It’s taken a while to get here. Injuries, ugly losses, a mutiny, and several different personnel moves have gotten us to this point in time. Despite the rocky journey, February 2019 was very good for the Chicago Bulls. They’re finally showing the promise that saw them ranked 3rd in the preseason GM Survey for ‘most promising young team’. Headlined by Lauri Markkanen and Zach LaVine’s stellar play over the month along with the arrival of Otto Porter Jr., the Bulls look to finish the 2018-19 season on the opposite end of how they started it. (And yes, 5-5 is an improvement for this team)
Markkanen’s Return Indicates Strong Future
Starting the year without Markkanen, this forced LaVine to carry an offensive load that saw him facing double teams nightly with no reliable second option. Markkanen returned in December and played well enough to earn a Rising Stars game bid for the second year in a row. He certainly played like a rising star, but in February he played like an all-star. In February, he averaged 25.7 points and 12.1 rebounds per game, scoring 20+ points and grabbing 10+ boards in eight of ten games; in the games he didn’t reach 10 rebounds, he had nine.
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LaVine’s season has been well documented. After starting the season with multiple 30+ point games, he cooled down only slightly throughout. Currently, at 23.1 PPG (17th in the league), LaVine has had a hot streak of his own in February. For the month, he averaged 24.5 points, 5.8 assists and 5.4 rebounds per contest. He’s also accepted more responsibility as a primary ball handler. While he may not be able to be a full-time point guard, he’s shown to be more than capable of running the Bulls’ offense and getting players where they need to be.
Markkanen and LaVine have become an exciting 1-2 punch, and when both are cooking as they have been in February, it is quite hard to stop them. For example, in their win against the Boston Celtics, the duo both had career highs, combining for 77 points (LaVine – 42, Markkanen – 35). Adding on to the offensive firepower of those two is the importance of Otto Porter, whose presence alone helped breathe new life into the team. The attention that the 6’8 sharpshooter demands provides Markkanen and LaVine the space they need to operate. Robin Lopez has also found the fountain of youth this month, averaging 15.5 ppg.
Fabulous February
Unlike the beginning of the season, players don’t have the option of sticking solely on LaVine, who himself doesn’t have to play otherworldly for the Bulls to stand a chance at winning. Markkanen is playing at an all-star level, Porter is proving the Portis/Parker trade worth it, and the team seems to be having fun again. After a disaster of a season so far, the month of February showed that the Bulls may finally seem to be trending upward.
