CHICAGO (670 The Score) – Bulls coach Billy Donovan on Monday removed struggling power forward Patrick Williams from the starting lineup. At least for a night, the adjustment paid off for all parties involved.
The Bulls earned a 129-121 win against the Nuggets at the United Center while going with a four-guard starting lineup as the 6-foot-8 Williams was moved to the second unit. The change came as Williams entered the evening shooting 31.7% overall in 13 games in January. He responded with 11 points, eight rebounds and three assists in 28 minutes while posting a +16 in the plus/minus category, the second-best figure of anyone in the game.
“The second unit needs different things than the first unit needs,” Williams said. “And I’ve always tried to be a player that can fill any gap. I don’t try to say I’m one thing. I try to just be a basketball player, whatever the game needs, just try to be able to do that. The second unit needs a little bit more scoring, a little bit more offensive identity. I think I was able to provide that tonight.”
Before Monday, Williams had started 35 of the 36 games he had played this season. Making the adjustment easier for Donovan and the Bulls was the Nuggets’ choice to bring power forward Aaron Gordon off their bench, meaning Chicago could get by with its smaller starting lineup. Williams mirrored Gordon’s minutes for the most part.
Williams’ role in the immediate future remains fluid. Donovan indicated whether Williams starts will be partly based on matchups and is also tied to player availability. Star guard Zach LaVine will miss the next “few games,” Donovan said, as he and his wife await the birth of their third child in the coming days. That means Williams could be reinserted into the starting lineup as soon as Wednesday, when the Bulls visit the Boston Celtics.
Williams feels comfortable with the second unit but added, “I wouldn’t say that I’m uncomfortable with the starting unit.”
“I’ve always just tried to be a basketball player, just plug me wherever, place me wherever, whatever unit,” Williams said. “I just try to be a basketball player.”
Williams and a reserve-heavy unit were the ones who wrestled control of the game away from the Nuggets on Monday. Chicago opened the fourth quarter on a 13-0 run to turn a one-point deficit into a 108-96 lead, with most of the spurt coming as reigning MVP Nikola Jokic (33 points, 12 rebounds, 14 assists) rested for a short stretch.
In the final 2:05 of the game, LaVine (21 points) hit a pair of big 3-pointers to help hold the Nuggets off as the Bulls improved to 20-27.
The Bulls’ bench outscored the Nuggets’ bench 41-10.
“It was great,” LaVine said. “We were sitting there and I was like, ‘This is the way that we’re supposed to be playing.’ The first unit, second unit, we played with energy, we played through runs. But when they give us a boost like that, it’s great. Billy looked down and told me and (Nikola Vucevic), ‘We’re going to roll with them.’ I was like, ‘Damn right.’”
Cody Westerlund is an editor for 670TheScore.com and covers the Bulls. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund.