With just a few minutes left in the first quarter Thursday against the Timberwolves, Billy Donovan unhooked the leash and let loose his latest version of the “Death Lineup.’’
It wasn’t the ideal time to go small, it wasn’t the best matchup with Minnesota’s 7-foot-1 glass-wiper Rudy Gobert lurking in the paint, but it was the final preseason game, so the Bulls coach thought “Why not?’’
He found out quickly why not, as the Bulls’ small-ball grouping of Patrick Williams, Torrey Craig, Alex Caruso, Jevon Carter, and DeMar DeRozan saw a three-point deficit quickly turn into eight.
Right idea, wrong time?
Likely, but a puzzle that Donovan will continue working on into the regular season.
And maybe, just maybe, that’s where rookie Julian Phillips can squeeze through that crack.
Ever since the Golden State Warriors were holding up Larry O’Brien Trophies because of their vaunted original “Death Lineup’’ of Andre Iguodala, Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Harrison Barnes, every NBA coach has their own version of a small-ball lineup built on defense and taking advantage of bigger, slower teams.
In Donovan’s version the last few seasons, Derrick Jones Jr. often seemed to be a key piece in it.
At 6-foot-6, a 7-foot wingspan, and the vertical leap of an adult kangaroo on a Red Bull bender, Jones was the perfect undersized five, deceptively strong and an able rim protector.
Jones was allowed to walk last summer, signing with the Mavericks, and also leaving a vacancy.
Williams and Craig were the early candidates to replace Jones, but there’s just not enough of a sample size for Donovan to feel good about it.
“I think we’re going to have to have a small-ball lineup at some point,’’ Donovan said. “You just have to have that. I don’t know if I necessarily put (Thursday’s grouping) in the best situation quite honestly. I kind of put those guys in there when Gobert was back in the game. We probably wouldn’t go small in that situation.
“We haven’t done much of that. Whether Patrick is the five or Torrey is the five, that may be something we can look to go to in the future when we want to play smaller.’’
Phillips definitely has his hand up as a volunteer.
Like Jones, there’s not a single player in the Bulls locker room that can jump with Phillips. His draft-combine best 43-inch vertical leap was evidence of that. But he also came out of the five preseason games leading the Bulls in blocked shots with four, including a nasty fourth-quarter denial against Minnesota.
The second-round rookie is 6-8, a bit thicker than Jones, and understands that his path to playing time will have to come on the defensive end.
“That’s definitely something we harp on a lot – defense,’’ Phillip said. “You get that shot … you have to have that mentality that all five guys are going to stay connected. You get that opportunity, you need to be ready to defend at that level, lock down somebody.’’
And that’s all Phillips is looking for right now. He knows the roster is filled with veterans and he’s on the outside looking in as far as a rotation spot to start the season.
It’s a waiting game, and maybe an audition for the “Death Lineup’’ will be his in at some point this season.
“We have a veteran team, so just seeing their work ethic and how they got to where they’re at, you talk to them, hear the stories on how they weren’t out there right away,’’ Phillips said. “That’s why there’s that common ground of consistency and coming in here every day to put the work in. Stick with it day in and day out, wait for that opportunity.’’
