Happy New Year, Bulls fans! I hope all of you enjoyed a safe and happy holiday season.
2020 got off to a sad start for NBA fans, as we learned of the passing of former commissioner David Stern at the age of 77. As Scottie Pippen said in his social media post, the Bulls saw an awful lot of Stern in the 1990s. Six championship trophy celebrations. He’s also the man who announced the team drafting the likes of Michael Jordan, Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose. Stern rescued the league from a dark time, stood by one of its biggest stars when Magic Johnson announced he was HIV positive, and drove the league’s global expansion. He will be so missed.
With such a reminder that life is fleetingly precious, it’s a good time to think about making the most of ourselves. A new year means a chance to start fresh and build something. A time to set goals and work nonstop towards achieving them. A time for resolutions.
Here are a few New Year’s resolutions I’d like to set for the Bulls, and one for myself. It’s the Pecking Order.
1) Zach and Lauri play more of their two-man game
We’ve started to see more of this recently, and Lauri Markkanen mentioned recently that he and LaVine had gotten away from their two-man game this season. But it can be incredibly effective. Zach draws a lot of double teams.
Meanwhile, we saw Lauri pull out of his shooting slump and knock down many more 3-pointers in December. He’s also been better cutting to the rim when he’s off the ball. Jim Boylen needs to work more Zach-Lauri sets into this free-flowing, multi-ballhandler system. Pick and pop, pick and roll. The players who are supposed to be the two most talented on this team need to work together more and develop their chemistry. Panic trading either before that happens would be a mistake, in my opinion.
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2) Wendell... shoot!
Wendell Carter Jr. shot five 3-pointers in the Bulls’ last two games of 2019, making two of them. In his previous ten games combined, he shot four. His 1.1 three-point attempts per 100 possessions is down from his rookie season mark of 1.4. In response to a recent postgame question about Wendell shooting more, Boylen said he’s instructed Wendell to “let it fly” under the appropriate circumstances. Through 34 games, I think it’s fair to say Wendell hasn’t looked like a player given the green light to shoot when open. And it’s not just his 3-ball attempts that have fallen off.
In his rookie season, Wendell took 29.1% of his total field goal attempts between 10 feet and the 3-point line. AKA, midrange. He wasn’t tremendously effective, shooting just 36.8% from that distance. His make percentage from that distance this season has risen to a modestly improved 40.8%, but that constitutes just 12.5% of his total shots. It’s well known at this point that Boylen is trying to limit the number of midrange shots across the board this season, focusing on getting to the rim and taking threes. Countless times this season, we’ve watched Wendell pass up wide open looks in midrange.
How is Wendell expected to develop this part of his offensive game if he’s not allowed to shoot? The Bulls could benefit from another big spacing the floor and pulling opposing bigs away from the basket. It would provide more room for Zach LaVine and other ball-handlers to penetrate and increase their currently atrocious at-the-rim percentage. It could also give the Bulls more second chance points with extra possessions from offensive rebounds. Shoot, Wendell.
3) Trade Thad Young to free up minutes for Daniel Gafford
Thad Young finished 2019 with some truly uninspiring games. It’s been reported that he’s unhappy with his allotted minutes this season and might request a trade if that doesn’t change. Lauri and Wendell both need to play more, not less. And the production and energy Daniel Gafford has shown in his limited rotation minutes begs for more playing time.
The Bulls thought Young would bring some much-needed veteran leadership and experience to a young team. It wasn’t a bad idea at the time and was widely praised as a smart offseason addition. Sometimes, even what appear to be smart roster moves don’t work out. Management should face that reality and move Thad to focus on the young guys in what is looking like another year of development rather than legitimate playoff contention.
Maybe the Bulls could add some wing depth and/or a draft pick in a Thad trade. It would also provide more opportunities for Gafford, along with minutes for Wendell to play the four. That is his natural position, according to him. Let’s see it.
4) Beat some good teams
That’s it. That’s the resolution.
5) Enjoy the good moments
Ya’ll know I tend to lean towards pessimism when it comes to this current Bulls rebuild. I can’t help but look at the facts and results and react accordingly. But sometimes, as our fearless leader Kevin Anderson has pointed out, I am so caught up in grounding myself in this negative reality that I don’t even let myself enjoy the team’s wins and solid performances from its young players.
On our final episode of Bulls Outsiders of 2019, I half-jokingly said that I was making no New Year’s resolutions. “Why should I make a resolution?! Y’all are the ones failing us!” Part of me still very much stands by that statement. But I will also try to enjoy the good moments. What kind of life is it for a sports fan to only be affected by negativity? Probably not a great one, and my older self might thank me if I can take a few deep breaths, enjoy the good and lower my rage-induced blood pressure.
Here’s to better things ahead in 2020. Thanks for reading. See red, be good.
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