Chicago Bulls: New starting lineup succeeds again versus OKC Thunder
By Ryan Taylor
The Chicago Bulls are seeing results from their new starting lineup.
New Starting Lineup Part Two
The major takeaways from this game came from the visible differences between the old starting lineup (including Coby White and Wendell Carter) versus the new (Satoranský and Young).
The Bulls went up by 14 points in the first quarter, putting up an enormous 42 points to begin the game. It was clear that the fastbreak initiations by Satoranský and the facilitating in the middle of the floor by Young made the Bulls’ offense cleaner. They elevated the games of the starters, as shown by LaVine and Markkanen’s numbers.
"“The first six minutes of games, if you look at the net rating and the numbers, we’ve been one of the worst teams in the league,” said head coach Billy Donovan."
The Bulls again won in the team statistics Bulls fans want to see. They had more assists (24 total), fast-break points (11), points in the paint (66), and free throw attempts (18). These all are added ingredients to the team having more aggressive and successful cutting on offense and adding the right facilitators in the rotation to make those plays happen. Hence, the additions of Satoranský and Young continue to help.
Bench Mob Analysis
Let’s review the numbers for the two additions to the bench mob, White and Carter.
White had a frustrating game, recording four points, two rebounds, and zero assists in 28 minutes of play. He shot 2/7 from the field and failed to make any of his three 3-point attempts. Defensively, he struggled on a few runs to hold off Ty Jerome from scoring.
Carter covered for White’s inefficient play, putting up nine points, nine rebounds, and two assists in 23 minutes off the bench. He shot 4/8 from the field, which is sufficient from the bench. Carter, like White, also failed to help fend off Moses Brown who scored 20 points down low.
While this might look like a disappointing game for the two, things will change. Looking at the potential for this rotation, White and Carter are serviceable scorers and facilitators in the NBA who can beat up on their opponents’ second rotations. In that case, they will be putting up higher numbers off the bench.