Chicago Bulls: Scoring will be easy
Bulls fans are pretty optimistic and understandably so. After bringing in Nikola Vucevic last season and DeMar DeRozan over the summer to flank Zach LaVine, putting points on the board figures to be a pretty easy task.
The question marks come on the other end of the floor, but with Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso leading the defense at the point of attack and Patrick Williams most likely being the go-to wing stopper, there’s certainly reason to think they can hold up on that end.
New Orleans Pelicans: Bully Ball
The Pelicans didn’t do a lot to move the needle this offseason after a pretty disappointing 2021 campaign and will have to do more to keep Zion Williamson happy in the future, but I’m pretty excited to watch Zion and newly acquired Jonas Valanciunas mash teams in the paint.
Steven Adams is one of the better offensive rebounders in the NBA, but at this point in their careers and with a more refined low-post game, Valanciunas is a better fit next to Zion. If the Pelicans lean into this advantage, they should be able to pummel teams around the rim by unleashing two of the best offensive rebounders in the game.