Chicago Bulls: Alize Johnson’s rebounding ability will be on display

What we saw from the new Chicago Bulls power forward Alize Johnson in a win in the preseason opener over the Cleveland Cavaliers is close to what we should’ve expected. Johnson put on a rebounding clinic in the Bulls convincing 131-95 win over the Cavs at home at the United Center on Oct. 5.

Johnson led the Bulls in rebounding in that win over the Cavs, with 11 on the night. This was a pretty astounding showing from Johnson to put up nearly a dozen rebounds off the bench in this preseason game.

In just 17 minutes played off the bench in this game, Johnson registered eight points, a game-high 11 rebounds, three assists, and one steal. And Johnson shot 3-of-4 from the field, didn’t have any attempts from beyond the arc, and was perfect on two attempts from the charity stripe.

This led to Johnson posting an astounding 23.9 rebounds per 36 minutes through one game. This will obviously be a difficult pace for Johnson to keep up. But he’s averaged around 21 rebounds per 36 minutes since the start of the preseason last year, when he played with the Toronto Raptors.

I keep mentioning that we can’t put too much stock into one preseason game. And while that is true in most cases, I wouldn’t be all that surprised to see Johnson continue to put up outstanding rebounding numbers throughout the season.

Chicago Bulls have an insanely efficient rebounder in Alize Johnson

What is very encouraging about what we saw out of Johnson, that correlates well with his improvement in the last couple of seasons, was his offensive rebounding. He registered an offensive rebounding percentage last season with the Nets north of 16. And with Johnson coming down with four offensive boards in the preseason opener, he continued his torrid pace.

That was good for Johnson to post an offensive rebounding percentage of 20.9 in the win over the Cavs in the preseason opener.

Johnson already showed signs in the last two seasons of becoming a rebounder with elite levels of efficiency. If he continues his improvement this season, and the Bulls give him more minutes in a key bench role, Johnson could become one of the more recognized rebounders in the Eastern Conference.

Last season with the Nets, Johnson averaged 17.9 points per 36 minutes, 17.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.0 blocks. And he shot 58.8 percent from the field, 16.7 percent from beyond the arc, and was perfect on just over a dozen attempts from the free-throw line.

Johnson and the Bulls will now carry a record of 1-0 into their second matchup of the preseason slate. That comes against Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans at home at the United Center on Oct. 8.