Getty Images Billy Donovan
The 2021-22 NBA season was a mix of emotions for the Chicago Bulls and their fans. On one hand, the Bulls broke their five-year playoff drought but on the other hand injuries derailed a hot start to the season leaving many to wonder what could have been.
The Bulls got off to a blistering start jumping out to a 27-13 record and sitting in first place in the Eastern Conference 40 games into the season. However injuries started to pile up in early January as Lonzo Ball, Alex Caruso, and Zach LaVine all missed time with injuries.
With the early success, the Bulls had during the season the team decided this offseason they wanted to run it back with their core. Chicago was able to keep the core intact when they re-signed LaVine to a five-year $212 million contract in early July.
The Key Cog
On Friday Former Chicago Bull and current Bulls analyst Will Perdue said on the Bulls Talk Podcast that he believes third-year forward Patrick Williams will be a huge key for the team this season.
“Not his skill set. Not his body type. None of that. Because I think we’ve proven that he’s big enough, strong enough, fast enough, shoots the ball well enough, can attack the rim, can finish,” Perdue said. “The question is: Has he been eating nails for lunch every day this summer?”
“He’s the fourth pick in the draft. And with the fourth pick in the draft comes expectations. We understand that he has had injuries. But we’re now going on the third season. And we’ve seen enough, even though each season has been abbreviated because of injuries, that it’s time for him to live up to those expectations.”
Perdue is right if the Bulls are going to be able to take the next step as a team next season then Williams’s development and mindset will be a huge key. If he can up his production then it will be a huge bonus for the Bulls.
During his time in the NBA Perdue learned a thing or two about what it takes to win. He was a part of the Bulls’ first three-peat and was a member of the Spurs 1999 championship team.
Health is Key
Beyond Williams’s development another big key for the Bulls this coming season will be health. The other key Perdue named during his appearance was the health of Lonzo Ball.
When Ball went down with a knee injury in January the Bulls were in first place in the Eastern Conference. Initially, the team thought he’d be able to return before the end of the season but when Ball tried to ramp up his rehab in March there were setbacks and he missed the rest of the season.
Ball has been rehabbing at home in Los Angeles this summer with the Bulls keeping an eye on him. Recently his father LaVar said that Ball was progressing well and will be ready for the start of the season.
A couple of weeks prior the Bulls said Ball was making progress but not as quickly as they would like. It’s unclear how close Ball actually is to returning but the sooner the better for the Bulls.