Maggie Hendricks of 670 The Score in Chicago joins Tara Bowen-Biggs to preview two Portland vs Chicago matchups coming this week.

Highlights:

00:50 Expectations going into the season were set by the front office who said that the Bulls would be aiming for the playoffs. They don’t look like a playoff team and now they are talking about developing players. 

2:00 Infighting and strange choices had been plaguing the team lately. Coach Jim Boylen said that Zach Levine made three egregious errors and pulled him. 

3:00 What happened to the Player’s Committee? Isn’t Zach Levine the head of the player’s committee? It doesn’t seem to exist anymore and there is no clear plan for how they are going to fix communication.

4:20 Who is the leader of the locker room? Otto Porter Jr is the most likely candidate, even though he is pretty new. He is a respected veteran. They are such a young team and they don’t have many veterans to show them the way. 

5:20 Strengths: Coby White and other players are fun to watch when they are on. Most of the players have moments or stretches where they play really well. 

7:10 What is the starting lineup? Lauri Markkanen, Zach Levine, Wendell Carter Jr, Tomáš Satoranský have been the most consistent in the starting lineup.

7:50 What are fans talking about? Everything is about is Jim Boylen over his head? There is a lot of excitement over the rookies. However, the front office have not modernized their approach to try to keep up with the rest of the league. 

9:00 Is Boylen in the hot seat? The ownership is really reluctant to make changes, coaches get a lot of leeway. 

10:05 Does having a big fan base make it easier or harder to hold a front office accountable? Right now everyone is really mad about the Bears. Once their season is over, fans may turn their ire on the Bulls. 

12:00 What to watch for: how much do rookies Coby White and Daniel Gafford play? They are trying to figure out who they are on defense. They probably won’t change a lot between the first game on Monday and the second game on Friday. 

Follow Maggie on Twitter @maggiehendricks

Follow us on Twitter @blazersedge @DMarang @tcbbiggs 

Subscribe to the podcast:

Apple Podcasts 

Google Play

Spotify

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices