Chicago Bulls: 5 storylines to watch during second half of season

3. David Nwaba inserted into starting lineup

David Nwaba played fairly well in 20 appearances for the Los Angeles Lakers last season, but when the Bulls claimed him off waivers during the offseason, it didn’t seem like this decision would move the needle all that much.

That assertion has been proven wrong, to say the least.

Similar to Dunn, Nwaba is capable of getting up and down the court at a frenetic pace and isn’t shy when it comes to taking the ball to the basket against opposing bigs. On top of that, he is averaging 7.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists per contest, all of which are higher than the numbers he posted during the 2016-17 campaign.

Earlier in the season, Fred Hoiberg was so impressed with Nwaba’s versatility at both ends of the court that he decided to insert him into the starting lineup. The experiment was going well until an ankle injury sidelined Nwaba for nearly a month.

From that point on, his role within the rotation has fluctuated a bit and that much was to be expected as the team welcomed Zach LaVine back from a torn ACL injury. In light of the extended evaluation mandate handed down by the front office, Nwaba was re-inserted into the starting lineup and the move paid instant dividends.

In the team’s recent one-point loss to the Sixers, Nwaba poured in a career-high 21 points to go along with nine rebounds and two assists. He also converted all of three of his attempts from beyond the arc.

Let’s also not forget that Nwaba’s production as a starter (12 points per contest on slash lines of .568/.667/.667) is significantly higher compared to when he comes off the bench (6.7 points per game on .516/.250/.624 shooting splits).

Whether or not he remains in the starting lineup for the rest of the season remains to be seen. What is a certainty is that he can produce when his number is called, which means the odds of him having a future with the Bulls beyond this season are pretty good.