With greater recognition comes greater expectations.
The Bulls are at a crossroads. Build around LaVine (and presumably, another star acquired via trade or free agency), move LaVine and follow the natural timeline of the other core members, or admit this roster is incongruous and move anything of value (outside of Patrick Williams) and try to restock the talent cupboard.
We spent a lot of time talking about the damage done by the GarPax regime. More time needs to be spent on the turnaround Donovan has performed given that the talent-level remained unchanged.
These guys can have stretches of success together but it’s never sustained. So now, be it with the intention of contending now or later, Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley have to continue putting quality pieces on the floor that can work together consistently.
Otherwise, it will be more of the same.