Chicago Bulls: Potential surprises in the preseason

Starters play extended minutes multiple times

There is certainly cause to think Fred Hoiberg would decide to play some of his starting guys an extended period of time in multiple games. For one, Zach LaVine is coming off his first full offseason as a Bull. It would benefit him greatly to get quite a bit of run on a couple occasions in the preseason.

Second, and a lot like the reasoning behind LaVine playing more minutes, is Jabari Parker‘s standpoint. He comes to the bulls after not having played a full season in Milwaukee last year and could use a good chunk of time with his new teammates.

Parker is also switching positions, going from his natural power forward spot to the small forward. Adjusting to playing (and more importantly, defending) on the wing is going to take more time than just five preseason games, but the extra time won’t hurt.

It is typical for the starters to sometimes sit out one of the preseason games, but in the Bulls’ case, I don’t see that happening. Like I said, I expect quite the opposite. If I was Hoiberg, I would want the starting five to play as much as possible together over the five exhibitions.