The Bulls are hopeful that second-year forward Patrick Williams will return for the season opener in Detroit, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times. Williams was expected to miss four-to-six weeks after severely spraining his left ankle in mid-September during an individual workout.
“We’re pretty optimistic,” coach Billy Donovan said. “What the [doctors and trainers] really want to make sure is that the sprain has healed adequately, so we’ll probably be a little bit more on the cautious side, just because I think once [Williams] starts randomly cutting, they’ve got to see how he responds. With as explosive and as powerful as he has been, one of the things they don’t want is [to] have something where he’s not quite stable, he does something and tweaks it, and now he’s having to manage that in the middle of the year.”
We have more on the Bulls:
- Chicago’s ball movement in the preseason opener was superior, with the team amassing 36 assists. DeMar DeRozan says that Lonzo Ball is setting the tone with his play-making skills, K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago writes. “When you’ve got a point guard of that magnitude with that IQ that’s as unselfish as he is, he makes the game easier and it makes it fun. And it becomes contagious,” DeRozan said. “You saw the way we moved the ball. It’s been like that all through training camp, and we expect it to keep getting better.”
- Guard Javonte Green started in a downsized lineup in place of the injured Williams in that 36-point win over Cleveland. He made a solid case for a rotation spot, according to Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic. Green posted a stat line of 13 points on 6-for-9 shooting, eight rebounds, four blocks and two steals in 17 minutes. The Bulls re-signed Green on a two-year deal early in free agency.
- The team is still in good shape cap-wise despite all the big moves it made, John Hollinger of The Athletic notes in his review of the offseason and preview of the season ahead. The Bulls are $3MM below the tax line, giving them flexibility to make some in-season moves. While Chicago has improved its roster, Hollinger still projects the club to finish 11th in the Eastern Conference.
Wow 11th in the conference?! How does this guys have a job? They’ll be top 6 with that lineup barring major injury.
Hollinger is a top tier expert on stats, not much on basketball skills
Comparable to Daryl Morey from 76ers
I’m a bulls homer for sure, but 11th in the conference, hilarious…I’ve listened to some “the athletic” podcasts, I don’t get their target demographic, it’s like dudes who are pretentious about what job their friends have
The Athletic is overrated. What kind of a schmuck would pay money to read about sports? Get a life.
Yeah that guy must wake up and smoke crack 11th in the conference that opinion right there is enough for me not pay the athletic for their beta content
Is it really that unimaginable? Going by the preseason win total over/under predictions, the Bulls should finish somewhere between 7th and 9th in the east (along with the Knicks and Pacers). They could easily finish at #11.
I’d be far less surprised to see Houston go over and win 27 games than if Chicago finishes under by failing to win 43 games this season. We shall see.
The Rockets won’t and don’t really even want to win 27 games. They’re rebuilding, they need draft picks. Green, Wood and Porter are a nice start but it will take more than that to compete. Honestly Green could go either way, his comps could be anywhere from Ty Lawson to James Harden.
The Chicago Bumslayers
As a Bulls fan I’m just ecstatic that the GarPax-Boylen Brain fart is gone and a competent FO and Coach are now in place. One game does not a team make but you can’t help but see what an amazing feat it was to get rid of all the GarPax trash in only one season and come in under the tax!
As for the idiot who said they are 11th in the conference just makes him a hater and unfit to write an unbiased column. If healthy, they will certainly make waves.
Still not convinced LaVine is Max Contract player, But I’m leaning that way seeing how he blended in with the group. Well Done Mark, AK and Billy.
LaVine will be easily the top 10 player in the nba, IMO
They aren’t 11th in the conference, I think they finish 5-7 but LaVine will never be a top 25 player let alone top 10.
He’s easily top 25. Name 25 guys better than him.
I was never a LaVine fan. I actually thought they should of traded him to get back some of the Draft picks they gave up last year. You’d still have Ball and DeRozan at G with Caruso,Green and Dosunmu and White for Back ups. However, his stint in the Olympics seems to have made him realize he doesn’t have to do everything himself, which should help keep him stay healthier also. So I’m OK with seeing how it goes, and then offering it at the end of the season because he’ll have Bird rights. Or if it goes bad, you could still get something at the deadline. Either way, I’m now entertained and watching again.
Lavine top 10 is a joke..im bulls fan but he isnt top 10. lebron,ad,kawhi,cp3, joker, curry,dame,doncic,pg3 (yes,he is better than lavine.), Gianis,kyrie,harden,(but i rather have lavine than one of those nets),durrant,embiid,buttler,bam,tatum,beal.
Maybe some players from that list are debbatable, but he isnt top 10. And there are still so many player are debbatable too. Klay before his injured is better (but i dont know now),booker,mitchell,jaylen brown (i like him more than lavine),trae young (dont like him),middleton (love him more than lavine), randle (i believe he is better than lavine).
Honestly, i want bulls trade lavine for jaylen brown…
Et tu, Tacocat?
Vucevic
Williams
DeMar
LaVine
Ball
White, Caruso, DJ, Bradley
Not a bad squad. They def need to upgrade behind DeMar, maybe Kyle Anderson?
What does that nerd Hollinger know? He sucks. Go play with your calculator or something. Bulls will be much better than 11. What a dork. No wonder he got fired.
You make some excellent points.
Hollinger is smarter than a bunch of homers about one team. Bulls are weak inside.
At least fan spirit is high.