Donovan making greater use of Bulls veterans
The new Bulls regime understands the first rule of rebuilding: You can't develop five or six young guys at once.
During the past two victories over Dallas and Washington, head coach Billy Donovan leaned on veterans in crunchtime, using Otto Porter, Thad Young and Garrett Temple down the stretch, along with Zach LaVine and Coby White.
It makes sense. The Bulls' best chance of growth with the current roster is for LaVine and White to develop into a dynamic, high-scoring backcourt, so the other guys are out there to give some lessons in how to finish off victories.
This Bulls team still seems to be a long way from playoff contention or even beating a good team at full strength, but having this mix on the floor should help. In the NBA, teams can't draft a bunch of young guys and wait for them to grow into a championship contender. The league doesn't work that way.
"All these guys are definitely teaching me as I'm going through it," White said after Sunday's win over Dallas. "Always giving me little stuff and always keeping me composed and just being out there with them you can't help but feed off their calm energy.
"They never get too ahead of themselves, they're always cool, calm and collected. So with their energy in the air it helps me stay cool, calm and collected. As long as I see them good, I'm good."
When Lauri Markkanen returns from health and safety protocols, Donovan might work him into the fourth quarter mix, since he got off to a good start this season. But the biggest difference from last year has been contributions from Porter.
Former coach Jim Boylen took a lot of heat last season, but it's easy to forget the Bulls were counting on the eight-year veteran and team's highest-paid player to be a big contributor. They didn't get anything, really, since Porter missed most of the season with a foot injury and didn't help much when he was healthy.
Since arriving in the NBA, LaVine has sorely needed a mentor with winning experience. The current group of Bulls veterans have a combined zero trips to the NBA Finals, so it's not perfect, but every little bit of wisdom helps.
"Otto does a great job of reading the game," LaVine said after scoring 39 points against the Mavericks. "I really like playing with Otto. If I'm getting doubled in the second half, he flashes.
"I was coming off the pick-and-roll, and obviously a lot of guys are going to be looking at you now. Otto made a quick backdoor cut, and I hit him on it. He's just playing the game the right way. Otto's a really smart player."
How many of their young guys can the Bulls turn into successful NBA players? As mentioned above, Markkanen will probably play important minutes when he's out of quarantine. Rookie Patrick Williams has shown promise, mostly as a shooter, while averaging 25 minutes per game.
Donovan has been splitting time at the center spot recently between Wendell Carter Jr. and Daniel Gafford. Until the fourth quarter of close games, that is, when Young has stepped in. The matchups might require a different mix in the future.
The next challenge is whether the Bulls can be competitive on a four-game West Coast trip, which begins Tuesday. The Bulls will face the Blazers, Kings, Lakers and Clippers over the next six days.
"I love playing road games, I love going to the West Coast," LaVine said. "Obviously I'm a West Coast guy (from Seattle), but we should be excited to go and show what we have against these teams."
• Twitter: @McGrawDHBulls