No matter what the sport, preseason reactions need to be taken with a bucket of salt. Many of the things we’ve seen so far from the Bulls won’t translate into regular season results.
But, we can only judge off what we’ve seen, and there have been a handful of noteworthy developments through the early going of basketball’s pretend season.
- BOBBY PORTIS IS HUNGRY FOR AN EXTENSION
Portis dunk pic.twitter.com/Ib2DyPnJ7B
— Ⓜ️arcusD ᴿᴵᴾ ᴹᵃʳᶜᵘˢᴰ² (@_MarcusD3_) October 11, 2018
The fourth-year forward is entering the final year of his rookie deal, and it’s not yet known how serious the Bulls are about keeping him in their long-term plans. There have been extension talks, but the deadline to get a deal done is fast approaching and nothing has happened yet.
Portis has responded to his uncertain situation with impressive play. He’s averaged almost 19ppg on 56% shooting so far over just 23 minutes a night. If the Bulls don’t extend Portis before the October 15th deadline, he’ll do his best to make them regret it.
2. ZACH LAVINE LOOKS AS SPRY AS EVER
There is one Bull that has filled up the stat sheet as well as Portis, and that’s LaVine. While the results are nice, LaVine’s health and comfort level in the offense matter far more.
Zach dunk pic.twitter.com/NQDSCD3xl8
— Ⓜ️arcusD ᴿᴵᴾ ᴹᵃʳᶜᵘˢᴰ² (@_MarcusD3_) October 8, 2018
Zach showing some bounce tonight pic.twitter.com/DNctWSHbHp
— Ⓜ️arcusD ᴿᴵᴾ ᴹᵃʳᶜᵘˢᴰ² (@_MarcusD3_) October 9, 2018
— Ⓜ️arcusD ᴿᴵᴾ ᴹᵃʳᶜᵘˢᴰ² (@_MarcusD3_) October 9, 2018
LaVine looks healthy and engaged, let’s hope we see more of this going forward:
Zach dunk. pic.twitter.com/YOEJSgmATw
— Ⓜ️arcusD ᴿᴵᴾ ᴹᵃʳᶜᵘˢᴰ² (@_MarcusD3_) October 11, 2018
3. JABARI PARKER HIGHLIGHTS THE TEAM’S DEFENSIVE WOES
Many national pundits are hesitant on this Bulls team making a jump forward this season because of their expected defensive woes. So far this preseason, free agent addition Jabari Parker has been the biggest example of why the Bulls should struggle on that end of the floor.
How not to guard pick-and-roll, starring Jabari Parker pic.twitter.com/mbFdLtUEol
— Mark (@mkhoops) October 8, 2018
Parker’s defense has looked like this much of the preseason, as well as most of his four-year career in Milwaukee. It’ll be interesting to see how much patience Fred Hoiberg will have with him if Parker continues to live up to his unfortunate defensive reputation.
Speaking of that…
4. FRED HOIBERG IS MAKING BOLD DECISIONS
Let's get it, #BullsNation!
🆚: @Pacers
📺: @NBCSChicago
📻: @670TheScore
🖥: https://t.co/5Rfr6jMgh9
Link to stream: https://t.co/Jkh34EIKJ6 pic.twitter.com/NjvweJjzmt— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) October 11, 2018
If you didn’t notice, there’s no Jabari Parker in that lineup. It looks like Hoiberg is going to mix and match lineups regardless of contract status or name recognition to put his players in the best chance to succeed.
Jabari Parker took news of coming off bench well, Fred Hoiberg says. Bulls want to run offense through him on second unit tonight.
— Cody Westerlund (@CodyWesterlund) October 10, 2018
Parker leading the second unit, especially with Portis in the starting lineup while Lauri Markkanen is out, is a sensible idea. It’s a move Hoiberg probably wouldn’t have made in his first year or two in Chicago, and he showed no signs of backing off from his stance today.
Fred Hoiberg on #Bulls' starting lineup last night, when Jabari Parker came off the bench: "We're still going to evaluate everything, but I did like the look of both units last night."
— Cody Westerlund (@CodyWesterlund) October 11, 2018
Keeping the guys in the locker room happy is part of his job, but not as important as developing the young talent and moving this rebuild forward. Keeping Parker on the bench as the captain of the second unit, despite Parker’s feelings, is an impressive stand.
Only one more fake game before the real season starts.
