The Chicago Bulls have been dismayed by the destitute state of the franchise. Not only have they been unable to make deep runs into the playoffs, they haven’t even had the tools that would allow them to do so. They played a style reminiscent of teams from the mid-2000s, an era that emphasized the midrange.
With DeMar DeRozan down in Sacramento, Chicago can now modernize their offensive philosophy. With the 6-foot-10 and 260-pound Nikola Vucevic, who has a decidedly European skillset and mentality, they may not be getting up and down the court like the Indiana Pacers. However, they’ll look to push the pace next season.
What Do Bulls Decision-Makers Latest Comments Mean For Team?
This week, Bulls executive vice president Arturas Karnisovas and head coach Billy Donovan sat down with 670 The Score’s Mully & Haugh to offer insight into their plans for next season. Apparently, the embattled Zach LaVine figures to be a big part of them. For a player who has been cast as a villain, the admission was huge.
“People forget that two years ago he was an All-Star,” Karnisovas says. “He’s an ultimate pro. He’s a great guy, great person. He likes his teammates. So, again, I’m looking forward to seeing him in training camp.”
“You know, we have a vision of how we want to play,” their Lithuanian leader continues. We’ve obviously spent this summer talking about it with Billy that we want to play more uptempo, and he fits into that. We’ll see how that works.”
Checking Odometers & Going Outside
Expounding upon Karnisovas’s comments about how the Bulls plan to play next season, Donovan makes it sound like speeding up their offense is a means to an end. Their roster is perimeter-heavy, with a bevy of players who feel comfortable with the ball in their hand. A couple of them, like Josh Giddey and Matas Buzelis, are really only effective in that regard.
Billy on style of play: “We have some talented backcourt players, but they’re only effective with the ball in their hands. What kind of sacrifices can we make individually, where we’re not going to have one guy with the ball in his hands all the time.”
“We have to play faster”
— Will Gottlieb (@Will_Gottlieb) September 25, 2024
By increasing the pace, the Bulls will be able to generate more field goal attempts. There should be more open court opportunities. Players, especially on a younger team, should enjoy that style. Donovan also sees it as a way for them to take more 3s.
For a team that finished in the bottom-five in average 3-point attempts over the past three seasons, this will perhaps be the biggest change. It’s also necessary, as teams have usually come into games with at least one advantage over the Bulls. It hasn’t gone unnoticed.
“We’ve lost the analytical battle,” says a disapproving Donovan. “We were just not a high-volume 3-point shooting team. There were games we walked into with teams taking an enormous amount of 3-point shots, and we’re not able to keep up…
And it’s not necessarily about bombing up 3-point shots, but you don’t want to be up against it on a continuous basis.”
Lonzo Ball & Layup Lines
Interestingly, Lonzo Ball fits into Chicago’s plan as well.
Karnisovas believes that he and Giddey can “push the ball” to “generate rim shots and open (3-pointers).” During training camp and the preseason, the Bulls hope to discover how his body responds. After missing the last two seasons, there’s sure to be rust and misgivings.
AK on Lonzo: “During training camp, we’re going to try to find out the load.”
“He’s been playing 5 on 5 since early August. By training camp, he should be ramping up”
Billy: “We don’t know how he’s going to respond after games, after practice because we haven’t seen it.”
Team…
— Will Gottlieb (@Will_Gottlieb) September 25, 2024
However, Ball is still just 26 years old.
There is a downside to their plans to invigorate their offense and that’s the fact that teams that play fast often give up a lot of points. It doesn’t help that they don’t have a squad full of stalwart defenders. In fact, Giddey, LaVine, and Vucevic —who all seem like they’ll start —are among their least reliable defenders.
It could be a layup line for opposing offenses.
Donovan knows this, saying it’ll “be a challenge” to get stops.
How are the Bulls going to get stops?
Billy: “It’s going to be a challenge for us”
“Were going to have to do it by committee…we’re going to have to be creative to cover for each other in certain situations”
“We’re going to have to put a huge emphasis on (contesting shots)”
— Will Gottlieb (@Will_Gottlieb) September 25, 2024
The Bulls could lean into Buzelis, Ayo Dosunmu, Patrick Williams and Torrey Craig to raise their defensive ceiling.
To be clear, Dosunmu is the only backcourt player that will definitively improve their point-of-attack defense. Yet, as of now, he’s projected to come off the bench behind Coby White. That could change before the season even starts, and it probably should.
Nonetheless, the onus is currently on Giddey, LaVine, and White to play inspired basketball, and not just on one end of the court.
