The minutes have come sparingly for rookie Julian Phillips.
Not that it’s a shock to him. He’ll take the 10 minutes in four games and proudly bank them in the “just getting experience’’ vault.
Plus, the second-round pick (35th overall) knows heavy minutes will be coming his way, even if it will be in the G League.
While second-year wing Dalen Terry has been spending a lot of practice time with the Windy City Bulls the last few weeks, Phillips has been getting all his practice time and workouts with the NBA team. There has been a method to the madness, however.
“I think one of things we tried to do early in training camp was get [Phillips] acclimated to an NBA schedule, NBA routine, NBA practice,’’ coach Billy Donovan said. “There will be a time when he will go [to Windy City] and start playing because he needs to be on the floor playing.’’
Donovan said that because of the crowded depth chart, Terry and Phillips will need to get playing time in the G League. The organization already has mapped out the first month of the Windy City schedule and how it coincides with the Bulls’ schedule.
But while Terry went through the G League training camp, Phillips has been getting his runs in intrasquad scrimmages with the player-development team after practices and shootarounds.
“I definitely think my development has improved since I got here, finding a routine that I like,’’ Phillips said Wednesday. “Just even not playing a lot but still getting to learn a lot from the game, seeing it from a different point of view, seeing how the older guys approach the game, watching the preparation they use and seeing how that translates on the court, all of it is a huge help with my development.’’
Donovan says his development is on a steady incline. Phillips came out of Tennessee with great athletic ability and a defensive mindset, and both of those traits have been on display. He’s far from being anywhere close to a finished product, however.
“I think [Phillips has] really good upside,’’ Donovan said. “He does a lot of things instinctively for his position. Besides the skill set of putting the ball on the floor and shooting, I think a big part for guys like him that are wing players, a power forward, being able to cut and move and just randomly play and read things quickly, he really has a good knack for that.
“He’s clearly gotta get stronger, sometimes things are moving fast for him, which is probably normal for most young guys, but we definitely feel good about his upside.’’
Speaking of . . .
Terry was recalled from the Windy City Bulls before the game with the Suns, but the expectation is that he’ll be putting some miles on the car once the season starts for the G League team on Friday.
Like Phillips, Terry has only appeared in four games for the Bulls this season, all in mop-up time, and needs some floor time.
Minute man
Guard Alex Caruso says he has reached the point where he doesn’t even pay attention to his minutes.
“In my career, I’ve played in games where I went 30-plus [minutes] and games where I’ve played 10,’’ he said. “I don’t keep track of it. I might see it when I look at the box score after the game, but I don’t think there’s a set number that I need to play.’’
