Unable to leap tall buildings, Bulls' Carter stilll holds his own
Wendell Carter Jr. has his hands full every night.
The second-year Bulls center is 20 years old, slightly undersized for his position at 6-feet-10, and usually has to deal with one of the world's most freakish athletes.
In the past few weeks, Carter has guarded high-flyers like Portland's Hassan Whiteside and Miami's Bam Adebayo, bruising 7-footers like Memphis' Jonas Valanciunas and Toronto's Marc Gasol, and a hybrid like the Clippers' Montrezl Harrell, who likes to attack off the dribble.
On Saturday, Carter will battle Detroit's Andre Drummond for the third time this season. Drummond leads the NBA in rebounds with 16.7 per game.
Carter talked about the challenge of being a young center in the NBA.
"I just go out there and play my game," he said. "I don't really look at it as a huge challenge because that would take the fun out of it. They're good players, they're going to get their shots, they're going to make their shots. But just go out there and play hard and let the chips fall where they may."
Carter missed about half of his rookie year due to thumb surgery. He's played in 74 career games, less than a full season. But he's been one of the Bulls' bright spots, offering a consistent presence on both ends. He's averaging 11.9 points and 9.7 rebounds on the season.
Heading into the NBA draft after playing one season at Duke, Carter drew comparisons to Philadelphia's Al Horford. That analysis appears to be spot-on, because like Horford, Carter doesn't jump as high as most of league's other centers. He has to get it done with body position and intelligence.
"I think it kind of came to me naturally," Carter said. "As I continue to play in this league or even in college, playing against people who can jump as high, run as fast and are just as tall as me. It's just competitively, going against those players over and over, I learned how I can win out with the situation every time. Even though they may score, I know how I can beat them in other aspects of the game."
Asked to name a particularly difficult matchup, Carter declines. He's trying to stay respectful to his opponents, but also confident and fearless.
"Except for the superfreaks of the league, there's not anybody that blew my mind," he said. "It's the NBA. I feel like night in and night out, depending on if someone's having a good game, it's going to be a tough matchup for me. (But) I wouldn't say anyone is out of this world unguardable."
The Bulls have been outrebounded often this season, but that seems to be a case of not giving Carter enough help, because he rarely has bad nights on the boards.
Foul trouble sends him to the bench frequently, but he's getting better at that. Carter fouled out of four of the first 13 games this season, but only once since.
Carter leads the NBA in fouls committed (Kris Dunn is fourth). In fouls per game, Carter ranks fourth with 4.0. Avoiding the illegal screen calls when he sticks his hip out or takes an extra step at the last second would be the best way to cut down on his fouls.
From his first game as a rookie, Carter has been one of the Bulls' best defenders. The team has made impressive progress on that end recently.
In the 11 games since Dunn joined the starting lineup, the Bulls are second in the league (behind Milwaukee) in defensive rating. Despite having an undersized center, they are fourth-best in opponents point in the paint over the last 11 games.
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Bulls game day
Bulls vs. Detroit Pistons, Saturday 6 p.m. at Little Caesars Arena
TV: NBCSCH; Radio: WSCR 670-AM
Outlook: The Bulls are 2-0 against the Pistons this season, winning twice at home. ... PF Blake Griffin and SG Luke Kennard were both ruled out for Friday's game at Boston with knee injuries. ... C Andre Drummond leads the Pistons in scoring at 17.8 ppg and the NBA in rebounds with 16.7. Former Bull Derrick Rose is averaging 16.6 points and 6.0 assists. Rose averaged 20.5 points in the two games against the Bulls. ... The Bulls have yet to win at Little Caesars Arena, and have dropped six in a row on the road against the Pistons.
Next: Orlando Magic on Monday 6 p.m. at the Amway Center
- Mike McGraw