CLEVELAND – The game in New York is what Wendell Carter Jr. is supposed to be for the Bulls.
That was the ideal showcase game for the second-year center.
Not only did he score 20 points on very few plays actually being called for him, but grabbed 10 rebounds, and even had three blocks.
The games that aren’t ideal for Carter? Memphis, when he had foul trouble early and scored just seven points. Or how about even Wednesday night in Cleveland, when he drew two quick fouls and had to eventually replaced midway through the first quarter by Luke Kornet?
That will continue to be Jim Boylen’s message to the 20-year-old.
“I worry about foul trouble,’’ Boylen said of Carter. “I worry about him being so competitive he sticks his hands in. I worry about he wants to guard everybody on the floor. Sometimes he over-rotates. Sometimes he comes across the floor when he doesn’t need to and maybe it opens something up. Not because he doesn’t know what he’s doing or he’s not intelligent. He’s one of our smarter guys. It’s cause he cares, and he thinks he can cover everybody. The guys I’ve been around that have been like that end up being pretty damn good players.’’
Which Boylen thinks Carter will be.
The good news with Carter against the Cavaliers was that he even played. He woke up with eye inflammation, missed the morning shootaround, but it eventually cleared up as the day went on, allowing him to answer the bell.
And while injuries have far too often been the storyline with Carter since he was selected No. 7 overall in the 2018 draft, what has Boylen really excited about his development is his understanding of his role, and his acceptance.
“I think it’s a fair statement that [he doesn’t have a lot of plays called for him],’’ Boylen said. “We have to share and he’s one of those guys that has to share with who we’ve got out there. But I also feel like in our offensive system the five-man is a huge part of it. He sets most of the ball screens, he runs that first post and sets most of those early transition screens. You could argue that the way we play is more dependent on the five-man than anybody. Maybe not to score the ball, but to influence what we do. And he’s embraced that, and it’s good.
“All he talks about is winning. He’s never asked me about play calls, he’s never asked me about numbers, minutes, anything. ‘Coach, we gotta win, we gotta try and win.’ ‘’
Don’t expect Carter to change that mentality anytime soon, either. He lived that life in his one season with a talented Duke frontline, and he’s accepting of it with the Bulls.
“I’m not really big on having to have a play called for me,’’ Carter said. “I’m just trying to find a way to affect the game. Sometimes I score a lot of points, sometimes I get a lot of blocks, sometimes I’m defending a lol. Just pick and choose what I can do throughout the game.’’
Gathering intel
The Bulls didn’t think Darius Garland would make it to them at pick No. 7 last June, and they were right. The talented guard was grabbed No. 5 overall by Cleveland.
That doesn’t mean they didn’t do a lot of homework on him.
“I coached Bryce Drew, Bryce Drew recruited and coached [Garland at Vanderbilt], so we felt like our intel and our feel for him was pretty good,’’ Boylen said. “Very, very talented. So it looks like Cleveland got a good one there.’’
