Chicago Bulls: 3 underrated reserves who deserve more respect

Underrated Chicago Bulls reserves who deserve more love: Derrick Jones Jr.

As the season moves along, we continue to see more out of the former Portland Trail Blazers and Miami Heat small forward Derrick Jones Jr. The Bulls got great value in the sign-and-trade deal late last offseason to get Jones from the Blazers in a three-team deal that saw former Chicago power forward Lauri Markkanen sent to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Jones has only played in three games so far this season for the Bulls. But he continues to make an increasingly important impact coming off the bench for the Bulls. It’s not a huge coincidence that the Bulls’ bench production has picked up since Jones started to get more playing time in the last two games.

In the Oct. 30 win over the Jazz, Jones was a +18 for the Bulls. And in the Nov. 1 win over the Celtics, Jones was a +23.

And it wasn’t necessarily the scoring production that was so valuable to the Bulls from Jones. His defensive production, rebounding, and energy that he provides for this team coming off the bench is an impact that no one else has brought to the table among the forwards. He’s also an incredible athlete that the Bulls can utilize in different situations on both ends of the floor.

In the last two games, Jones has two steals, seven rebounds, and a whopping five blocks, which have all had an untold impact for the Bulls off the bench. And when given the opportunity on offense, Jones was efficient. He doesn’t have any turnovers on the season so far, has an insane 68.8 effective field goal percentage, and has only missed three shots between field goal and free-throw attempts.