Opening night small-ball lineups, how to tank, more bad news from CHSN
The latest ahead of game No. 1.
It’s finally opening night!
Here’s the latest Chicago Bulls news heading into the team’s season debut against the New Orleans Pelicans, including what to expect from some mega small-ball lineups and the latest on the Chicago Sports Network saga.
Bulls will play small, fast … and then smaller and faster
One of the benefits of DeMar DeRozan’s exit to Sacramento is that Chicago will be able to run and jack up all the threes it wants without getting bogged down into an iso, half-court, mid-range offense.
Expect to see lots of that transition game and constant barrages of shots from deep.
And with only three players taller than 6-foot-9 on the roster (one of them being the plodding Nikola Vucevic), expect head coach Billy Donovan to experiment with some small lineups. Like really small.
Expect to see the 6-foot-8 Patrick Williams playing the five at times. Or Matas Buzelis, who’s listed at 6-foot-9 and a slim 195 pounds.
Jalen Smith is more suited to Chicago’s new run-and-gun style, but he won’t be gobbling up double-digit rebounds anytime soon.
A lineup of Josh Giddey (6-8), Zach LaVine (6-5), Dalen Terry (6-7), Julian Phillips (6-8) and Buzelis could run teams out of the gym and be super fun.
Chicago’s path to keeping its top-10 pick
The Bulls owe their 2025 first-round pick to the San Antonio Spurs as a lingering remnant of the DeRozan trade. The pick is top-10 protected, meaning Chicago has to finish with at least the sixth-worst record in the league to guarantee it keeps that selection.
