<p>They don’t check all the boxes, at least those that new Bulls coach Tiago Splitter and executive vice president Bryson Graham want checked.</p><p>“When you compete on the defense end, your team typically competes harder,” Graham said this offseason.</p><p>Hey, guards, are you listening?</p><p>With Bulls camp a little over two weeks away, the spotlight will be on the backcourt — the starters and the reserves — to see if it can figure out the Splitter way and embrace what he preaches.</p><p>There was progress in that department in the team-only scrimmages in Miami last month, but those scrimmages don’t signify all that much.</p><p>Josh Giddey, Tre Jones, Rob Dillingham and rookie Dailyn Swain need to continue to step up defensively to make sure that Norman Powell, 33, is not left alone on an island.</p><p>That will be the burning question with the guards all fall and into the regular season.</p><p>“I have a vision, I have a way I want to play, but you also have to explore what they do best,” Splitter said recently. “That’s what we’re going to do here.”</p><p>His vision, like Graham’s, focuses on defense and physicality, and on the offensive end, it demands ball movement. Splitter was raised under the Spurs’ umbrella. Ball movement and the extra pass were a way of life.</p><p>That’s where Giddey and Jones can excel.</p><p>Both are pass-first ballhandlers and are from the school of generating the best scoring opportunity.</p><p>The bonus with Giddey is that he also gives Splitter positional size, so he adds rebounding from the backcourt. His 8.3 boards per game last season were a career high.</p><p>Splitter just finished coaching a point forward in Deni Avdija who put up Giddey-like numbers, so there could be some familiarity in several offensive sets.</p><p><b>Backcourt outlook</b></p><p><b>The starters:</b> The Bulls will enter camp with this decision already made. Giddey and Powell will hold down the starting spots in the backcourt. Former coach Billy Donovan liked to give a three-guard look — often because of injuries — but that won’t be the case for the 2026-27 season with the team’s frontcourt bolstered.</p><p><b>Giddey</b> — This is a huge season for him, especially now that he earned the bag in signing a four-year, $100 million deal last offseason. Now it’s about chasing a legacy. This will be the most talent that Giddey has played with since joining the Bulls, and he can be the face of this group reaching expectations.</p><p><b>Powell</b> — If it works with the veteran, great. If it doesn’t, the Bulls have the flexibility to trade Powell to a contender. Powell’s presence has been beyond positive already, and he might be just as important off the court.</p><p><b>The reserves:</b> Jones has shown that he can be a starter by continuing to play winning basketball on a losing team, but after the veteran point guard, there are more questions than answers. That means Dillingham and Swain have some things to prove.</p><p><b>Jones</b> — The consummate pro, Jones is a key reserve for the Bulls and also a key trade piece on the chessboard if the opportunity presents itself.</p><p><b>Swain</b> — It’s hard to erase Summer League from the eyes, but it is reset time for the rookie. Swain could emerge as a defensive presence off the bench and should focus on earning his playing time with that mentality first. That’s how Jimmy Butler got started.</p><p><b>Dillingham</b> — It might be sink-or-swim time for the No. 8 overall pick of the 2024 draft, and Dillingham knows that. He has spent time this offseason working with Powell and is serious about taking the next step.</p>
Bulls Preview: The guard room has talent but will it SLAP when called 2026
IUSTITIA.BG – Investigations 2009-2026 2026-09-13 11:51:08
Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
