Chicago Bulls starting small forward: Patrick Williams
We got to see second-year forward Patrick Williams make his preseason debut with the Bulls this year in the finale win over the Memphis Grizzlies. Williams showed off a lot of the apparent progress he made heading into the Las Vegas NBA Summer League. The goal for Williams this season will be to keep making a resounding defensive impact while gaining confidence on offense.
Williams will be counted on as one of the more crucial outside shooters in the starting unit this season. He was a solid three-point shooter during his rookie campaign. He shot 48.3 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from beyond the arc last season. If he can even replicate those numbers this season, that would be great for this starting five.
Basketball-Reference projects Williams to shoot around 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from beyond the arc, and 75 percent from the charity stripe this season. That would be more than enough to be one of the top floor spacers for the Bulls in the top unit.
Where Williams needs to rise to the occasion on the defensive end of the floor is with his off-ball play. Williams needs to become a premier on-ball and help defender among wings and forwards in the Central Division this season. No matter what, he’s going to be playing in a position between two negative defenders with the Bulls in the starting unit (if it follows these projections).
If Williams is slotted to either play at the three or the four this season, he will have to help make up for any lapses from the likes of LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Nikola Vucevic, come up with this season. Williams took on some tough defensive matchups last season, and that will be the case again during the 2021-22 campaign.