The training wheels are about to come off.
The Chicago Bulls officially closed their preseason Thursday night with a 126-120 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves at the United Center, capping a 2-3 run in warmup games. They open the regular season Wednesday against the Detroit Pistons.
Preseason records rarely do little to predict regular-season results. But this Bulls roster entered training camp with plenty to figure out — from the starting lineup to the future of rookie first-round pick Noa Essengue — and the five exhibition games didn’t provide many answers.
Here are five more questions for the Bulls after the preseason.
1. Is Matas Buzelis on track to become an All-Star?
The bulk of the preseason highlights for the Bulls this preseason came from the second-year forward.
That shouldn’t surprise anyone. Buzelis is the primary hope for the future in Chicago — and he delivered on that promise in his five exhibition outings. The forward averaged 17.6 points while throwing down his typical flurry of dunks, but the most significant improvements in his offensive game were more subtle — a shifty hesitation move to throw off defenders, a notable adjustment with his pivot foot and decision-making under the basket.
Buzelis, 21, also is continuing to showcase a knack for disruption on defense. He blocked five shots in Tuesday’s preseason loss to the Denver Nuggets, flexing one of the flashiest aspects of his game — only to admit that he felt disappointed in his defensive performance that night.
The Bulls aren’t afraid to put hefty expectations on Buzelis, even in his second NBA season. So could this be the year he breaks through as an All-Star? The answer is fully in the hands of the forward, who already has set a goal to make the All-Defensive roster.
2. When will Coby White return?
The Bulls were hopeful White would be available by the final game of the preseason after entering training camp with a calf strain. But the guard didn’t play Thursday.
Preseason photos: Chicago Bulls 126, Minnesota Timberwolves 120 at the United Center
Coach Billy Donovan has emphasized that the Bulls are exercising caution in the recovery process, and White acknowledged the risks related to rushing back, which can result in further damage to the calf or Achilles tendon. Still, the Bulls are on track to start the season without him.
Ayo Dosunmu (left thumb soreness) and newcomer Isaac Okoro (knee soreness) also missed Thursday’s game, adding more uncertainty to the potential starting lineup options in the opening week of the regular season.
3. Is this defense ready for action?
The Bulls want to play defense better this season. And that intention was clear in the preseason — at times — but the defensive initiative is still a work in progress.
Some aspects of the defense have clicked into place. Buzelis appears to have taken another step forward as a defender and created a decent amount of disruption when paired with guard Tre Jones. Guard Kevin Huerter drew a charge Thursday, a focal point for the team in the preseason.
But the rest of the defensive scheme is still out of sync. Rotations were slow. Perimeter pressure was negligible. Shooters found their spots with ease. Individually, neither Josh Giddey nor Nikola Vučević looked distinctly better equipped to handle one-on-one matchups, a clear weakness in the opening defensive rotations.
The Bulls still have plenty of time to strengthen their defense — but those improvements won’t be in place for the opener.
4. Will the two-big lineups return?
The Bulls rolled out a rare look to start Thursday’s preseason finale: a two-big lineup featuring centers Vučević and Jalen Smith. With several guards held out because of injury, the lineup was somewhat borne out of necessity. But Donovan often has toyed with this type of rotation to help the Bulls counter larger teams such as the Timberwolves, who start with Rudy Gobert and Julius Randle.
The starting rotation met mixed reviews in its debut Thursday night. The two-big look did not help the Bulls break out of their pattern of slow starts, which were consistent in the preseason. And despite putting more size on the court, the Bulls did not successfully match the physicality of the Timberwolves with twice as many centers on the court.
A preseason rough patch isn’t necessarily reason enough for a team to factor out a scheme in the regular season. The two-big lineup began to work a bit more effectively when the Bulls spaced the centers out of the paint, creating more room for downhill movement from Buzelis and Giddey. Still, it’s more likely the Bulls will attempt to use Buzelis to size up as a defender rather than leaning on a pair of centers.
5. Did Essengue show enough?
Essengue needed to prove himself in the preseason. The 18-year-old forward is a long-term project for the Bulls — which means the coaching staff is perfectly content to give him a long runway (and a short leash) in his rookie season.
If Essengue was ready for first-team minutes, he would need to show significant growth from summer league to preseason games. But the No. 12 pick in the draft is still rough around the edges, which meant Donovan spent more time coaching him on the sidelines than on the hardwood.
The Bulls are taking the same approach to Essengue as they applied with Buzelis — pull the kid off the court the moment he makes a mistake. And those mistakes came early and often, limiting the rookie to an average of 14 minutes per game in the preseason.
It wasn’t all bad for Essengue, who ran in the open court with authority and flashed an elusive quality to find his way to the free-throw line. But his defensive timing and on-ball skills are still lagging well behind his teammates, giving Essengue a steep learning curve before he will be trusted with real-time minutes.