Jim Boylen was keeping his last press conference of the preseason simple.
No predictions of win totals or a trip to the playoffs, not even a priority list of what the Bulls coach wanted to see from his team Wednesday night in Charlotte, when the games start counting.
Well, at least nothing tangible.
Instead, Boylen sounded more like a therapist than a guy focused on the X’s and O’s of what this 2019-20 Bulls team brings to the dance.
“Care for each other,’’ Boylen said, when asked what his team can best do as the regular season begins. “Care for each other and support each other. That’s what I’ve seen. I’ve seen a group of guys that want to do the right things. It’s a high-character group, it’s a willing group. Our care factor is high and I expect for us to care for each other [Wednesday], play for each other, sacrifice for each other. I think we’ll do that well.’’
If that means wins, well, therapist away, Jimbo.
This is Year 3 of the rebuild, and there have been way more low points than highlights. Bulls vice president of basketball operations John Paxson and general manager Gar Forman feel they finally have roster talent to compete in the Eastern Conference for a top eight spot, and they undoubtedly feel like they have the right coach to lead them.
Despite a 17-41 record under Boylen last season, the Bulls gave the former assistant a three-year extension last spring to continue cleaning out a culture they felt had gone south under Fred Hoiberg. They also gave Boylen the keys to the car from a roster standpoint, finally listening to a coach when it came to personnel decisions, adding tougher players to match Boylen’s foxhole mentality.
Wednesday, the product gets the long-awaited roll-out.
“Learned a lot,’’ third-year forward Lauri Markkanen said of what he sees from this team heading into the season. “Obviously we’ve got seven new guys since last year, so it took some time to get adjusted to, get to know their personality, and hang out with them. That’s the biggest thing we’ve learned. You learn your personnel and move along.’’
The Bulls will have very little choice but to stay on the move, especially with four of their first five games on the road, and six of their first nine away from the United Center.
The good news? Those four road games to enter the season are more than winnable, starting in Charlotte, going to Memphis, a quick home stop for the opener against Toronto on Saturday, and then back on the road to New York and Cleveland.
Four games there for the taking for a team looking to make that climb to the next level.
“Yeah, that’s what we’re trying to do — start off strong,’’ Markkanen said. “That sets the pace for the rest of the year, so we’re going one game at a time, but it’s really important for us to get these.’’
Boylen agreed about the importance of that quick start, but was more focused on the finished product this season rather than what it looks like at the beginning.
“What I don’t do is I don’t always evaluate whether we’ve won or lost, I evaluate how we played,’’ Boylen said. “And then the next day we’ll work on the things we didn’t do well and hopefully we can grow as a group. So that’s what I’ll worry about.
“I’m excited for them, I’m pumped up because just like them I like to compete. That’s why we do this. So I’m ready.’’
