RokDeez Bulls Blog

Hello Bulls fans! The 2024-25 NBA season is just about to tip off after a long boring summer. Let’s get excited about our beloved Chicago Bulls!

No, really, get excited!

Okay, okay, “excited” may be too strong an emotion for a team projected to win 27 games this season. How about “mildly intrigued”?

Alright, take two:

Hello Bulls Fans! The 2024-25 NBA Season yada, yada, yada. Let’s get mildly intrigued by our beloved Chicago Bulls!

Here are a few of the “story lines” I’ll be following this season.

It’s Coby’s team now.

With Alex Caruso and DeMar DeRozan gone, Nikola Vucevic aging fast, and Zach LaVine still being shopped around the league, Coby White is poised to take the reins as the de facto leader of this Bulls squad. His gregarious personality and confidence make him the perfect candidate for the role.

Coby made such strides last season as an “advantage creator” that it seems like a misstep to have anyone else as the lead ball handler of this team. I’m looking forward to seeing Coby be the focal point of the offense. Can he take on the best defenders of the league, night-in-and-night-out, without the gravity of DeMar DeRozan freeing him up? We shall see. After watching Coby White grow the last several seasons, I know not to underestimate him.

His joy for the game, his need for competition, and quest for self-improvement, make Coby White an excellent candidate for “Face of the Franchise.”

It’s Ayo’s team now.

If Coby White is the new Face of the Franchise, Ayo Dosunmu is the power that moves in the shadows. There is a lot of pressure on Ayo to replace the defensive grit of Alex Caruso, to fill that utility player spot that can guard 1-5 and make an impact on offense. Ayo will never completely fill the Caruso void on defense, but he can do more than Caruso ever could on offense. My hope is, this is the year that Ayo takes control of his destiny and plays his way once and for all into the starting lineup.

Regardless of stats, what I will be watching for this season, is that Dosunmu becomes a true leader of this team. I want his voice to be heard by his teammates and respected. I want him to flourish in, and exceed whatever role Billy Donovan thrusts him into. “From Chicago” means something to me, and I believe it means something to Ayo too. The Bulls truly are his team, as his birth-right. I hope he embraces that and soars to new heights.

The young guys might be good.

Julian Phillips, Dalen Terry, Jalen Smith, and Matas Buzelis have all been getting some significant playing time in the Preseason, and all look like they will be a part of the Bulls rotation this regular season. Philips has especially looked good, draining corner threes and providing an energetic spark off the bench. He is one of the better defenders on the team, and looks to be growing into the “3-and-D” player we all hoped he would be.

Terry has a long way to go on offense, but he is probably the second best on-ball defender this team has (second only to Dosumnu). He also provides instant energy and defense off the bench. If Terry ever develops a consistent jump shot he could turn into a very impactful player.

Jalen Smith played some decent minutes during the preseason and gave the Bulls a different look at Center. He is an athletic lob threat that really provides a different feel to the Bulls pick-and-roll sets. He was miserable from behind the arc, but he has been pretty good in the past from beyond the 3 point line. We’ll just have to see if he can get back to being a good shooter.

I was critical of the Bulls drafting Matas Buzelis, yet another prospect that can’t shoot the 3. And while Buzelis did struggle from beyond the arc this preseason, he showed he’s more than just a potential “3-and-D” wing. His ability to get to the rim, his athleticism, and his ability to defend are skills that will take him far in the NBA. He looks like he is a real NBA player when he’s on the court, he’s not overwhelmed by All-Star opponents. He really impressed me with his defense against Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland in the first preseason game. He stayed step-for-step with the two undersized guards and even managed to casually swat a Garland layup attempt into the seats.

The Bulls young backups have some serious potential and energy. They will be fun to watch.

Zach LaVine being Zach LaVine

For however long we have left to watch Zach LaVine as a Chicago Bull we should enjoy it. You may never see a smoother shooter than LaVine in your entire life. His ability to hit a three from anywhere on the floor, with however many hands in his face is truly amazing. Is there stuff to get annoyed about with LaVine’s game? Of course, but I’d be happy to watch LaVine catch-and-shoot threes for the rest of this season. When he gets in his groove, just give him the ball and watch him drop a nickel on the opponents.

Billy Donovan, people pleaser

As usual the Bulls front office has been sending mixed messages to the fan base about what the goal of this season is. On the one hand, Arturas Karnisovas has gone out of his way to say that the Bulls plan on trying to be competitive and win every game, for the “integrity of the game.” On the other hand, he has also loaded the roster with a bunch of young guys that aren’t ready to compete for an NBA Championship. But also, Arturas has left a third of this roster with long time veteran NBAers and role-players. Zach is still here. Vooch is still here. Lonzo Ball, Torey Craig, and Jevon Carter: still here. Billy Donovan is faced with a number of roster decisions when it comes to the depth chart.

The assumed starting lineup is Josh Giddey, Coby, Zach, Patrick Williams and Vucevic, with Ayo and Jalen Smith coming off the bench. What happens next is anyone’s guess.

What I hope we see is a lot of minutes for Julian Phillips, Matas Buzelis, and if he shows enough on offense, Dalen Terry. Of course Zo is going to need his rehab minutes (and the ones we saw in the preseason were pretty impressive considering how long he’s been out of the league). Donovan has always seemed to be a bit reticent to play young players, even when the team has no hope of winning a championship.

Will Billy Donovan be COURAGEOUS enough to give real minutes to Phillips, Buzelis, Terry, and (I can’t believe I’m writing this) Talen Horton-Tucker? Does he have the balls to bench Giddey and start Ayo if the starters don’t have enough defense to compete? Can he let Carter and Craig warm the bench so Buzelis and Phillips get a chance to shine? These are the questions I can’t wait to see answered.

LONZO BALL!!!

Like a lot of Bulls fans, I have a deep love for Lonzo Ball and all that he did for 32ish games before suffering an awful, potentially career ending injury. It’s been great to see him back on the floor and playing fairly well, all things considered. I don’t know if he’ll ever be able to play more than 15 minutes a game for the rest of his career, but I do hope that his career stretches well beyond the end of his current contract. Ball is a basketball savant, and even though he is not at full strength and may never be, he proved this preseason that his presence on the court can still elevate his teammates and make the Bulls better.

So that’s it. That’s what I’ll be watching for this 2024-25 Bulls season (if I can figure out HOW to watch the Bulls. Thanks Uncle Jerry for dragging us all back into the 1980’s. But we’ll address the apparent failures of CHSN in another post). I hope everyone is adequately excited intrigued for the upcoming season. Until we start seeing these storylines play out, thanks for reading, thanks for subscribing, and GO BULLS!