As if the start of the 2023-24 season wasn’t embarrassing enough for Bulls fans, things seemed to reach a new low when Chicago hosted the Miami Heat on Saturday.
The Bulls started the game in a somber mood, immediately fell behind 1:22 and looked completely defeated within a few minutes.
According to ESPN’s win prediction model, the Heat had as much as a 95.9% chance of winning the game in the third quarter.
Although Chicago didn’t score a single basket in the first eight minutes of regulation, the Bulls fought their way into the game the rest of the way.
Against all odds, they would emerge victorious, saving team morale and, ultimately, maybe even a few jobs.
While it’s nice to enjoy the win for now, they won’t be allowed to enjoy it for too long as the Heat will once again storm the United Center in hopes of beating the Bulls on their home court tonight.
If Chicago hopes to avoid the same level of embarrassment it experienced Saturday, it will need these three players to keep their heads in the game and contribute more consistently.
The Bulls look to get their first back-to-back wins of the season tonight in a rematch against the Heat.
1. Patrick Williams
There has been a lot of talk about Patrick Williams’ disappointing start to the 2023-2024 season, so I won’t go into too much detail here.
Now that he appears to have taken on a permanent bench role, it’s unfair to expect huge statistical productions from him.
However, it is reasonable to expect more than… that.
Williams recorded just two points in the win over Miami and converted just one of his five shot attempts.
Williams has scored double-digit points in just three of his 14 games this season, and hasn’t scored 15 or more on any night.
In a contract year where Williams was hoping for a significant contract extension, calling this a disastrous start to the year would be an understatement.
We’re quickly approaching the deserved label of “bankruptcy” if Williams doesn’t turn things around, son.
2. Nikola Vučevic
Although the Bulls won the rebounding war as a team, the loss to relatively small 6-foot-9 center Bam Adebayo was not a reassuring sign from Chicago big man Nikola Vucevic.
With 8 rebounds in 33 minutes of play, Vooch’s teammate, Zach LaVine, had the same 8 rebounds and even Drummond had 9 rebounds despite only spending 15 minutes on the court.
It’s hard to win in today’s NBA if you can’t rebound with the basketball. It’s also hard to win if you can’t make three-point shots.
Vooch’s 1-of-5 long-range shooting performance could have cost the Bulls the game with a razor-thin margin of victory.
Here’s hoping things go better for the former All-Star center tonight.
3. Jevon Carter
Unlike the previous two names on this list, where the Bulls were clearly hurt by their poor play, Jevon Carter himself is the biggest benefactor of Jevon Carter’s good play.
After signing a relatively low-risk, $20 million contract with Chicago this offseason, Jevon has every reason to vie for a bigger role that could land him a very big deal in the future.
Carter hasn’t had a chance to accomplish much so far, averaging just 14.4 minutes per game despite shooting 44.2 percent from the three-point line.
Chicago showed itself ready to shake things up with its decision to place Alex Caruso in the starting lineup.
