The Chicago Bulls have some lineup decisions to make as they head into the season. The most prominent of the bunch is the battle for the starting point guard position, as Jevon Carter, Coby White, and Ayo Dosunmu all have solid cases to earn the job. But right behind that is the competition for the starting power forward job.
It makes the most sense to roll out Patrick Williams in that spot. The 22-year-old is still developing, and his improvements could be the key to the Bulls’ success this year. But Torrey Craig is a veteran. And based on what happened in Chicago’s latest preseason game, he could have a chance to steal the job away from Williams.
Just 2:45 into the first quarter of the Bulls’ game against the Toronto Raptors, head coach Billy Donovan pulled Williams from the game. He said the substitution wasn’t planned, but it was necessary. (H/t Will Gottlieb of CHGO)
“First of all I wanted to talk to him about it because we talked about some of it before the game… There was a lot of opportunities for him to get to the backboard and offensive rebounds,” Donovan said. “We had talked about it and I didn’t like the way we came out.”
Donovan stressed the important of Williams staying active on the glass.
“We can’t run away from physicality and think you’re going to out run it,” Donovan said. “You’ve got to lean into it. Not necessarily meet force with force, but you’re going to have to screen to free eachother up and help each other that way.”
If Williams wants to keep his starting job, he’ll need to up his physicality moving forward.
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