Chicago Bulls: 5 big goals for 2018-19 NBA season

4. Evaluate the Zach LaVine-Jabari Parker pairing

For years the Chicago Bulls have been defined by their ability to defend. In fact, it’s more a statement about any successful Chicago sports team. Chicago fans love defense and have come to demand that their athletes commit to playing it.

That’s why the partnership of Zach LaVine and Jabari Parker could spell doom in Chicago. Both players are known equally for their offensive focus and lack of defensive commitment. In fact, neither player has shown much desire to even pretend that defense matters.

Parker’s opinion on playing defense has been well chronicled this summer. This came from 670 The Score in Chicago regarding his thoughts about defense:

"“I don’t know,” he said, “I just stick to my strengths. Look at everybody in the league — they don’t pay players to play defense. “I’m not gonna say that I won’t, but to say that’s a weakness is like saying that’s everybody’s weakness. I’ve scored 30s and 20s off of guys who say they try to play defense.” “Certain guys have a [scoring] average, and no matter what you do they still get that average,” he said. “They pay people to score the ball, and I would hope that somebody scores the ball on me if they paid them that much.”"

The Bulls will certainly score a lot of points this season, and while Parker’s comments are not completely unwarranted, championship-level teams are usually exceptional on the defensive side of the ball. When LaVine and Parker are on the court at the same time, the Bulls will have a tough time getting stops.

This season gives Chicago a trial run with this pairing, as the franchise has the option to simply walk away from the Parker deal after the season.