Chicago Bulls: 5 goals for Wendell Carter Jr.’s rookie season
1. Improve perimeter defense
One of Carter’s most memorable Summer League outings took place against the Atlanta Hawks. Trae Young – who the Hawks acquired in a draft-night trade with the Dallas Mavericks – garnered most the storylines, as he scored 24 points, including seven 3-pointers.
Carter was no slouch either, as he scored 23 points on an efficient 9-for-13 shooting from the field to go along with six rebounds and two blocks. Although Carter had an impressive stat line, that was not what he focused on when discussing the game afterwards.
Not only did he dismiss his impressive outing, he also discussed the importance of improving his defense against smaller guards.
"“It’s no good if I play well and we lose,” Carter told NBA.com.” I don’t like to look at my own stats. I may have had a good game, but we lost. It’s going to be a constant effort for me. I gotta get better. “There are some times where I could’ve done a better job of staying in front [of Trae Young on switches]. Our scouting report was to get him off the three-point line. I tried to do that each time, but still stay in front. A couple times he got by me. It’s something I’m going to work on. As soon as this Summer League is over, I’m going to get my feet quicker to stay in front of these guards.”"
Being that he has yet to play in his first NBA regular season game, it is way too early to make outlandish predictions in regards to how well Carter may or may not play next year. What is a certainty is that he has an attitude that is way beyond his years and he is a team-first player.
If Carter is able to add this element to his game, he and Markkanen will make a formidable duo that Bulls fans will enjoy watching for years to come.