I can’t say I never thought we’d be in this position as Chicago Bulls fans just eight short games into the season, but I can say the thought has crossed my mind. Unfortunately, any prayers I’ve cast for this team have proved to be fruitless as the Bulls have stumbled their way to a disappointing 3-5 record despite kicking the year off with a relatively easy schedule.
This situation has already begun putting pressure on the shoulders of everyone in the Bulls organization, from the front office, to the coaching staff, to the players out there on the court themselves. Much has been said about what this team needs to do to get things back on track, and hopefully, this leaky ship can get patched back up before it inevitably sinks to the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
The easiest route back to relevance doesn’t involve any grand schemes or radical roster moves, however, as simple internal improvement might be all it takes to start winning games again. Let’s highlight three key players who have been dragging the Bulls down with their poor play, and could help Chicago surge back up the standings if they bounce back sooner rather than later.
These 3 players have each let the Bulls down in the early goings of the 2023-24 season.
3. Coby White
Relative to the other two players on this list, Coby White has been a much more reliable contributor this season. He showed us just what he is capable of accomplishing in his latest outing against Utah, where he posted an impressive 18 points and 7 assists while shooting 7-for-9 from the field and committing just one turnover.
Unfortunately, these performances have proven to be the exception, not the rule. The Bulls had hoped Coby could step up and assume full-time point guard responsibilities, but that has been too tall of an ask thus far. Before Monday’s win over the Jazz, Coby had been averaging just 11.1 points and 3.9 assists per game while shooting a horrid 34.6% from the field.
We knew going into this season that this core does not function properly without a true floor general running the show. Chicago had proven to be an above-average team when they had Lonzo Ball and Patrick Beverley at the point but has also been extremely subpar without them.
It’s the front office’s fault for putting him in this position in the first place, sure, but it’s now Coby’s responsibility to make the most of a bad hand here. If he cannot rise to the occasion, the Bulls’ will only continue to spiral down the standings.