Bulls president Michael Reinsdorf was asked if this year’s team could potentially compete for a playoff spot and he didn’t try to sugarcoat his feelings. From his perspective this season is still about how the core develops.
Sneaking in as the seventh or eighth seed in the upcoming year isn’t a realistic goal at least in the mind of Reinsdorf.
Are you in a position to say the #Bulls making playoffs is a realistic goal?
Michael Reinsdorf on @mullyhaugh: "Is it realistic? I don't know if I can put that expectation out there. What I can do is look at how does the team progress and where is the development coming from?"
— Cody Westerlund (@CodyWesterlund) October 17, 2018
Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg made the starting lineup official for Thursday night’s season opener against the 76ers. Jabari Parker, the team’s big free agent signing, will come off the bench, replaced by Bobby Portis, while rookie Wendell Carter Jr. gets the nod at center over Robin Lopez.
Bulls starting lineup
Kris Dunn – 24 years old
Zach LaVine – 23 years old
Justin Holiday – 29 years old
Bobby Portis – 23 years old
Wendell Carter Jr. – 19 years old
Our Bulls guy, Patrick Mooney has a breakdown of the entire roster. Check that out.
The biggest news starting the season is that Lauri Markkanen will miss another 3-5 weeks. So, that sucks. Obviously, Parker going to the bench is also a headline, while Carter gets the starting role straight out of Duke.
Fans won’t really get to see what this core can accomplish until Markkanen returns, but at least Carter gets experience right off the bat that could prove to be beneficial in the future.
Overall, this team is extremely young, the second youngest in the NBA.
The Chicago Bulls enter the 2018-2019 season as the second-youngest group with an average age of 24.5 years old. Bulls have 13 players on the roster who are not even 25 years old.
— Daniel Greenberg (@ChiSportUpdates) October 18, 2018
So yeah, as much as we’re hungry to see the Bulls return to the postseason, maybe any playoff expectations should be tempered.
That doesn’t mean this year won’t be exciting. Zach LaVine is finally going to be 100 percent healthy coming back from his torn ACL. Markkanen should be even better after his good rookie season and hopefully Kris Dunn’s intensity can translate into better results not just for him, but the rest of his teammates.
The Bulls were 27-55 last season, the third worst record in the Eastern Conference. Bovada currently has the over/under season total for Bulls wins at 30. I’d bet the over, but I have to agree with Reinsdorf.
Playoffs? Not yet. But I’d love to be proven wrong.
*literally after I published this*
“Kris Dunn is excused tonight for a personal matter. We will start Cam Payne in his place.” Coach Hoiberg
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) October 18, 2018
Yeah, they’re not making the playoffs.
