Bulls’ rotation roulette: Predicting Billy Donovan’s starting 5 and reserves
Kevin Anderson and K.C. Johnson break down the tough decisions facing Billy Donovan as the Bulls season approaches. Could Nikola Vucevic and Zach LaVine come off the bench this year (4:18)? How might LaVine handle reduced usage (7:00)? They dive into which players are locks for Donovan’s rotation and who might be on the bubble, including whether Lonzo Ball will see any minutes (9:30). The guys also debate if Donovan will expand to a 10-man rotation (20:30), predict the Bulls’ win total (28:41), and assess their playoff chances (32:03). Plus, could Matas Buzelis make a surprise run for Rookie of the Year (35:03)? Don’t miss this in-depth look at the season ahead!
#ChicagoBulls #BillyDonovan #ZachLaVine #LonzoBall
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17 Comments
That's the move k.c. youth movement all the way also can't let Zach get in Coby's way anymore…vooch may start depending on jalen smith…Zach off the bench is the best way to rebuild his value because he gets to show unselfishness and professionalism and the willingness to buy in. Everyone's seen him dominate on a bad team nothing new to show here starting. Giddey, White, Williams, Buzelis, Vooch/ Smith. Bench will be phenomenal if he buys in.
Josh Giddey will not be starting for the Bulls. Assuming Lonzo Ball is 100% he'll start. Preseason will be a telling sign how well Lonzo Ball has recovered or not.
This roster is like The Land Of The Misfit Toys. (Old Xmas time reference). However, I expect team continuity will be better defensively and a few young players i.e. Ayo Dosunmu, Dalen Terry, and Jalen Smith will standout and become contributors to more wins than the Vegas odds. Team pace will improve, and DT's improved 3 pt shooting and scoring will surprise Bulls fans as they were ready to write him off last season.
Rookie Matas Buzelis is the X factor.
Josh Giddey will not starting in the preseason if Lonzo Ball starting I can happy
K C. Best in the business
Giddey, White, Lavine, Pat(?), Vuc.
Rotation – Smith,Buzelis,Ayo,Duarte
Great stuff, gents! Here are my thoughts:
1. Zo will play 10th/11th Man Minutes – basically what Jevon Carter played last year.
2. Agree on Starting 5, at least until Zach is traded.
3. Speaking of Starting 5, Giddey, surrounded by shooters Coby, Zach, & PWill & a Midrange/Post/Pocket Scorer like Vuc, is going to be pretty potent, assuming Billy emphasizes ball & player movement more.
4. Ayo leads the team in min off the bench, but Dalen is a close second. They’ll need his ability to defend multiple positions.
5. I think Buzelis plays in GLeague for first quarter of season so the team can play vets like Zo, Craig & Duarte, see how good the team could be, potentially flip them at the deadline if team is as bad as everyone seems to think they’ll be.
6. My projected rotation:
Starters:
Giddey, Coby, Zach, PWill, Vuc
Next5:
Ayo, Lonzo/Duarte, Terry, Craig, Smith
I think it should be giddey(I really want zo, but I understand he’s coming off an injury and will have restricted minutes) lavine pwill craig vuc/ zo coby ayo matas smith/ Duarte bitim Terry Philips sanogo. I hope lavine patches the relationship and proves all the analysts wrong who have been so adamant on Zach being traded for whatever reasons.
If Buzelis isn’t a lock to get significant minutes because of Lavine being on this roster then it’s a complete fail. Failed to tear down the roster and now stuck with more veterans on the roster than needed clogging the rotation for young players. Yikes, terrible.
PG White, SG LaVine, Point Forward Giddey, PF PWill, C Vooch
You're both right and wrong. The way that I see it is that the veterans (LaVine, Vooch, Ball, Craig, Carter) will see a lot of playing time leading up to the trade deadline in order to increase their trade value. After the trade deadline the young players will see their minutes increase exponentially.
I'd personally get rid of Donovan. Seems like they don't run a cocident style of offense in practice. Players are left to play iso and play desperation ball at the end of the shot clock
If ten is the list… My bench five are Lonzo pg, ayo SG 6th man,Phillips SF, matas pf, Smith c.
Bring this garbage team on so i can do a lot of betting against them again this season
The "rebuild", or whatever AK wants to call it, can't start until Zach and Vooch are gone. Starting Zach, Coby and Giddey will put P.Will standing in the corner again. They just gave him 5 years/$90 million. He should be the starting 3 and should get the ball (until he inevitably gets hurt). Smith is a legit PF and should start at the 4. As usual, AK signed no other bigs so they are very light in the paint again. Regardless, that top 10 protected pick next year is looking safe.
KEEP ZACH!!
The rotation doesn't matter the coach is garbage until Billy Donovan is gone the rotation just don't matter
I can’t wait for Zach to get traded so people can run out of excuses for these garage bulls. The bulls have been a thoughtless organization since Jimmy butler left. The bulls have no rim protection, 0 perimeter defense, inconsistent 3 point shooting, and no point guard. The roster is terribly assembled. Lonzo being out has destroyed the foundation of the team