There are still a handful of Chicago Bulls players this season that are waiting for their shot to make an early impact out of the gates. Two names that really stick out in this regard are third-year point guard Coby White and former Miami Heat and Portland Trail Blazers small forward Derrick Jones Jr. Both White and Jones have missed time since the start of Training Camp and the preseason due to injury.
Coby still has yet to make his debut in game action for second-year head coach Billy Donovan and the Bulls since the start of the preseason. Meanwhile, Jones already made his preseason and regular season debut with the Bulls this year.
But Donovan only played Jones in around two minutes in the Bulls 97-82 win at home at the United Center over the Detroit Pistons on the night of Oct. 23. That was the first game action of the regular season for Jones with the Bulls.
And in those two minutes played in the 15-point win over the Pistons on Oct. 23, Jones didn’t register any stats really. He didn’t get a single point, assist, rebound, steal, etc. in that game.
For a player that Basketball-Reference projected to finish up the regular season with around a dozen points per game, six rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one block, that is a quiet start to the 2021-22 campaign.
Chicago Bulls have a breakout candidate waiting in the wings in Derrick Jones Jr.
Jones is going to soon get his real shot to make an impact with the Bulls coming off the bench. Donovan is playing some small-ball lineups that could see Jones log some decent minutes at the four. He’s playing the likes of shooting guard/small forward Troy Brown Jr. and shooting guard Javonte Green at the four off the bench in heavy minutes, compared to what you would expect otherwise.
The Bulls have come out of the gates this season playing some solid defense and getting to the rim effectively. That is going to only further this strength for the Bulls this season once Jones is able to log some heavier minutes off the bench.
While it does look like the Bulls have a deeper bench this season compared to last, Donovan’s not running a very deep rotation out of the gates. Green and point guard Alex Caruso are the only two reserves that are averaging more than 15 minutes per game so far.
Even the likes of Brown and recently signed power forward Alize Johnson are getting less than a dozen minutes on the floor per night.
The bench could see more minutes in key spots once the likes of Jones and White return at full health. That will help the depth of the frontcourt and backcourt units off the bench.
When the Bulls have the likes of star shooting guard and center Nikola Vucevic out on the floor together, but the team is struggling on defense otherwise, Jones could provide a better defensive presence than DeMar DeRozan. Or, if the Bulls need someone more aggressive that can finish within the arc, then Jones can be a switchable piece with second-year forward Patrick Williams.
Jones is a really good wing/forward defender. And he’s very athletic, which allows him to contend with some bigger forwards/big men on each end of the floor.
All these reasons helped to contribute to why the front office got the three-team sign-and-trade deal done during the offseason with the Trail Blazers and the Cleveland Cavaliers to land Jones in the first place. The Bulls shipped off power forward Lauri Markkanen to the Cavs, and got a return of Jones, in this late-offseason sign-and-trade deal.
Following the comfortable double-digit win over the Pistons at home on Oct. 23, the Bulls carry a spotless record of 3-0. Next up for Jones and the Bulls is a meeting on the road with the Toronto Raptors on Oct. 25.