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The Chicago Bulls made up for their lackluster effort in the preseason opener with a much better showing against the Denver Nuggets. Chicago’s 131-113 victory came without the reigning MVP, Nikola Jokic, on the floor for Denver which certainly could have changed the outcome in this one.
But it’s how this game began that is sure to be the center of attention for the Bulls, at least until their next outing.
Bulls head coach Billy Donovan opted to start sparkplug Javonte Green over Patrick Williams.
Green starting is not surprising in a vacuum – he did so 45 times last season due to injuries, specifically to Williams. The difference is that Williams is healthy now and the Bulls are expecting a big leap from the 21-year-old.
Pat Williams ‘All For’ Green Starting
One of the things that this group has boasted about is their chemistry. Not only do players point out that they like each other, Bulls vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas let it be a guiding principle to this past offseason.
The Bulls returned each of their top-10 leaders in minutes per game leaders from last year.
That showed as Williams addressed Green getting the starting nod over him despite the former being healthy.
“In practice, I usually get reps with both units,” Williams told reporters. “I didn’t really think too much into it. When [Donovan] told me I was all for it. I really think Javonte is a really good player – plays with a lot of energy. And I kind of see where [Donovan] was coming from in terms of [Green] being able to bring energy to that first group. And I think it worked. We won.”
Williams is correct, the switch to Green (for however long) can be considered a success with the win. Green also racked up 15 points on over 71% shooting while adding five rebounds, two assists, and one block.
He was also a game-high plus-15 on the night.
In the preseason-opening loss, Green had 18 points on 71.4% shooting with five boards off of the bench.
Asked whether he viewed the move as potentially permanent or just a one-time thing, Williams
“We haven’t talked about it. It’s only the second preseason game so there wasn’t really much left to talk about…our main focus was just trying to be better on both ends of the ball and try to win the next game. We didn’t want to lose two in a row.”
Impact of Williams’ Previous Admission
Williams recently opened up and said that he can “definitely” feel a different level of pressure this season. The former fourth-overall pick dealt with a wrist injury last season and had COVID disrupt his rookie offseason. Those things have been given as excuses for Williams’ slower-than-desired.
To his credit, he turned in a solid effort against Denver with 11 points on 66.7% shooting with a pair of rebounds.
There was some public urging for the Bulls to provide Williams with more on-ball opportunities this season. That is always going to be a challenge when he plays alongside DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, and Nikola Vucevic.
This move naturally moves Williams into more of a featured role.
He first entered the game at the same time as backup point guard Goran Dragic with a little over four minutes remaining in the first quarter and the Bulls trailing 19-14. Williams still managed to see plenty of time with the Bulls’ top trio as well including that initial stint. That group went on a quick 6-0 run to take a 21-19 lead before the rest of the Bulls’ top subs entered the game.
Success Breeds Success
The conundrum for Donovan is now, what to make of this. He suggested the move was part of his typical experimentation with lineups in the preseason. It’s something he spoke of on media day and a Joker-less Nuggets team made for an ideal opportunity.
It doesn’t help that, in limited action, the foursome of Williams and the Bulls’ Big Three posted a minus-9.7 net rating last season, per Cleaning The Glass.
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They were plus-11 with Lonzo Ball as the fifth member, for what it’s worth.
But, after the bench helped bring the Bulls back in the opener and Green helped spark the starting lineup against the Nuggets, this isn’t going to be dismissed by the public as easily as it is by Donovan. And Williams’ positive outlook could be challenged as well. Especially if they go back to Plan A with Williams starting and the results remain poor.
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