Chicago Bulls: Player grades for the halfway mark of 2020-21

The rest of the Chicago Bulls starters have been good so far this year.

Patrick Williams — A-

With the stigma of being the draft pick that was taken too early, Williams has proven the critics wrong in the first half of his rookie season. He is averaging 10.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game. Williams is also shooting 47.4 percent from the field, 39 percent from three, and 78.8 percent from the charity stripe.

The statistics may not show it on defense as he has a 113 defensive rating, 46.6 percent defensive field goal to opponents, and -0.6 defensive box plus/minus. With that in mind, Williams is arguably the Bulls’ best defender taking on matchups like LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard.

The only nitpick at his play comes with his confidence. It’s extremely visible that Williams is not yet confident on offense because he sometimes hesitates to shoot the ball. Let it go, Paw! I will give him the benefit of the doubt being the youngest player in the NBA but other rookies like Deni Avijda play with a lot of confidence and aggression.

Coby White — B-

White is in his second year with the Bulls and has been handed the role of the facilitator in Donovan’s offense. He has a better assist percentage (21.7 percent) than a lot of high-ranking point guards like Dennis Schroeder and Jamal Murray.

He is averaging 16.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, and five assists per game, while also shooting 42 percent from the field, 35.4 percent from three, and 89.6 percent from the free-throw line.

White’s issues come in a lot of areas. First, his efficiency with the ball is subpar, recording a 2.1 assist-turnover ratio, ranking 96th in the NBA. White is a big contributor to the team’s struggles with securing the ball as he is averaging 2.4 turnovers per game.

White is also a serious liability on defense. He allows his matchups to shoot 53.2 percent from the field which is well above the league average of 46.5 percent. His defensive box plus/minus of -2.1 and a defensive rating of 116 are serious concerns for a team that already struggles on defense.

Wendell Carter — C-

Carter has not performed to his best this season. He is averaging 12.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game. He shoots 53.5 percent from the field, 35 percent from distance, and 73.3 percent from the free throw.

Carter has certainly had his struggles as a rim protector. Take it this way, he has the same defensive rating (110) as Thaddeus Young this season who is much smaller and less physical than Carter. For a team that allows the fourth-most points in the paint in the NBA (50.1 per game), Carter certainly attributes to that problem.

Carter has major weaknesses making defensive shifts to the helpline and he cannot defend top-rated centers in the league. Joel Embiid put up a season-high 50 points against him and Nikola Jokic scored 39 points against him (all in the paint).

Offensively, Carter hardly provides any help as a 7-footer. He ranks 40th amongst just centers in shooting percentage within three-feet of the basket (64.9 percent). On the bright side, Carter grabs as many offensive boards as Joel Embiid (2.1 rebounds per game). In the end, he still rocks a negative offensive box plus/minus, something that hasn’t changed in his career.