Chicago Bulls starting lineup could be horrible defensively
A lot could change between now and the regular season, but as it stands, Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic are still on the roster, and if they are, it’s hard to imagine them not in the starting lineup.
If you add Josh Giddey, Coby White and Patrick Williams, you have an interesting group offensively, but not one that is going to get stops.
Giddey, White and LaVine are not good point-of-attack defenders, so there are problems right away. Patrick Williams is probably the best defender of this group, but is pigeon-holed into playing power forward and defending bigger guys, so you lose some of what he offers on the perimeter.
Chicago will get help from the second unit, as Dosunmu is a plus defender and rookie Matas Buzelis should at least block some shots, though he may have a tough time staying in front of quicker wings. If Lonzo Ball is healthy, he’ll help, so Billy Donovan does have some options to plug the sieve on the perimeter.
But if the Bulls can’t stop players on the perimeter, it is going to be dunk city for the other team when they get to the rim.