Chicago Bulls: Marko Simonović and Tony Bradley will play key roles this season

Chicago Bulls roles for Simonovic and Bradley: 1. Always play big

Marko Simonović is 6’11” tall; both Nikola Vučević and Tony Bradley are 6’10”. They are the tallest players on the Chicago Bulls roster. All three of them play the center position. Outside of those three guys, the Bulls don’t have a single player over 6’8″. That makes them a relatively short NBA team.

Rebounding is a department in which Chicago struggled at times last season. It is often said that “the last act of a successful defensive possession is securing the rebound.” Truer words have never been spoken. Regardless of how talented a team is offensively, if they don’t crash the boards on defense, the other team’s offensive rebounding and subsequent second-chance points will lead them to ruin. Vučević has proven to be a reliable rebounder, averaging 10.4 boards per game over the course of his career. However, when he exits the game, the Bulls are going to need someone to pick up the slack.

In today’s NBA it has become in vogue for big men to boast about possessing “guard skills.” However, many modern-day bigs have taken this a bit too far and abandoned their big-man responsibilities, namely grabbing rebounds and blocking shots. Chicago cannot afford for Simonović or Bradley to display how skilled they are. Their shooters, ball handlers and scorers have already been identified. If these two are going to make an impact, it will have to be inside the paint; that means rebounding, blocking shots and dunking. In other words, they must play big every night in order for the Bulls to win.