NBA: 5 teams facing the most pressure heading into the 2019-20 season

Chicago Bulls

The All-Star game this upcoming season is in Chicago. This will definitely have people watching the host team’s progress this season. It has been a couple of years of obscurity for the Bulls. Ever since the Derrick Rose-led era, it’s been years of soul searching. Head coaches in and out of the door. The search for a new superstar has been potentially been found with guard Zach LaVine coming over through the Jimmy Butler trade and the drafting of foreign big-man Lauri Markkanen.

The present issue with this young team is injuries. LaVine, Otto Porter Jr., Markkanen, and Wendell Carter Jr. have all missed extenisive time due to injury. Out of those four, nobody played more than 63 games. That core is locked up past next season but the if injuries continue to hamper then actions might be made.

Coaches have been in-and-out but this current team would have suited former coach Fred Hoiberg‘s style perfectly, the perimeter centric style. Instead, Jim Boylen, coming from a Gregg Popovich coaching lineage, is in charge. He is very emotional and the team has responded in some cases – posting their only three-game winning streak of the season. We will see if he is the right man to lead this team.

In the 2019 draft, the Bulls finally found their point guard of the future with the selection of Coby White. No more incosnistent play at that position. The starting-5 is young and now expected to make a push for the playoffs in a weak Eastern Conference. The pressure is on in the Windy City for this team to stay healthy and emerge as a young core for the future.