Kris Dunn’s defense has been elite this season.
The Bulls guard, however, gave a lot of that credit to his “wolf.’’
The woods just got safer for opposing offenses this week.
With the Bulls announcing on Thursday that Wendell Carter Jr.’s sprained right ankle will sideline him four-to-six weeks, that solid defensive efficiency the Bulls had been sporting the last few months? That’s likely get worse.
“I try and break up their rhythm a little bit, and then try and send them to the wolves, try and get them to cause turnovers, try and bring them to Wendell [Carter] and let Wendell get a couple blocks on them,’’ Dunn said earlier this week when discussing his mentality on the defensive end of the ball.
With Carter gone until possibly late February, that means Lauri Markkanen, Thaddeus Young and Daniel Gafford have to pick up the slack.
Markkanen will get more playing time against true bigs — an area he’s struggled with defensively at times. Young will also use his strong frame to patrol the paint, but will be undersized in most matchups. Then there’s Gafford, who will have to continue his growth as a rookie at a quicker rate if this team wants to find any success.
Coach Jim Boylen has maintained since last season that Carter was the best frontcourt defender the team had, and the identity of this team was moving into a very defensive one this season. With Carter down, expect some serious steps back.
While Carter called the injury “devastating” because of the games he’ll miss, the immediate impact on the starting lineup continued. After Boylen started Young in Carter’s spot in the loss to New Orleans, Gafford will get his chance tonight against the Pacers.
