Chicago Bulls: Player grades from preseason opener loss to Bucks

The Chicago Bulls dropped their preseason opener to the Milwaukee Bucks. Here are their player grades from this inconsequential loss.

Unfortunately, the Chicago Bulls were not so successful in their first attempt to defend the United Center on Monday night where they took on the Milwaukee Bucks. They would drop the game 122-112, while the Lopez brothers would combine for 27 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks.

The Bulls would be missing a lot of depth this game, as Wendell Carter, Luke Kornet, Shaq Harrison and Chandler Hutchison all set out to rest nagging injuries.

Meanwhile on Milwaukee’s end, vital veterans like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, George Hill and Kyle Korver would all remain out of the action as they prepare for a championship push.

Fortunately, this was only a preseason game where the results would have no bearing on future playoff seeding. This gave us our first look at the current Chicago Bulls roster all together in one place. And don’t worry Robin, Benny forgives you.

Don’t get me wrong, Lauri Markkanen had a modest impact on the game and maintained solid efficiency, but it still left a rather bland taste in my mouth. Entering his third season, we should expect the offensive scheme to involve more plays ran for the Finnish sniper. Instead, most of Markkanen’s shot opportunities involved a pick-and-pop that left Lauri standing at the top of the key waiting for a pass.

Markkanen is not Ryan Andersen. He has much more to offer than being a lumbering shooter. While he did hit four of his eight shots from 3-point range, we know Lauri is capable of so much more. For a 7-footer, he has a surprising level of quickness and can take defenders off the dribble. As the season progresses, it’s imperative for Markkanen to assert himself into a larger role if the Chicago Bulls are to make a true run at the playoffs.

If it wasn’t clear before, it should be now — Zach LaVine is the best player on the Bulls. He led the team in points and clearly demonstrated he is the best shot creator on the team. He also went 3-for-6 from deep, most of which came off the dribble instead of spot-up shots.

That being said, it appears not even the most intense sandbox workouts could wipe away some of his old issues. He served up 5 assists, but at the cost of 3 turnovers. He showed commendable effort on defense, but still got blown by multiple times after not following cuts. It will be up to a hopefully improved Chicago defense and point guard play to help compensate for these flaws in his game this season.

What is it about Coby White‘s game? I can’t ever remember watching a player who seemed to have such a good natural feel for the game, but repeatedly struggled to attain real results. Granted, I’m not judging a rookie too harshly for his first stretch of games in the NBA, but this has now persisted through six games in the Summer League and preseason combined.

He creates a ton of separation off the dribble. Every shot Coby takes looks like a great one, yet he’s only hit 33.3 percent of them thus far. But Coby also displayed a high level of defensive IQ and awareness, raced up the court in transition and served as Chicago’s first true shot creator off the bench in quite some time. For that reason, I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and hope he figures his shot out sooner rather than later.

As you may have already heard Stacey King proudly draw this comparison during the game, Daniel Gafford‘s game brings back memories of Taj Gibson in a Bulls uniform. He always finds himself in the right position on both ends of the court, reeling in offensive rebounds and swatting shots. Nearly fouling out in just 18 minutes of play is a bit worrisome, but a common problem for rookie big men. Considering he had the second-best free throw rate of any Bulls player last night, I trust him to shake off common big man stereotypes.

Gafford has already earned praise as being a great locker room guy and could prove to become a Chicago Bulls mainstay for years to come if he maintains his current pace.

Well, that about answers the question on the status of Denzel Valentine‘s ankle injury. Sure, he’s (finally) ready to play, but is that such a good thing? Valentine was never known for his athleticism or mobility, but he looked as though he had 25 pound ankle weights strapped on last night. Because of this, Denzel’s once sweet mid-range floater game was non-existent. And that would be manageable if he was the spot-up shooter the Bulls need, but he only hit two of his seven 3-point attempts. The road ahead will only become more difficult for Valentine as he battles Ryan Arcidiacono and Shaq Harrison for minutes in the deep guard rotation.

In a very strange turn of events, Cris Felicio was actually… sort of… good last night? Even weirder, he earned the starting nod after Wendell Carter was ruled out to avoid risking re-injury. Gone were his previously common blunder of dropped passes and clumsy defensive lapses. Instead, Felicio made meaningful contributions every time his hands touched the ball (which was admittedly not very often). He didn’t commit a single turnover nor any personal fouls. He also achieved the second highest Plus/Minus of any starter, besting even LaVine and Markkanen.

Oh, and bonus points for rocking those extremely goofy Horace Grant-esque goggles. Keep on doing you Shrek.