Sports Illustrated - 21.10.2019

It’s unreasonable to expect young

big men unaccustomed to the rigors

of the NBA to never miss time, but

last season Lauri Markkanen and

Wendell Carter Jr. PLAYED ONLY

21 GAMES TOGETHER. Any path to relevance for

the young Bulls involves their 2017 and ’18 lottery

picks joining forces on the court.

As a rookie Carter had the fourth-worst offensive

rating (97.8) among players 6' 10" or taller. He

barely took threes (32), didn’t make them when he

did (six) and generally looked the 19-year-old kid

he was. But he did have the second-best defensive

rating on the team, was solid as a rebounder and,

with a season of experience, is sure to improve.

Markkanen, 22, lived up to his reputation as an

offense-first, defense-optional player. He might

never be able to switch onto smaller guards, but

if he is anything close to the next Dirk, the Bulls

won’t mind any defensive shortcomings, especially

with Carter’s play on that end. —Joe Wilkinson

21

TELLING NUMBER

*NEW ACQUISITION

Starters

∂39 wins ∂Lose in 1st round ∂They’ll lead the league in postpractice wind sprints—and still be bad on D.

TOMÁŠ

SATORANSKÝ*

8.9 PPG; 5.0 APG;

48.5 FG%; 39.5 3FG%

PG

ZACH

LAVINE

23.7 PPG; 4.5 APG;

46.7 FG%; 37.4 3FG%

SG

LAURI

MARKKANEN

18.7 PPG; 9.0 RPG;

43.0 FG%; 36.1 3FG%

PF

ENEMY LINES

A rival scout weighs in

WENDELL

CARTER JR.

10.3 PPG; 7. 0 RPG;

1.3 BPG; 48.5 FG%

C

Jim Boylen didn’t

have a lot of time to

implement his stuff

[after Fred Hoiberg was

fired in December]. He’s

had a full offseason,

full camp. This is his

chance to put his

imprint on the team....

ZACH LAVINE is not super

committed defensively,

but offensively he’s

really hard to go

against. He’s a Lou

Williams type. He tried

a little harder after the

mutiny last year. He’s

not the most wiling

passer. Teams will

continue to trap him

to make it hard....

With LAURI MARKKANEN,

the talent is there. Is

the toughness going

to be there? He looks

like he added weight.

If you physically feel

strong, it becomes

easier to be mentally

strong. If he is willing

to compete, you can

throw him at the five

and cause havoc....

WENDELL CARTER had the

right disposition last

season. He played hard

and didn’t back down.

He showed flashes of a

post game, he can put

the ball on the floor....

Swapping out Jabari

Parker for OTTO PORTER

was a huge upgrade. In

Washington, there were

times Porter was the

best player on the floor.

He’s a great transition

guy. If they want to play

with speed and pace,

he’s a weapon.... If

Carter can shoot the

ball, THADDEUS YOUNG will

be pretty effective

beside him. You can

play him as a five

offensively and have

him guard fours. To me

they will have to figure

out how they want to

play offensively with

two big guys. I assume

they’ll do a fair amount

of five-out, dribble

handoffs, creating

gaps and stretching

the defense.

Projected Lineup

THADDEUS

YOUNG

12.6 PPG; 6.5 RPG;

1.5 SPG; 52.7 FG%

PF

KRIS

DUNN

11.3 PPG; 6.0 APG;

4.1 RPG; 42.5 FG%

PG

Bench

SF

OTTO

PORTER JR.

13.9 PPG; 5.6 RPG;

46.5 FG%; 40.6 3FG%

78 Crystal Ball:

JONATHAN DANIEL/GETTY IMAGES (LAVINE)

THE
EAST

Bulls

CHICAGO

2018 – 19 RECORD 22– 60 4th in Central

COACH JIM BOYLEN 2nd season with Bulls