PRESSING THE BENCH
Donovan looking for a greater degree of input from his reserves
The Bulls showcased their scoring depth Friday against the Minnesota Timberwolves while producing their best offensive outing of the season.
Six players scored in double digits to tally a season-high 134 points on 63.2% shooting, the most efficient night of the season. But coach Billy Donovan still felt dissatisfied by his team’s secondary depth after the win.
“We’ve got to get more from our bench,” Donovan said. “We have to get more minutes from our bench.”
Although the 134-122 victory featured well-spread scoring, the game featured only nine Bulls players, one of whom — Malcolm Hill — played only four minutes.
Coby White was the only bench player to notch more than 13 minutes. Matt Thomas, Alfonzo McKinnie and Tyler Cook didn’t play.
Meanwhile, the starting lineup averaged nearly 37 minutes, with rookie Ayo Dosunmu, who returned Friday after spending time in the concussion protocol, sitting only six minutes on the bench.
To Donovan, placing this many minutes on the shoulders of players such as DeMar DeRozan — who scored 35 points in his 18th 30-point game of the season — puts an undue burden on his All-Stars.
“Just playing eight guys, it’s too much on DeMar and Zach (LaVine),” Donovan said. “They’ve been great carrying a huge load, but we’re going to have to get some other guys to continue to step up just to provide some good quality. If they’re not making shots, we just need them defensively.”
The lack of reliable bench minutes stems from the injuries sidelining rotation players Alex Caruso (wrist) and Derrick Jones Jr. (finger), and starters Patrick Williams (wrist) and Lonzo Ball (knee).
Caruso and Jones serve as critical bench players, providing a defensive edge and ball rotation to afford LaVine, Javonte Green and DeRozan extended rest.
Before his injury, Caruso averaged 27.7 minutes off the bench, while Jones averaged 17.2. Those reliable shifts afforded Donovan more flexibility to rotate, knowing the quality wouldn’t plunge if LaVine or DeRozan spent a longer stretch on the bench.
When Ball and Williams were injured, it affected Dosunmu and Green, who were expected to play entirely off the bench at the start of the season. Both Dosunmu and Green have since transformed into meaningful contributors, but their transition to the starting lineup gutted the bench of second-shift backups.
No player has been affected by those injuries more than White, who pinballed back and forth from the bench to the starting lineup the last three months.
White currently anchors the Bulls reserves, scoring 22 of the team’s 24 bench points against the Timberwolves. Barring future injuries, Donovan plans to keep White firmly in a reserve role to bolster the offense during secondary rotations.
“My role has changed so much,” White said. “(Donovan) just wants some type of consistency for me coming off the bench and just trying to stay in that role instead of switching me around
and being here, being there.”
The Bulls won’t be able to play with a full deck of healthy players until late March. But after they decided not to make a move at the trade deadline Thursday, Donovan has to work with the players at his disposal.
Folding players like Thomas and Troy Brown into the rotation has been hit or miss. Donovan felt the second quarter in Charlotte, N.C., “wasn’t fair” to the bench, which played a long stretch with DeRozan that led to a Hornets streak. But Donovan resorted to a short rotation in response, barely taking his starters out in the second half.
“This happened a little bit in the Charlotte game, where we got into the second half and the rotation became short,” Donovan said. “You’re just resting Zach for a minute or two, then putting him back in, then putting DeMar for a minute or two . ... With
DeMar and Zach, we’re just trying to stagger those guys in the second half, but we need some of the bench to absorb some of those minutes.”
The Bulls’ necessity in streamlining their rotations isn’t driven by an offensive need. With DeRozan making 30-point games look easy and Nikola Vučević finding his rhythm at center, Donovan’s system doesn’t require the bench to put up big scoring numbers.
But if the Bulls want to focus on longevity, the bench defense must reach par to contribute reliable minutes — and give the starters a break.
“While we’re not whole, I just think that as a group collectively our team has done a good job of this (throughout) this year,” Donovan said. “When guys have been out, different guys have stepped up. But we’ve got to step up more collectively on both ends of the floor with good quality minutes.”