As the preseason gets underway, head coach Billy Donovan will have his work cut out for him. The Chicago Bulls should always be rolling out Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Nikola Vucevic, but past that, the other two starting spots could be up for grabs. The race for the starting point guard spot, in particular, could be an interesting battle to watch.
Chicago signed Jevon Carter this summer in free agency, but they also re-signed Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu to new contracts. All three have a case to be the team’s full-time starting one, but in the Bulls’ first preseason game against the Milwaukee Bucks, White got the nod.
Buy Bulls TicketsThat said, head coach Billy Donovan made it clear that none of the three have gotten a step up on the others. (H/t Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune)
“To say that, ‘Hey, listen, this guy really separated himself’ — I don’t think that happened,” Donovan said. “Really all three of those guys played well.”
White earned the most minutes of the three against Milwaukee, playing 22:53 to Carter’s 16:15 and Dosunmu’s 14:08. He put up 14 points, six rebounds, six assists, and two steals while shooting 6-of-10 from the field and 2-of-5 from beyond the arc.
Carter ended the game with eight points, two rebounds, and two assists on 3-of-7 and 1-of-4 shooting, while Dosunmu finished with eight points, two rebounds, and two assists on 3-of-8 and 2-of-4 shooting.
If the Bulls are looking for more of a defensive presence, Carter or Dosunmu could be the more logical choice, but White would provide them with a bit more offensive shot creation.
Donovan will probably take the rest of the preseason to make his decision, and it will certainly be one of the more interesting storylines heading into the regular season.