Chicago Bulls: Who is trending up, trending down amidst preseason

Trending Down: Forward Jabari Parker

The Bulls brought in Jabari Parker to be one of the main guys within this offense. The hope was that maybe, just maybe, he could learn to play a smidge of defense as well. The potential was always there for Parker, especially on the offensive end. But injuries have riddled his young career.

Parker came to Chicago and immediately it was announced he would shift to small forward. Then, the injury to Lauri Markkanen put that into question. With Markkanen out a few weeks, and up to two months, would Parker slide back up to power forward?

Wednesday night, Hoiberg decided to do something different entirely. As aforementioned, Parker slid to the bench while Portis took the starting nod at the four spot. Justin Holiday started at the three.

It was pretty shocking to see Hoiberg make such a bold move, to say the least. Maybe he was testing things out; giving other guys a bit more time on the floor with the starters. Who really knows.

But, this does not bode well for Parker, as Portis played very well within the starting five. Parker’s preseason has been poor all-around. He even labeled his play as “doo-doo” following a loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. He hasn’t shot well, he still isn’t playing very good defense. He’s trending in the wrong way.