The Chicago Bulls may be running out a new starting lineup soon.
Following their 114-109 loss on Saturday to the Philadelphia 76ers, Bulls coach Billy Donovan has a decision to make.
The Bulls got off to another slow start on Saturday, allowing 37 first-quarter points to the 76ers as they went into the second-quarter down by 15 points.
“I can’t sit there and say it’s one player. It’s that group. It’s a group of five players,” Donovan said of the Bulls starting lineup following Saturday’s loss. “It’s something we probably got to take a look at and evaluate and see. You’d like to get a larger sample size.”
If a change were to be made, there’s really only two options; Ayo Dosunmu or Patrick Williams.
Dosnmu has been pretty steady all season running the show in Lonzo Ball’s absence, averaging 12.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game. Though Donovan has other options in Alex Caruso, Goran Dragic, and Coby White, Dosunmu should have a strong grip on his starting spot.
The answer is presumably Patrick Williams. Though he’s played better in the last few games, Williams has started the season off slow in a crucial year for his young career. Billy Donovan stated on media day that the Bulls need Williams to ‘take another step’ and he has yet to show that.
A candidate to replace Williams in the starting lineup would be Javonte Green, who has played well off the bench so far this season and always seems to provide an energy boost to the team on both ends when he steps onto the floor.
“We just let teams play the way they want,” Nikola Vucevic said after the loss. “Once we wake up and focus a little bit more and get physical, we get stops. But it has to happen from the beginning. Otherwise, it’s going to be a struggle every night.”
To avoid an every night struggle as Vucevic noted, a change may be necessary.
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