There are 20 games left in the Chicago Bulls 2020-21 season and things are heating up rapidly. After 52 games played the Bulls hold the 10th spot in the Eastern Conference standings.
Any other year that would be on the outside looking in come playoff time, but this year being the 10th seed means you get to take part in the play-in tournament. Not ideal but it gives you the chance to at least prove yourself and earn a playoff spot following the conclusion of regular season play.
While the Bulls are going to be in a back and forth battle to keep that 10th spot they are also going to be focusing on the long-term plan. That means some players on the roster could be playing for a potential contract or could be showing management if they should be moved in a trade following the season.
A lot of important stuff will be playing out within the games and behind the scenes. Let’s predict how the final 20 games will go for some of the Bulls more important players.
Chicago Bulls player prediction: Nikola Vucevic Leads the Team in Scoring
General consensus would likely pick Zach LaVine to lead the Bulls scoring over the final 20 games of the season. It’s hard to hate on that selection.
LaVine leads the team in scoring on the season as well as since the NBA trade deadline. It’s close since Vooch joined the team, though. LaVine is at 24.9 per game while Vucevic at 22.3 himself. There are a few reasons I am taking Vooch over LaVine here.
First, he can score so efficiently from his spots on the court that the Bulls need to focus on playing through him while they get out of the funk they find themselves in. To add to that, LaVine is going to have to step up and help the team score as a unit.
That’s why I envision him doing a little more creating for others. Due to that, he won’t be scoring at the rate we know he is capable of. He has been saying a lot about winning over stats and I think that is going to be evident over the team’s final 20 games.
If picking a number I would say Vucevic averages 25-26 the rest of the way and LaVine sees his assists go up with a slight dip in points per game.
Chicago Bulls player prediction: Lauri Markkanen averages less than 10 points per game
If this one happens you can bet these games will be Markkanen’s final times suiting up for the Chicago Bulls. That’s likely going to be the case regardless of what plays out the rest of the way, but Markkanen could really hurt his value in free agency if he fades into the background for this Bulls team.
He has been inconsistent all season and that has remained true when he moved to a bench role. One game it will be 8-10 shooting for 18 points in 18 minutes. The next will see him take four shots total in 27 minutes.
Inconsistent production is a big problem to have, Markkanen has that in addition to completely erratic aggressiveness. As head coach Billy Donovan feels the need to win games grow as the season winds down, he may not be able to trust Markkanen enough to get good minutes.
I see his minutes, production and involvement dipping as the games go on. Especially as the team gets closer to admitting he won’t be around long term.