Pel of a Loss

Pau Gasol may have blocked this shot by Anthony Davis on Monday, but he sat toward the end of a 123-115 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans.  In fact, it was mostly young players on the floor in the fourth quarter to try and avoid a 20-point collapse.  That didn't happen as shots began to come up short and the Pelicans also took advantage of some mistakes.  Luckily, this game didn't count or we'd be talking about the Bulls' troubles with closing games.

Bobby Portis came off the bench and led the Bulls with 20 points in over 30 minutes.  He also led both teams with 11 rebounds for a double-double.  Making two-thirds of his field-goal attempts is certainly encouraging for the argument that the Bulls lucked out with him falling on the draft board in June.  Talks of being on the All-Rookie Team are already rampant among the fan base and media personalities like Stacey King can't get enough of him.

Doug McDermott had another good shooting night of 17 points, going 3-of-9 from beyond the arc and making all four free throws.  His early returns of being in Fred Hoiberg's system look promising.  Aaron Brooks and E'Twaun Moore scored 13 and 12 respectively in a possible sign that the race for backup point guard is heating up.  Tony Snell, who injured his ankle late in the game, shot 7-of-11 from the field for 15 and Gasol finished with 14.

It's true the Bulls aren't completely healthy right now, but it's not hard to conclude stripping away too much can result in a less effective squad.  LeBron James had to live with this during last year's Finals with no Kevin Love and mostly no Kyrie Irving.  The good news is the increased opportunity to look at the younger guys allows us to see what sparks we might see off the bench during the year.  Portis and McDermott gotten people to notice them through four preseason games, but will anyone else?

The Bulls will stay at the United Center Wednesday to take on the Detroit Pistons.  Even with Derrick Rose's eye still too swollen for a return, Snell's newly hurt ankle and all the other injuries, they have work to do, even if they're just trying to develop the future role players of the franchise.  We're seeing them more now than we'll likely see them in the coming weeks and months.  This is their time to show they can carry the team when called upon.