If the Bulls already have decided on their starting power forward, coach Billy Donovan is doing a heck of an acting job.
All week long, Donovan insisted the competition would go on through the weekend and into the two practices next week before the Bulls fly down to South Beach and prepare to tip off the regular season against the Heat.
‘‘Certainly, the rest of this week and going into next week, we’ll do that,’’ Donovan said when he was asked about experimenting with different looks and combinations.
But the only thing really being evaluated is whether Patrick Williams is better suited to develop with the starting unit or with the reserves.
Derrick Jones Jr. got one start at power forward during the preseason, but the competition basically is down to Williams and Javonte Green. And don’t expect Donovan to reveal his decision much before Wednesday.
Green started twice against the Heat last season and wasn’t much of a factor in two losses. Donovan went small in the last game between the teams last season, starting Alex Caruso, Zach LaVine, Ayo Dosunmu, DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic, but that was even less successful. Caruso went scoreless, and the Bulls were blown out by 18 points.
Donovan has said several times that the competition at power forward likely will remain fluid. Whoever gets the nod against the Heat might not necessarily start Friday at the Wizards.
Whether the starter will be performance-based or matchup-based is a question that remains unanswered.
Terry feeling good
Rookie Dalen Terry has shown he’s rarely short on confidence, but he admitted his 11-point performance in 18 minutes in the preseason opener against the Pelicans was huge in justifying that he belongs at this level and that his high-energy playing style has a place in the NBA.
‘‘I got confidence after the first game, obviously,’’ Terry said. ‘‘I’m a pretty confident person. I don’t really think there’s a lot of things I can’t do. So when it came to that first game and just how the energy picked up, I just tried to make sure that every time I came into the game, I picked the energy up and just made the level of competitiveness jump every time.’’
Terry finished a combined plus-35 in the Bulls’ four preseason games.
Rough entry
There will be no easing into the season for the Bulls, especially given the teams they will be playing in their first 15 games.
Not only do the Bulls open at the Heat — a team they’ve gone 1-7 against in the last three seasons — but 12 of their first 15 games are against playoff or playoff-caliber teams. The Wizards on the road next Saturday, the Pacers at home Oct. 26 and the Spurs on the road Oct. 28 are their only breathers in that span.
After the game against the Spurs, the Bulls play the 76ers, the Nets, the Hornets, the Celtics, back-to-back games against the Raptors, the Pelicans, the Nuggets and the Pelicans again.
Bulls add Giannis’ brother
The Bulls announced they had signed Kostas Antetokounmpo, the younger brother of Bucks standout Giannis Antetokounmpo, to a two-way contract.
