In a big win over the Utah Jazz on the night of Oct. 30, second-year head coach Billy Donovan and the Chicago Bulls proved a point among a couple of key injuries that surfaced just ahead of the weekend. Donovan and the Bulls have two injured players that impact the starting unit in a big way. Star shooting guard Zach LaVine and second-year forward Patrick Williams are both dealing with various injuries.
Williams’ injury is obviously more severe than that of LaVine. He’s likely to miss the rest of the regular season after suffering a wrist injury in the loss to the New York Knicks on Oct. 28.
Yet, it still seems like LaVine’s thumb injury in his non-shooting hand is causing him some pain and discomfort. But this is still something that LaVine is likely to play through. He did so in the Bulls’ win over the Jazz, by the final score of 107-99, on the night of Oct. 30. And while it’s going to take some time for him to work through, LaVine is still going to be one of the higher-usage players for the Bulls and one of the top initiators and shot creators.
Chicago Bulls finding a good formula with Javonte Green in the starting five in place of Patrick Williams
But the main storyline we’re talking about here is the absence of Williams in the starting unit. As a key two-way piece for the Bulls in the starting unit at the outset of the regular season, Williams’ presence is hard to match. He’s a key defensive piece that the Bulls rely on night in and night out to defend top opposing wings/forwards.
There are options that the Bulls have to turn to replace Williams’ defensive presence in the starting five. But what’s so hard to replace is his floor spacing ability. Williams shot 50 percent from beyond the arc in six games prior to this wrist injury. And he’s shot around 40 percent from beyond the arc for his career since the start of last season.
Donovan can use the likes of shooting guard/small forward Troy Brown Jr., small forward Derrick Jones Jr., etc., to slot in the starting five in the absence of Williams. But where Donovan turned to in the first game without Williams during the regular season in the starting unit is shooting guard Javonte Green.
This is a familiar move for Donovan and the Bulls staff, though. In the three games during the preseason that Williams was missing with another injury issue, Green was in the starting unit.
Now, the role that Green plays for the Bulls in the starting unit in three preseason games this year and in the regular season meeting with the Jazz at home on Oct. 30 was not a big one by any means. In the win over the Jazz, he played in fewer minutes than point guard Alex Caruso, who came off the bench.
And Green played in around the same number of minutes as rookie point guard Ayo Dosunmu.
All in all, Green played in around 22 minutes for the Bulls in the win over the Jazz. That was around 10 minutes fewer than anyone else in the Bulls’ starting unit. But this is the type of role he could play for the Bulls moving forward.
Green seems to be a nice plug-and-play at the three or the four in the meantime for the Bulls in the starting five. It does seem like the coaching staff’s intention moving forward is to give Jones more minutes as he continues to get accustomed to this rotation. Jones only played in around 18 minutes off the bench against the Jazz and registered only around four points.
But he also came up with three rebounds, three blocks, and one steal. You can’t argue with that type of defensive production off the bench when the Bulls need to fill the void left by the injured Williams.
Moreover, Green was also solid defensively in his 22 minutes in the win over the Jazz. He only came up with five points, two rebounds, and one steal. But he also was solid in on-ball and help defense, rarely allowing his opposition to beat him off-the-dribble. He also challenged effectively when defending someone shooting from mid-range or beyond the arc.
Green and the Bulls did keep near the top of the Eastern Conference standings with their win over the Jazz on Oct. 30. The Bulls are now sporting a record of 5-1 heading into their Nov. 1 meeting with the Boston Celtics.