Bulls: How Patrick Williams just lost the starting PF job in one half

After a promising rookie season which saw Patrick Williams land on the All-Rookie Second Team, there was much hype surrounding his ability to take the leap and become a player that could help propel the Chicago Bulls back into the limelight. Unfortunately, as we all know, his sophomore campaign would be cut short due to an injury sustained in just the fifth game of the season.

Still, Williams displayed increased efficiency from both inside and outside the arc last year and even had flashes of being able to hold his own against Giannis Antetokounmpo defensively in their first-round playoff series. After an offseason spent training under DeMar DeRozan, it’s understandable why many — including myself — were anticipating a leap in performance from the third-year forward.

So far, that leap remains to be seen. Through three preseason games, Williams appears to be largely the same player. Although he’s displayed a higher level of assertiveness that fans have been begging for, Williams has only managed to average 7.3 points and 3.3 rebounds per contest.

I don’t wish to insinuate that a handful of preseason games are worth an overreaction, as I still believe there’s hope yet that Pat can find his rhythm and become a productive starting-caliber player. However, the pressure for his starting job is reaching an all-time high as a new challenger has risen from within.

Patrick Williams will likely have to yield his starting power forward role to Javonte Green for the benefit of the Chicago Bulls moving forward.

That player I’m referring to is, of course, none other than Javonte Green. All offseason it was speculated that the Bulls would need to bring in another power forward in via free agency to supplement the rotation. When Chicago failed to do so, I agreed with many members of the media that they were making a big mistake.

However, none of us could have expected that a perfectly suitable starting-caliber power forward was already on the roster. If his performance through three preseason games is to be believed, Javonte has developed extraordinary chemistry with the starting unit to maximize his game.

Through three contests, Green has been the Bulls’ second-leading scorer with an average of 16.7 points per game on incredible shooting splits of 77% from the field, 75% from beyond the arc, and 91% from the charity stripe. Obviously, this sample size is extremely small and not nearly enough to draw any long-term conclusions; but what’s been most surprising to me is the way in which Green has worked to achieve these numbers.

By making aggressive cuts to the rim and rarely standing still on the perimeter, rarely are any of Green’s shots actually contested. By using the offensive gravity DeRozan, Zach LaVine, and Nikola Vucevic have to his advantage, Green has been able to find wide-open looks for himself and play a hyper-efficient brand of basketball.

And even if that fails, it helps when Javonte is able to do things like this.

Green’s defensive intensity and ability to affect the game without the ball in his hands simply make him a far better complement to Chicago’s All-Star trio in the starting lineup.

Hopefully, this helps give Williams the spark he’s needed to compete hard and reclaim his position in the Chicago Bulls’ starting five. Until then, playing alongside the bench will allow Pat to build his confidence against lesser competition and assume a lead scoring role with the second unit.