As the preseason comes to a close, we are nearing closer to opening day for the Bulls. After finishing with an abysmal 27-55 record Chicago looks to rebound. With the signing of 23 year old SF Jabari Parker and drafting of C Wendell Carter Jr.

Here is the projected starting lineup versus the Philadelphia 76ers on opening day, along with their ages and statistics from the 2017-18 NBA season.

Point Guard:(24) Kris Dunn- 13.4 PPG, 6.0 AST, 4.3 REB, 2.0 STL on .429/.321/.736

Shooting Guard:(23) Zach Lavine- 16.7 PPG, 3.0 AST, 3.9 REB, 1.0 STL on .383/.341/.813

Small Forward:(23) Jabari Parker- 12.6 PPG, 1.9 AST, 4.9 REB, .8 STL on .482/.383/.741

Power Forward:(21) Lauri Markkanen- 15.2 PPG, 1.2 AST, 7.5 REB, .6 BLK on .434/.362/.843

Center:(30) Robin Lopez- 11.8 PPG,  1.9 AST, 4.5 REB, .8 BLK on .530/.286/.756

While those numbers are not necessarily eye popping there is much reason to believe that there is a bright future in this team. First of all, the majority of the starting lineup is not even 25 yet. Lopez will likely be put on the bench in favor of 19 year old rookie center Carter Jr, drafted 7th overall in this 2018 draft. This would make the average age of the Bulls starters to be 22.

Injuries played a large part in Parker and Lavine’s careers, both suffering ACL tears, but after a lengthy rehab process both players are set to have their best years yet. Dunn has always been a great defender and average scorer, he is likely to settle down and have an average season under coach Fred Hoiberg’s offense. Markkanen surprised many with his stellar 3 point shooting, and after adding more muscle mass over the offseason he looks to be able to overpower his opponents on the defensive end. As stated before, Lopez will likely be sent to the bench so that rookie Carter Jr. gets enough minutes to develop his game at an NBA level.

Vegas odds are predicting the Bulls to get 30 wins, only a 3 win improvement from last season. While those odds are not very favorable, there are many underlying aspects that can make this season a very memorable one.