Chicago Bulls pick their starting power forward for a season opener against Miami Heat

After much deliberation, Chicago Bulls' coaching staff has decided that Patrick Williams will start at the power forward position for the team this upcoming season. This decision came after a great deal of discussion and evaluation of Williams and Javonte Green, who did extremely well during the preseason.

Slight surprise

The decision is a slight surprise, especially after many pegged Green to be named to the starting five when the Bulls take on the Miami Heat during the season-opener on Wednesday. However, it appears that Bulls head coach Billy Donovan will turn to Williams — the team's highly-touted youngster from the 2020 NBA Draft.

Patrick Williams will be our starting Power Forward in our Season-Opener vs. Miami, per Billy Donovan. pic.twitter.com/6EGHQBUy1T
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) October 18, 2022

Williams was solid during the preseason and made the best out of his opportunities even after he was yanked from the starting five right after the Bulls' first preseason match against the New Orleans Pelicans. He averaged 11 points on 42% shooting, along with 3.8 rebounds. His best preseason performance came against the Milwaukee Bucks when he had 22 points, five boards, and five assists.

High expectations

Donovan's decision to start Williams over Green signifies his trust in the 21-year-old, and he hopes the Florida State product will play with force and instinct. Williams will have to step up as he is now playing alongside All-Stars Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Nikola Vucevic. Donovan also asserted that this decision is flexible throughout the season.

"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. 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," said Donovan.

With Williams starting, Green — who was fantastic in the preseason with averages of 15 points on over 70% shooting — will anchor the Bulls' bench along with Caruso, Dragic, and Drummond.