Chicago Bulls
The 2019-20 Chicago Bulls season can be defined by the injury bug that derailed the hype train for this potential young surprise team and by the fact that Jim Boylen was simply not cut out for the gig.
What Did We Learn?
The baby Bulls couldn’t stay healthy and on the court:
Otto Porter Jr. — missed 51 games
Wendell Carter Jr. — missed 22 games
Lauri Markkanen — missed 15 games
Injury issues aside, head coach Jim Boylen was just as nutty as we thought, and not in a good way. Boylen repeatedly clashed with his players and consistently took asinine late-game timeouts. We speculated that Jimbo’s old school philosophies might not be best suited for such a young team, and we were left scratching our heads trying to figure out how and why we talked ourselves into the possibility of it working out.
The roster seemed to include pieces that fit together nicely on paper, but Boylen was always going to hold them back. The Bulls did not have a winning record at any point during the 2019-20 season and finished a hilariously awful 2-23 vs. teams with a winning record.
The Bulls finally gave notoriously inept GM Gar Forman the boot back in the spring, hiring former Nuggets GM Arturas Karnisovas to replace him. Back in August, Karnisovas ultimately decided to give Boylen the boot as well.
So long, Jimbo. May your ridiculous and pernicious coaching tendencies be gone from Chicago and our baby Bulls forever.
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What is the answer to our Season Preview Final Question?
Will Boylen let our baby Bulls run free?
The Bulls were actually very average in Pace, ranked 16th in the league, but the offense was about as smooth as sandpaper. Second to last in the NBA in offensive efficiency.
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Would our preseason Over/Under prediction have hit?
We are taking OVER 32.5 wins (40% winning pct) and we’re contemplating +325 on Chicago to make the playoffs. LFG Jimbo!
Bulls 2019-20 final record: (22-43) 34% winning pct
NOPE, our preseason Over/Under prediction would not have hit and neither did our reach on the Bulls to make the playoffs.
*big sigh*
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What’s Next?
Find a way to get the team healthy, something that the Chicago Bulls organization has struggled with for a while now, going back to the Thibs days.
Hire a competent head coach. COMPLETE! Our vote was for Kenny Atkinson but Billy D will do!
Figure out what to do with the #4 pick. Trade up for LaMelo!?
Get Laurie Markkanen back on track. Markkanen might have been our biggest 2019-20 NBA disappointment outside of Philly. The Finnisher’s numbers regressed across the board, averaging a career low in points, field-goal attempts, 3-point percentage, rebounds and blocks. And here we had him included in our Preseason Player Pyramid as a part of the Foundation of the Future. No joke, we took a red pen and marked his name out. Pun intended! Let’s hope that it was just because of dealing with injuries and that we can write him back in.
Unlock some new offense for LaVine to try at the end of games with the clock winding down. We all know you’re going to jack it up, bro.
Let Coby White loose! White set an NBA rookie record with 7 made threes in the 4th quarter of a Bulls 120-102 thumping of the Knicks on a random Tuesday night back in November.
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Favorite Bulls Highlight from the 2019-20 Season:
Most 3-pointers made in one game in NBA History:
Klay Thompson 14 on 10/29/18 vs. Bulls
Zach LaVine 13 on 11/23/19 vs. Hornets
Steph Curry 13 on 11/07/16 vs. Pelicans
