Sports
Bulls Bold Predictions Ahead of 2023-24 NBA Season – Bleacher Report
The Chicago Bulls used the 2023 NBA offseason to further commit to this core.
You can debate the merits of this approach—Chicago has been mired in mediocrity since losing Lonzo Ball to a knee injury in January 2022—but it’s possible the Bulls could reap some rewards during the upcoming 2023-24 campaign.
This team has talent, and the following three bold predictions could help the club tap into it.
Zach LaVine may not have the richest resume when it comes to team success, but he is clearly an elite offensive talent.
The 28-year-old is on a five-year run of averaging at least 23 points and four assists every season. Only seven other players can say the same, per StatHead, and they are some of the top point-producers on the planet.
There are a slew of skilled shot-makers on that list, and LaVine is one of them. He is enough of a net-shredder to join the exclusive 50/40/90 club. He would need to up his free-throw connection rate a bit, but he’s already had one season in which he shot 50-plus percent overall and 40-plus percent from range.
Clearing those marks again won’t be easy, but the Bulls have enough scorers and shot-creators around LaVine to keep defenses from overloading on him. If he gets enough clean looks at the basket, he could be in line for the best shooting season of his career.
Ever since Ball went down, the Bulls have had issues at point guard. This offseason, they made a $20 million wager on Jevon Carter sorting them out.
His game isn’t a mirror image of Ball’s, but there are similarities. Like Ball, Carter sets a tenacious tone on defense and routinely makes sound decisions on offense.
The 28-year-old looks like the best complement for Chicago’s stars, which could help him lock up the starting and closing point guard duties. If he keeps things simple and takes advantage of the scoring power around him, he could be hugely helpful to what this team hopes to accomplish.
Between his steady hand on offense and ability to lock down the defensive end, Carter could thrive with those cliched “winning plays” you always hear coaches raving about. He could also best position this team for success and potentially post its highest plus/minus.
Before Bulls fans get too excited about this prediction, we need to make one thing clear: There aren’t many reasons beyond blind faith to think Patrick Williams can orchestrate his long-awaited leap year.
Then again, it’s not like he’s hurting for tools, and he has flashed some high-end talent at times. So, whenever the light bulb clicks, it could be wholly brilliant.
“I hate comparing guys to other guys, I seldom do it, but he reminds me of Kawhi [Leonard],” DeMar DeRozan said of Williams, per Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. “I know that’s been thrown out there, but his build, the way he moves, everything. Kawhi’s one of the greatest players to play this game, and that’s high praise right there. That’s what I see Pat becoming.”
If Williams can manage even a halfway convincing impression of Leonard, then the Bulls will be in tremendous shape. Nothing would impact this team more than the 22-year-old coming into his own as a two-way force.
They should give him every chance they can to tap into his towering potential, and if he seizes this opportunity, he could wind up in the running for an All-Star selection.
