Guard Coby White’s return has helped.
The sharpshooting White has averaged 24 points in the four games he has played since starting the season on the sideline with a strained right calf, cementing himself as the closest thing the Bulls have to a closer. He is averaging a team-best 5.3 points in the fourth quarters of those games.
But the Bulls are 2-2 in the games White has played.
The return of 6-9, 250-pound Zach Collins (left wrist) will help. He is the closest thing the Bulls have to a true physical presence in the paint, and he might make his season debut sometime next week after continuing to ramp up his activity Wednesday.
Still, starting center Nikola Vucevic has been playing at a high level offensively, and Jalen Smith — who has been getting the minutes in Collins’ absence — has been shooting just less than 39% from three-point range and averaging 10.2 points.
The Bulls haven’t been fully whole, but even if and when they are, can they become a legitimate threat in the Eastern Conference?
If the answer is no, then it’s no wonder Vucevic pulled no punches after the Bulls’ one-point victory last week against the Wizards, publicly calling out the team for looking soft and playing a style that is unsustainable.
After all, there’s a lot at stake for Vucevic. Not only is he 35, but he’s on an expiring contract, he and his family love Chicago and he’s a team-first guy who always has wanted to help the Bulls get back to making a meaningful playoff run.
As head coach Billy Donovan pointed out, however, Vucevic isn’t the only one who feels that way. He is one of eight Bulls who is or might be playing out the final year of a contract, joining Collins, White, Kevin Huerter, Ayo Dosunmu, Jevon Carter, Dalen Terry and Julian Phillips. The latter two are in the final year of their rookie deals.
That was a point Donovan brought up in the first team meeting and one he finds himself reiterating weeks later.
‘‘We’ve got eight guys on expiring contracts,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘They’re all tied together. Their futures and careers are in each other’s hands. You get a player that’s young, that’s in their first or second year, they’re looking down the road and thinking, ‘Fifteen years is forever.’ Vooch is sitting there saying, ‘Hey, this went by like that.’ So I do think that there’s an urgency by Vooch, a mindset, a mentality.’’
That’s because Vucevic knows there might be another scenario in play if the Bulls can be a factor in the postseason.
Executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas can be criticized for many mistakes, but he has shown loyalty to the head coach and to a majority of his players. If the Bulls reach the playoffs and have an impressive showing, a handful of the eight — but likely not all — might be offered multiyear extensions.
Who’s to say Vucevic isn’t worth a one-year deal with a second year at a team option to stay with the Bulls? That especially rings true if the Bulls can start playing sustainable basketball with consistent physicality.
‘‘They have to understand the urgency because they all have something to do with each other’s success and they all have something to do with each other’s future,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘I think the moment you get out of yourself and start thinking, ‘What can I do to help the man next to me? What can I do to help the man on the court?’ that’s when you find out the guys that are really committed.’’