Ahead of the 2020-2021 NBA season, ESPN has released a list of the top 100 players going into this season. Today they dropped players 51-100 and there were a couple of familiar names on that list. While the remainder of the list is yet to be released I don’t believe any other Bulls players will be making the cut. Without further ado here are the two Bulls players who landed in the top 100.
ESPN ranked Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine as the 56th best player for this season.
Bulls forward Otto Porter Jr is ranked 98th.
— Daniel Greenberg (@ChiSportUpdates) December 8, 2020
Shooting guard Zach LaVine being ranked in the top 100 is no surprise. Seeing another Bulls player make it in the top 100 was a little bit surprising. I’m not saying the Bulls have a bad team however the media doesn’t seem to consider many players on the team to be better than average. Let’s take a look at how these players found themselves in the top 100 rankings going into this season.
Otto Porter Jr.
Porter Jr. just barely made the cut coming in at 98th on the list. Porter is headed into his 9th season in the league and his 3rd with the Bulls. It’s a bit surprising to me that Porter made it on this list at all. He’s played 29 games over the last two seasons and only 14 last year. Granted the list is focused on a prediction of the player’s performance in the upcoming season. Obviously, this ranking is based upon Porter not getting injured this year. In his time with the Bulls, he has averaged 14.8 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 46 FG%, & 44 3FG%. If he could keep those stats consistent throughout a season then ranking him on this list makes sense. There’s a lot to still be seen from Porter since he hasn’t played a whole lot with this team. Let’s hope this ranking ends up being a reality.
Zach LaVine
The second Bulls player to land on this list needs no introduction for Bulls fans. LaVine took over this Bulls team last year and had some truly tremendous games.
Zach LaVine's best performances last season:
49 points, 13 threes
44 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists
43 points, 6 rebounds, 8 threes
42 points, 6 rebounds, 5 steals
41 points, 8 threes
41 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists
37 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals
35 points, 7/7 threes pic.twitter.com/kvqdr2zjpY— Josh J. (@JoshJBullsHoops) December 8, 2020
LaVine is entering his fourth season with the Bulls and is coming off a great season overall. Last year he averaged 25.5 PPG, 4.5 APG, 45 FG%, & 38 3FG%. LaVine’s numbers have been consistent with the Bulls and this past year was one of his best yet. So why is he not ranked within the top 50?
Zach got snubbed
Taking a look at the explanation for LaVine’s ranking it revolves around his inability to make it to the playoffs. Within the description, they talk about how LaVine is a walking bucket but his inability to make the playoffs holds him back from being ranked higher. While I can somewhat understand that, it’s not like LaVine has been put into great situations to make the playoffs. The last two years for the Bulls have been a mess. From upper management to the coaching it was a dumpster fire.
To put all of that on LaVine seems unfair. LaVine now has a legit head coach in Billy Donovan. That should have elevated his ranking right there. Some players that were ranked ahead of LaVine include Pelicans guard Lonzo Ball, Houston center Christian Wood, Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr., and Blazers Center Jusuf Nurkic. Don’t get me wrong those are all solid players but LaVine should be ranked ahead of all of them. LaVine under a new head coach and not having to carry all of the offensive load will only elevate his game. As the natural leader of this Bulls team, he always has something to prove and this ranking will certainly boost him to prove people wrong.
Adding fuel to the fire
Hopefully, this lights a fire under LaVine and he goes into this season ready to prove his worth. I’m sure all Bulls fans are just hoping that Porter Jr. can make it through a full season to see if he was worth adding to the team. Either way, this Bulls team is ready to get out there under a new regime. This team will look much different compared to the previous two years. While the roster looks the same the style of play will not. The Bulls know how the media views them. That should add fuel to their fire and push them to exceed expectations. Hopefully, we will be looking at a much different ranking when the season is all said and done.
