The Chicago Bulls have had a disastrous start to the season. The “Big 3” still don’t look comfortable playing together, and Patrick Williams—the young forward the organization hoped would be the franchise’s future—has had a dreadful start. In fact, Williams has been so unreliable that he was benched and replaced by veteran role player Torrey Craig.
But that doesn’t mean it was the right decision, according to Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley.
Not good enough
Williams was clearly not gelling well with the starters, and inserting Craig appears to be the wise move for Bulls coach Billy Donovan. Buckley, on the other hand, is unsure if it was the right decision.
“The case for the Bulls to start Torrey Craig seems to be as simple as this: Hey, at least he’s not as bad as Patrick Williams was in that spot. That’s about as unconvincing as an argument can get, especially when Williams is the Bulls’ only rotation regular sporting a single-digit player efficiency rating,” Buckley wrote.
“Good things happen with Torrey Craig on the floor.”@DonJulio | #SeeRed pic.twitter.com/bpDzgrBYbb
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) November 8, 2023
Not up to par
Craig is a player whose stats will hardly impress anyone. However, it’s the small things he does, such as hustle, defensive energy, and court space, that make him vital to the Bulls. His play, however, has been subpar since he was promoted to the starting lineup.
“Now, Craig is the kind of player whose presence is most felt through hustle and defense, things which don’t necessarily show up on the stat sheet. Even still, he’s been particularly quiet by his own standards. His 38.2 percent field-goal shooting is the worst of his career, and his 4.8 points per game are his fewest since his rookie season of 2017-18,” Buckey shared.
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