Season Expectations for the Bulls Following Lonzo Ball’s Return
The new NBA season kicked off this past Tuesday and fans couldn’t be more excited. It’s a new season for the Chicago Bulls and things are about to get interesting with the return of none other than Lonzo Ball. Lonzo has missed the past two and a half seasons due to a litany of knee issues. The Bulls initially thought that Ball had a minor meniscus injury, but it turned out to be much more severe. He had a cartilage transplant in March 2023, which was the third operation on his knee in a little more than a year. The Bulls guard made his first appearance in an NBA regular season game in 1,013 days during their season opener against the New Orleans Pelicans this past Wednesday. Ball came off the bench scoring five points, four assists, and two rebounds in 14 minutes. How will the Bulls perform this season with Lonzo back in the lineup?
The Bulls had a very interesting offseason with some new additions and a couple of heartbreaking departures. With the No. 11 pick of the 2024 NBA Draft, the Bulls selected 6’10” forward Matas Buzelis, which was an excellent pick considering Buzelis is a Chicago native and adds a lot to the young core of the team. The Bulls also received Chris Duarte in the Sacramento Kings trade for DeMar DeRozan, which was a big loss. The Bulls also got Josh Giddey from the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Alex Caruso. A couple of other notable signings include Talen Horton-Tucker and Jalen Smith. The Bulls lost both Andre Drummond to the Philadelphia 76ers and Javonte Green to the Pelicans. Other than that, with the Bulls re-signing Patrick Williams and Coby White, this young core looks promising to play alongside Zach LaVine, Nikola Vucevic, and Ayo Dosunmo. Now with their main facilitator back in Lonzo Ball, things should run well for the Bulls this season.
Last season, the Bulls finished 39-43 and were the 9th seed in the Eastern Conference and advanced to the Play-In Tournament, where they beat the Atlanta Hawks and lost to the Miami Heat. Coby White and Ayo Dosunmo both had breakout seasons, with White finishing second in the NBA Most Improved Player voting. The Bulls started the season with a 5-14 record but finished the last 63 games with a 34-29 record. In Lonzo’s tenure with the Bulls before his injury, he averaged 13 points and 5.1 assists while shooting 42.3% on three-pointers over 35 games before getting put on the shelf. With Lonzo back, that may just be the kickstart for how the Bulls need to perform this season. During the season opener against the Pelicans where the Bulls lost 111-123, Lonzo threw an alley-oop to Zach LaVine for a dunk and that got Bulls fans excited because he was reminding them what he can still do as a facilitator for this young Bulls team.
