Billy Donovan's Anti-Midrange Plan Exposes Bulls' Offensive Blind Spot

Even though it's not exactly an untold secret, it drew attention anyway.

On Tuesday, after the Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the Phoenix Suns 116-104, Ayo Dosunmu, traded to Minnesota by the deadline this season, revealed that midrange shooting was "prohibited" under Billy Donovan in Chicago. The Bulls, he explained, concentrated almost exclusively on three-pointers and layups.

Dosunmu isn't wrong. The former Bull who worked with Donovan for nearly six seasons just blatantly exposed the team's shooting profile, which rarely features midrange attempts. In a high-scoring 152-150 victory over the Atlanta Hawks this season, the Bulls recorded zero midrange jumpers, per the official shot chart. Not a single one.

Earlier this season, Donovan told Bulls Roundtable about the team’s tendency to create better shooting opportunities, clearly indicating his mindset of undermining midrange importance. This philosophy aligns with the Bulls' fast-paced system. Chicago has been devoted to running the floor and scoring as efficiently as possible. What Donovan cares about most, as he's reiterated in countless postgame interviews, is whether the Bulls outshoot their opponents from deep.

Within the broader basketball landscape, this scheme makes sense. The modern NBA doesn't appreciate midrange game anymore — unless you're elite at it. There have been notable exceptions during Donovan's Bulls tenure: DeMar DeRozan, a certified midrange master who never fully embraced three-point shooting, and Zach LaVine, who was capable of both midrange shots and threes. Donovan granted them freedom to operate.

"To me, I think we let the guys play freely," Donovan said Wednesday when asked about Dosunmu's comments. He acknowledged this Chicago team doesn't possess elite offensive firepower, while pointing out that those three former Bulls had the ability to create their own shots consistently.

"I'm not opposed to the midrange…(but) I think you got to play to the player's strengths," he said.

Dosunmu's comments came with additional context. He said the Timberwolves have Rudy Gobert — an elite screener whose pick-and-roll actions create natural space for midrange opportunities. Coincidentally, when asked on Wednesday about maximizing Josh Giddey while working with the Bulls' current centers, Donovan acknowledged, "It's very difficult to be a good screener," hinting that the team currently lacks a quality screener like Nikola Vucevic, who could either roll as a lob threat or pop out for long-range shots. The absence of that foundational piece makes certain offensive dimensions, including midrange creation off ball screens, nearly impossible to execute consistently.

The last legitimate midrange shooter the Bulls had, again, was Vucevic, who frequently capitalized on post-ups and long midrange jumpers. But throughout his Bulls tenure, we could spot a clear trend: the big man was shooting fewer midrange attempts. In his first full season with Chicago, he attempted 26% of his shots from midrange while taking 28.7% from three. This season, with Chicago and Boston combined, he's shooting just 18% from midrange while increasing his three-point volume to 33%.

Based on Donovan's response, it doesn't sound like he's fundamentally curbing the midrange shooting — he believes utilizing a player's strengths matters most. As evidenced by LaVine, DeRozan and Vucevic, his statement holds validity. But what about the current Bulls roster?

Of the Bulls' two-point field goals this season, 55.2% come from close range, with shots within 10 feet occupying 46.9% of total attempts. Per Basketball Reference, the player who took the most midrange shots among those appearing in at least 40 games for Chicago this season was Vucevic at 10.5% of his attempts from 10-16 feet.

Well, he's no longer a Bull. If you're wondering who currently takes the most midrange shots, that's Anfernee Simons at 11.4% — the only Bull shooting at least 10% from that range. To Donovan's point about player strengths, the current Bulls simply don't have anyone truly capable in the midrange game.

"I'm totally fine with (midrange), but if we all of a sudden just became a team shooting mid-range jump shots, we're going to have a hard time scoring," Donovan said.

Interestingly, per Timberwolves beat reporter Dane Moore, Dosunmu took 86% of his Chicago shots at the rim or from three. In Minnesota, he's becoming a true three-level scorer despite a slight dip in average points, and his true shooting percentage has remained over 60%. Of his two-point makes, he previously had only 6% split between catch-and-shoot and pull-up midrange attempts. 

As I took within 10-22 feet as a midrange benchmark on the Basketball Reference, Dosunmu had only 2.2% of his shots coming from midrange in Chicago this season. That category has surged to 16% after he was traded to Minnesota in the last 15 games.

Based on the roster Donovan currently manages, there's nothing to blame for his discouraging midrange philosophy. He hasn't prohibited them — he's simply stressed shooting efficiency to players in ways that align with his high-tempo system.

And, fair to say, no one in the current Bulls team can “play his strength” on midrange.

But this raises a crucial question: might the Bulls need a closer who can not only follow Donovan's shooting preferences but also create quality midrange looks that Donovan would potentially turn on the green light? While concentrating entirely on transition layups and three-point shooting can maximize offense, that only works if you're shooting lights out. You always need a silencer capable of hitting crucial midrange shots to beat the shot clock or deliver in late-game crunch time.

The just-passed 30-point blowout loss to Toronto, where the Bulls were tormented by Brandon Ingram's midrange mastery in the first half, perfectly illustrates why this represents a gap Chicago needs to fill to become a better team.

Though the midrange tag might not be critically necessary, who says no to weaponizing yourself with another offensive dimension?