Now that the regular season is over and the Chicago Bulls officially limped into the playoffs, we’re once again here to analyze what went wrong and how it can all be fixed.
Of the top four teams, the Bulls have been swept by three of them — the 76ers, Heat and Bucks. To make matters worse, Chicago will get the defending champs (Milwaukee) in the first round of the postseason.
Chicago has tried different adjustments throughout their late-season slip, changing the lineups, minutes distribution, and overall roles. Head coach Billy Donovan has gone as far as scrapping certain role players’ minutes altogether … but perhaps that’s where we need to see the biggest alteration.
While the move may have made sense in the moment, there are three role players who should be inserted back into the rotation come playoff time in order for the team to get closer to rediscovering itself.
Bulls head coach Billy Donovan needs to increase these players’ minutes in postseason
3. Tony Bradley
Tony Bradley has averaged 10 minutes per game in 55 contest this year. In those games, he’s averaging two points and three rebounds … at 6-foot-10. It’s completely understandable why Donovan has gone away from playing Bradley. As a big man, he’s just not that impactful on the boards.
Unfortunately for Chicago, they are set to play the second biggest team in the NBA in the first round. The Bucks are huge from their two guard down to the center. To hang with them, the Bulls will need length.
Donovan will have to will effort out of Bradley in order to get a minimum 10 solid minutes out of him to at least keep Bucks off the board. The Bulls shouldn’t expect scoring by any means. They should play him with the mentality that he’s there to rebound and disrupt shots — anything outside of that is a bonus.
He’ll be able to give Vucevic a breather as well as provide more size than Tristan Thompson. The playoffs are an “all hands on deck” effort, so it’s time for the Bulls to utilize size to their advantage.