The Bulls are going through their worst stretch of the season and need to make changes quickly.
The Chicago Bulls got waxed in Milwaukee Tuesday night by 28 points. This was their ninth loss in their last 11 games. They have dropped from the top spot in the Eastern Conference to fifth and are in danger of falling into the play-in tournament.
While some of their losses in that stretch were tough games and back-to-backs, there’s a large enough sample size that shows the Bulls have become a predictable team. They lack consistent role player production, their stars can’t manufacture good looks late in games, and they can’t defend a parked car.
Billy Donovan has noted that he has to do better preparing the guys for playoff intensity. While the effort level isn’t something Donovan can directly influence, he can tweak the lineups. He’s already gone in that direction, replacing Ayo Dosunmu with Alex Caruso in the starting lineup.
While the experiment worked the first go-around against the Toronto Raptors, the Bucks ran whoever was on the court. The Caruso experiment is worth continuing. There are also a few other lineups that could help the Bulls’ bench have a bigger impact and boost the closing lineup.
3. Add Coby White to the First Lineup Change
The Bulls bench was outscored by 16 points Tuesday night and are 29th in the league in scoring. They struggle to find consistent offense that involves the entire lineup. When they go to the bench, they bring in Dosunmu first, replacing DeRozan.
This leaves Vucevic, LaVine, Dosunmu, Caruso and Javonte Green. The lineup, in theory, is better defensively, but hasn’t shown it. Offensively, they are reliant on LaVine to create offense, which isn’t exactly his strength.
The Bulls were outscored 15-0 in Tuesday’s contest when this lineup took the floor. LaVine did great getting downhill, but was stopped by the Bucks’ help side defenders. He made the wrong reads each time — either hitting the non-shooter in Green or throwing off-target passes. LaVine needs someone to set him up where he doesn’t have to shoulder the responsibility of creating for others.
White is very capable of this and is a quality shooter from the outside. Since this lineup has shown it doesn’t get the stops to justify their offensive challenges, Donovan might as well find some offense.
The ideal first lineup for Donovan’s squad is White, Caruso, LaVine, Green and Vucevic.
White can be a viable kick-out for LaVine and is a good enough point guard to run the offense. He’s also a better outside shooter than Dosunmu and Caruso, making him a bigger pick and roll threat.
This lineup will at least make the game a scoring match instead of putting the Bulls in a hole.