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Column: Chicago Bulls are facing new challenges with Patrick Williams out — and a tough part of the schedule on deck

paul sullivan, chicago tribune
·5 min read
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A slew of former Chicago Bulls players was introduced to the United Center crowd during the tribute to Joakim Noah on Thursday night, and many looked as if they could still give you some minutes off the bench.

Thabo Sefalosha, 37, might provide some suffocating defense in a tight game. The 36-year-old Luol Deng appears fit enough to bury a baseline jumper on a moment’s notice. Even Artis Gilmore looked silky smooth at age 72 and probably could provide the Bulls with some physicality and rim protection Saturday against Rudy Gobet and the Utah Jazz.

By Friday afternoon, it looked as if the Bulls could use one of their former stars after the team announced Patrick Williams will need surgery to repair torn ligaments in his left wrist and will miss four to six months.

The loss of Williams for the regular season isn’t catastrophic for the Bulls, but it hurts and was an untimely injury for a team still trying to get everyone in sync offensively in the first month of the season.

Coach Billy Donovan voiced concerns about the offense after Thursday’s 104-103 loss to the New York Knicks, mentioning they neglected to get Nikola Vučević more shots in the first half. Vučević finished with 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting, including three 3-pointers.

“I’m still trying to find myself within the offense,” Vučević said. “It’s obviously different from last year when I came here and also before with the Magic. … For a big man it’s different because you rely on others. I don’t have the ball so I can’t create. Just trying to figure out my spots and things like that, but I also think I can be a little more aggressive in situations. I felt especially in the fourth I was more aggressive and got more looks.”

The Bulls entered Friday ranked 18th in scoring at 106.6 points per game and are thriving on their strength of their defense, which was limiting opponents to 98.8 points per game, third in the league. The loss of Williams will force Donovan to use different rotations, though he has used smaller lineups frequently without a big man available off the bench. Tony Bradley played six minutes Thursdayand had two points and three rebounds.

Vučević leads the Bulls with 10.8 rebounds per game, while Zach LaVine, Lonzo Ball and DeMarcus DeRozan are averaging between five and six rebounds per game. The Bulls rank last in the league in rebound average at 40.2 per game and offensive-rebound average (6.6), something that wasn’t unexpected because of their height disadvantage.

“Obviously we understand we’re undersized and we just have to do a better job on that end,” Vučević said. “There are times we get caught looking at the ball, and we just all come in. Nowadays there are so many 3s and long rebounds, so (we) just have to be more disciplined and box out and make sure we hold off our guy. A lot of times where we get hurt is in situational help. We don’t necessarily have a guy and we’re all staring at the ball.”

The Knicks were more physical than the Bulls, using their size advantage to outrebound them by a 49-37 margin, including 16 from Julius Randle. But the Bulls battled back from a 13-point deficit with a little more than two minutes left and had a chance to win before DeRozan’s air ball as time expired.

“It was our first real test,” LaVine said. “We needed a game like this. … Obviously we wanted a better result.”

Up on the suites, Noah looked on and posed for selfies while his former teammates, Derrick Rose and Taj Gibson, were on the court trying to deny the aging process with the Knicks. The 36-year-old iconoclast said before the game that he’s extremely content in his post-NBA life.

“I don’t have to worry about getting healthy or anything like that right now,” Noah said. “I have time to focus to be able to focus on the foundation and being an ambassador for the Bulls and sharing my experience and being of help. I think the Bulls have a great team. I love their coaching staff obviously and I love the organization. The organization has given me so much, so whatever I can do to be of help, I’ll do.”

It’s too bad Noah is so happy and relaxed. He would be a perfect role player to come off the bench and provide some energy for a few minutes a night. And he’d be ending his career the way he started it, playing under Donovan, his coach at Florida. But he said he knew he was done and even credits Donovan for giving him some advice he still follows.

“Coach Donovan would always tell me live in the moment, live in the moment, next play, next play,” Noah said. “And it’s just another life lesson I carry. Especially today, I’m seeing a lot of familiar faces, people that I shared a lot of special times with. Stay in the moment, don’t get caught up in what’s going to happen next.”

That’s also good advice for the Bulls to heed as they head into the filet mignon portion of the early-season schedule, starting with Saturday against the Jazz at the United Center. DeRozan said he doesn’t look at the schedule that way.

“I don’t overlook or underlook any opponent in the league,” he said. “Every single night, any team is capable of beating anybody. It’s not like the Monstars out here that you’ve got to go play against.”

Fittingly, Saturday is Toni Kukoc Night at the United Center, honoring his recent induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Can the 53-year-old Kukoc play 1.8 seconds on any given night and still hit a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer?

We’ve seen it before.