Chicago Bulls: Simonovic astonishing with Summer League production

On the afternoon of Aug. 12, the Chicago Bulls will take part in the next game up on the Las Vegas NBA Summer League slate. Coming off the first win of Summer League on the night of Aug. 10 against the San Antonio Spurs in comeback fashion, this young Bulls Summer League squad should have some added confidence heading into this Aug. 12 meeting with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

What the Bulls showed in a big 22-point comeback win in the meeting with the Spurs on Aug. 10 was truly impressive. This young group of Bulls players rallied in the second half to get the first win of the Summer League slate, by the final score of 92-89.

Second-year forward Patrick Williams largely pushed this second half rally to beat the Spurs. He registered a game and Summer League team-high 30 points in the win over the Spurs.

But P-Will was not the only driving force to the Bulls getting the win over the Spurs. The former KK Mega Bemax rookie big man Marko Simonovic was solid statistically for the Bulls again in his second outing of Summer League.

Simonovic was very efficient in limited minutes, considering he was in the starting five in this game, again for the Bulls on Aug. 10. He scored in double figures for the second straight game, and did so in just 18 minutes on the floor. In total in the win over the Spurs, Simonovic registered 13 points, five rebounds, two assists, two steals, and one block.

And Simonovic shot 5-of-8 from the field, didn’t have any attempts from beyond the arc, and shot 3-of-5 from the charity stripe.

For the second straight game, Simonovic was one of the most productive and efficient big men for the Bulls. His counting stats, shooting percentages, and advanced metrics, all help to prove the true impact he’s making on the floor for the Bulls.

Marko Simonovic putting up great numbers for the Chicago Bulls early in Summer League

Simonovic now has an effective field goal percentage of 64.3 and an insane true shooting percentage of 69.0. Both of those are good for top two on the team and top 10 best among all players thus far in the Las Vegas Summer League.

His true shooting percentage is good for top five among qualified centers in Summer League thus far.

Moreover, Simonovic leads the Bulls in defensive rating (around 99) and ranks among the top three in offensive rating (111). If the Bulls continue to make progress in Summer League the way that the team did in the second half against the Spurs, the sky really is the limit for Simonovic.

Last but not least, the player efficiency rating is sparkling for Simonovic so far. His 33.5 player efficiency rating through two games is good for the best on the team by far, and ranks among the top eight in all of Summer League.

If you consider just qualified big men (power forwards and centers) Simonovic ranks among the top three players in Summer League in player efficiency rating.

In particular, Simonovic is showing the ability to protect the rim, draw turnovers, and run fluidly in transition. He is going to give this frontcourt unit a new dynamic with the skill set he brings to the table if he continues to improve heading into the regular season.

Some of the signs of life that Simonovic is showing in Summer League thus far are really encouraging ahead of the start of Training Camp and the preseason. Simonovic is set to likely become part of the 15-man roster for the Bulls this year.

Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley selected Simonovic 44th overall in the second round of the 2020 NBA Draft. But he should be able to make his NBA regular season debut during the 2021-22 campaign, after the front office took to one year of the draft-and-stash strategy with him.

Simonovic and the Bulls are set to take their 1-1 record into the third game of the Summer League slate on Aug. 12. The Bulls and Timberwolves are set to tip-off on Aug. 12 at 3 p.m. CT.