The Chicago Bulls, first and foremost, are going to be looking for some major strides out of Caleb Wilson this season. As viable as Matas Buzelis has proved himself to be, Wilson is the Bulls' top pick, and the hopes for this rebuild hinge currently on his ability to develop into a two-way star of the future.
He certainly showed signs of that type of performance during Summer League and the preseason. Even ignoring his miraculous, 35-point Summer League debut, Wilson was aggressive and physical working on offense during the preseason, averaging 15.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.8 assists while shooting 44.1% from the field across five games.
But Wilson was always going to be the type of prospect you need to be patient with. His on-court movements can still be somewhat awkward, and it's going to take time for him to gain the strength and confidence he needs to contend with NBA forwards on a night-to-night basis.
Don't let yourself be discouraged, then, if Wilson struggles to assert himself offensively over the first couple months of the regular season. But especially don't let it affect you in the Bulls' season opener against the Toronto Raptors.
If there's any team designed to test Wilson's physicality and put a strain on his resources as he enters his NBA career, it's likely Toronto.
Caleb Wilson's early-career development will be a slow, but promising , grind
Of course, this isn't a criticism of Wilson in the slightest. He showed some marvelous flashes in his Summer League and preseason appearances, and it wouldn't be surprising at all if he were able to hit some perimeter shots early against the Raptors and truly get going as a primary offensive engine for Chicago.
But the fact of the matter is that this is a poor matchup for the Bulls as a whole and for Wilson in particular.
Toronto was already among the league's best defensive teams last season—posting the fifth-best defensive rating in the NBA at 112.1—and that was while they were starting Brandon Ingram. Teams also averaged just 48.0 points in the paint last season against Toronto with that mixture of pieces.
Add Kawhi Leonard to the mix, and this frontcourt, which also includes Scottie Barnes and Colin Murray-Boyles, suddenly becomes infinitely more formidable. Sandro Mamukelashvili is obviously a loss, but these are all sizable and highly-skilled defenders. Wilson is going to have his work cut out for him trying to make his way to the basket routinely over the course of the matchup.
Wilson's 3-point shooting, which will be a key part of any sort of rookie offensive ascension from him, also regressed back to a reasonable mean in preseason—he made just 31% of his attempts on relatively high volume across those five games.
Now, the sky is the limit for Wilson from the very outset of his career on the defensive end of the floor. The Bulls truly don't have a player of his range and agility, and there's a chance he'll need to be working against either Leonard or Barnes for much of the night.
But if it's a poor offensive outing for Wilson, let's not overreact. There will be much better matchups—and many more opportunities—for Wilson to put his emerging skill set on display on that end of the court.
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