Making only marginal improvements in free agency and the draft, the Chicago Bulls weren’t afraid to bank on internal growth among the roster to continue climbing the Eastern Conference totem pole. This was a risky proposition, and it’s no surprise that it struck many fans the wrong way as other contenders declared an arms race to acquire as much talent as possible.
Somehow, Chicago’s experiment seems to be going fairly well thus far. Four games into the season, and the Bulls have already defeated both teams from last year’s Eastern Conference Finals and were one incorrect foul call away from being off to a 3-1 start to the season.
This would not have been possible without the development and offseason improvement several members of the roster made this season. These 3 players are currently massively outperforming our preseason expectations and could become vital pieces to a Bulls playoff run later this season.
If these players can continue exceeding expectations, the Chicago Bulls could quickly become a dark horse in the Eastern Conference.
3. Javonte Green
If you managed to catch the Bulls in preseason action, you’d know that Javonte Green declared through his play that he’s on the verge of claiming a larger role in the rotation than anyone expected. Green averaged the second-most points of any Bulls player in the preseason and was a large reason the team went 3-1 in those games.
His scoring would inevitably come back down to Earth once he returned to Chicago’s bench in the regular season, but his overall impact has remained just the same. Green has carried on and interjected himself into the conversation with Alex Caruso and Lonzo Ball for this team’s best on-ball defender. It may sound hyperbolic, but the numbers do not lie.
Green is leading this team in defensive box plus/minus at 5.2, with the next highest player being Caruso all the way down at a mark of 1.4. Javonte also produces the third-most win shares per 48 minutes on the team and has made the Bulls 7 points better per 100 possessions when he’s on the court as opposed to when he’s on the bench.
Most importantly of all, Green’s rapid rise to prominence in the rotation has finally put some pressure on Patrick Williams to perform well to secure his starting job. So far, the results haven’t been great for Pat, but this is a case of needing to know now or never. If he’s not up to the job, Green has proven that despite his small stature, he can and will log quality minutes as the starting power forward for the Chicago Bulls.