SUNDAY UPDATE FOR WEEK 1

Sunday Update: Week 1

The Bulls have lost their first two games of the regular season. Blown out in Philadelphia by the talented 76ers, and fumbling a nail-biter at home against the Detroit Pistons, it was a tough first week of basketball for Chicago.

One bright spot has been the electric play of Zach LaVine. Scoring more than 30 points in both games, LaVine is tied with former MVP Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors for 4^th in the league in scoring (31.5 points a game).

Even with LaVine’s spark, you could tell that the team desperately missed the services of Lauri Markkanen (Elbow), Denzel Valentine (Ankle), and Kris Dunn (Baby), especially in the home opener against Detroit. If even one of those guys had played in that Detroit game I think this graph would look a little bit different…

Rookie Update:

-Wendell Carter Jr. was the starting center in the first two games of the season. He struggled on offense against the 76ers, but bounced back at home against Detroit. In his first two games he finished 8 of 16 from the field, with 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 turnovers, 0 steals, and 3 blocks. Not bad for his first week of work.

-Chandler Hutchison played a couple of minutes in garbage time of the season opener against the 76ers. He did not play against Detroit.

-Rawle Alkins did not play this week.

Injury Update:

Lauri Markkanen is still nursing his sprained elbow, but it looks like he is no longer wearing an immobilizing brace on that arm. Denzel Valentine’s ankle sprain was worse than first thought and now involves a bone bruise. He will be out several more weeks.

#Bulls‘ Denzel Valentine had a scan Friday that revealed a bone bruise in his surgically repaired left ankle that he sprained early in training camp, which is why he’s out at least two more weeks. “We’re going to let that quiet down,” Fred Hoiberg says.

— Cody Westerlund (@CodyWesterlund) October 20, 2018

Denzel Valentine will be re-evaluated in 2 weeks after scan revealed bone bruise in left ankle. He’ll be out past that. That’s just re-evaluation point.

— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) October 20, 2018

MVP of the Week 1: Zach LaVine

 

Stat of the Week: 33.3% OPP OREB%

The Bulls are tied for 26^th in the league in opponents offensive rebounding percentage. Only two other teams are worse than the Bulls at keeping their opponent from grabbing an offensive rebound. What does this mean? The bad guys grab on offensive rebound once every three shots they take.

The Bulls need to box out!