Lonzo Ball played his first minutes of organized basketball for the first time since January 2022 in the Chicago Bulls‘ 125-123 win against the Minnesota Timberwolves. It was a triumphant return for Ball, who many feared would never play basketball again after undergoing a knee cartilage transplant to make his return come to fruition.
LONZO BALL IS FINALLY BACK AFTER 2 YEARS 😭
THEN HITS HIS 1ST SHOT 🔥 pic.twitter.com/zCxUiJZGOZ
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 17, 2024
Ball put up 10 points, one rebound, one assist, one steal, and one block in 15 minutes of action, showing flashes of the incredible two-way guard we saw in that 2021-22 season who helped the Bulls reach the No. 1 seed in the East before he was sidelined. Lonzo has never had an offensive reputation, but his scoring game looked effortless tonight, going 4-6 from the field and 2-4 from three-point range.
With Ball returning to the court after so long, here are some major takeaways from this game regarding Lonzo’s NBA future and how the Bulls looked in this win.
The Bulls’ Roster Is More Competitive Than They Get Credit For
The win over the Timberwolves showed how deep the Bulls’ roster is. The team is littered with productive veteran talent despite many just penciling them in to be a tanking team.
Seven players from the Bulls scored double-digit points, led by Coby White’s 23 points (6-9 FG, 5-7 3P). Zach LaVine looked great with 19 points (5-11 FG) of his own, while Nikola Vucevic and Talen Horton-Tucker both put up 17 points, with Vucevic also grabbing 12 rebounds. Patrick Williams had 12 points and six rebounds. To complement Lonzo’s 10-point outing, new addition Jalen Smith put up 10 points and eight rebounds himself to show the Bulls have a lot of options across their roster.
Given the veteran talent on the roster, this looks like a team that could rise above the tanking teams in the East and compete against other middling squads such as the Atlanta Hawks. I feel confident in saying that the Bulls might have a higher ceiling based on how they played against Minnesota.
The Wolves played a competitive rotation themselves, featuring new addition Julius Randle‘s 15 points, six rebounds, and five assists (6-12 FG) alongside Donte DiVincenzo’s 17 points (7-17 FG). Anthony Edwards contributed 16 points (6-23 FG) while Rudy Gobert had an emphatic 13-point 17-rebound performance. The bright spot for Minnesota was Josh Minnot, who put up 18 points while being a team-high +14 in the loss.
Lonzo Ball Could Challenge Josh Giddey In The Rotation
The Bulls made a major move this summer when they swapped Alex Caruso for the 21-year-old Josh Giddey, but the guard has looked average over preseason. He put up four points, three rebounds, nine assists, and three blocks (1-11 FG) in the win over the Timberwolves, but was a -5 on the court in his 27 minutes in the game.
Lonzo’s performance filled Bulls fans with a lot more confidence than Giddey’s. He’s a win-now two-way guard who will set a tone on defense and has come to terms with stretching the floor as a positive three-point shooter. He showed a great rhythm on offense for a player who hasn’t played for nearly three years, maximizing open looks and being the floor general many expected him to be.
Lonzo Ball tonight:
10 points
4/6 FG
2/4 3PT
(15 min) pic.twitter.com/wxBKu875BG
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) October 17, 2024
The Bulls seem destined to start Giddey as the team’s point guard, potentially alongside Coby White in the backcourt, but those plans could change based on how Lonzo performs to start the season.
The Bulls GM declared the team’s intentions to be competitive, so it might be prudent to develop Giddey off the bench by improving his shooting mechanics this season while Lonzo starts as a defensive complement next to White. Ball’s playmaking might not be as flashy as Giddey’s, but it would get the job done for the Bulls as they look to compete for the Playoffs in the East.
A Guard Surplus Across The Bulls Roster
The final takeaway isn’t a major one but it is one the Bulls need to keep an eye on. With Lonzo’s return, the Bulls are entering the season with multiple ball-handlers on the roster. Coby White, Josh Giddey, Lonzo, Ayo Dosunmu, Jevon Carter, and summer addition Talen Horton-Tucker will all hope to get primary guard responsibilities at different points this season.
If two of these players will be starting in the backcourt, that means traditional shooting guard Zach LaVine will move to being a small forward. While LaVine can be a swingman, he thrives as a shooting guard but likely won’t get to play in that position with all the guards Chicago will hope to give minutes to.
With a similar lack of depth at the forward positions, it wouldn’t be surprising for defensive-minded players like Carter or Horton-Tucker to play in the frontline if required.
White, Giddey, Lonzo, and Dosunmu should play a major role for the Bulls this season, with the other two being fringe rotational players. But if the Bulls are to be looked at as a team that might make a blockbuster trade this season, some of that guard depth will likely go away as well, allowing the Bulls to focus on a few of their young guards as developmental projects.
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