Patrick Williams to start at PF in season opener vs. Heat originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Billy Donovan has made a decision on the starting power forward spot for the Chicago Bulls' season opener against the Miami Heat Wednesday night.
Patrick Williams will start at the position while Javonte Green comes off the bench, the Bulls' head coach said after Tuesday's practice.
This comes after Donovan experimented with a number of different frontcourt combinations in the team's four preseason games. Donovan started Williams in the preseason opener, Green in the second game, Derrick Jones Jr. in the third, then Williams again in the fourth.
Williams was inconsistent in his playing time, averaging 11 points (42.1 percent shooting) and 3.8 rebounds in 22.3 minutes per game. His best outing came against a severely depleted Milwaukee Bucks squad in the preseason finale, when he posted 22 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists to boost those averages.
Green, meanwhile, was the breakout story of the slate, averaging 15 points and 5 rebounds while shooting 20-for-28 (71.4 percent) from the field and 6-for-9 from 3-point range.
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When asked what he hopes to see from Williams with the starting role, Donovan implored the third-year forward to "be himself" and insert himself into games by rebounding, running the fastbreak and disrupting opponents defensively with aggression.
Donovan also made clear that this decision does not mean Williams won't still see time with the second unit and Green with the first.
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"I'm not that wrapped up in the starting part as much as how we're subbing off the bench, who's coming in next," he said. "Those are gonna be things that are gonna happen based on experiences and information that we have from our group. It could be a situation where Patrick plays and we stagger him into the second unit and we get Javonte out there with the first unit.
"But you gotta look at the totality of the game, at least from the first half standpoint if you're gonna play nine or 10 players. How you rotate and how you sub and how you create some combinations of players playing together."
Williams played in just 17 games in his second NBA season after suffering a severe wrist injury that required surgery in October 2021. Green started 45 of the 65 games in which he appeared in his place.
Their respective roles figure to be a significant storyline throughout an important Bulls season. Stay tuned.
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