Will The Bulls Be A Better Defensive Or Offensive Team This Year?
Last season, the Chicago Bulls took a major hit to their offense when it was announced that Otto Porter Jr. would miss a significant portion of the season after suffering a foot injury in November. He did not return to the court until March for the Bulls and immediately came back and made an impact in the Bulls final five games of the season, averaging 13.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and shooting 48.2% from the floor.
With Otto Porter Jr, Denzel Valentine, and Wendell Carter Jr. all back and healthy for the start of the 2020-21 NBA season, the Bulls should definitely be a better offensive team than they were last year. All three players could average double-digit scoring for the Bulls this season and for a team that was near the bottom of the league in offensive production a season ago, this would be much needed.
On the defensive side of things, the Chicago Bulls were actually very effective last season, only surrendering the 14th least points to opponents per game and holding them to 35.3% from three-point range, 12th best in the NBA. The only part of the Bulls defense that needs to improve this season that does not show up in the stats is their ability to keep their opponents out of the paint.
They allowed way too many straight-line drives to the rim last season to opponents, which is where Patrick Williams can really make an impact on this team. His ability to keep his opponents out of the paint and not let them drive past him is something that will increase his value with the Bulls and elevate him to being one of the best defensive rookies this season.
Lauri Markkenen and Wendell Carter Jr. also need to improve as interior defenders for the Bulls as they were near the bottom of the league last season in opponent’s points in the paint. If the Bulls are to find success this year, they will need to be a better interior defensive team and given their defensive efforts over the years, they should end up being a better overall defensive team rather than a better offensive team.
