Chicago Bulls: 3 players who need a big final month

2. Otto Porter Jr.

When the Chicago Bulls traded for Otto Porter Jr. last season, he was essentially their big offseason acquisition – just arriving a few months early. He appeared in 15 games as a Bull in 2018-19 and showed he could be a catalyst for the offense as a pure small forward. With a healthy Porter, Chicago had playoff aspirations for 2019-20.

Only one problem for Bulls Nation, Otto hasn’t been healthy in 2019-20. He missed 58 games with a broken left foot, only recently returning to the lineup.

The one noted weakness on the Chicago Bulls’ roster heading into this season was a lack of depth on the wing. Besides Porter, the Bulls featured an unproven Chandler Hutchison and Denzel Valentine coming off major reconstructive ankle surgery. With Porter down, the Bulls struggle on the wing was exposed.

So now, with 20 games to go and only a few months before Porter’s impending decision on exercising his $27 million player option for next season, it’s time to see him finish this campaign on a positive note.

If the Bulls can get production from the player who averaged 17.5 points per game in 15 contests last season while shooting 48.8 percent from long-range or anything close to those numbers down the stretch, that will bode well for this squad going forward.

Chicago badly needs Porter’s ability to knock down shots from beyond the arc along with his playmaking ability.