The Chicago Bulls had some surprising success last season as they made it to the play-in tournament, and the team was hoping for another step in the right direction this year. So far, however, the Bulls are one of the worst teams in the league as they have a 5-13 record, and they are in third-to-last place in the Eastern Conference. The season is still in its early stages, but we are approaching that time of the year when it becomes clear what the caliber of each team is, and it the Bulls don't change their fortunes soon, it's likely going to be too late.

Unfortunately for Chicago, we haven't seen a lot of positives from this team yet this season. The Bulls have struggled in just about every game, and they have especially struggled in the NBA In-Season Tournament. The In-Season Tournament is new to the NBA this year, and it gives a postseason feel to some early-season games. Chicago has not performed well in those games. Each team gets to play four group stage games before the knockout stage ends, and the Bulls will end at the bottom of their group as they went winless in group play. The Bulls lost to the Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors, Orlando Magic and Brooklyn Nets in the NBA In-Season Tournament, and they picked up zero wins.

Last season, a lot of things had to go right for the Bulls to even make it to the play-in tournament. Even with all of those things going right, they couldn't make it into the actual playoffs. This season, not everything has gone Chicago's way, and we are seeing the results. Something has to change for this team, somebody has to step up, and it could start with some lineup changes. The Bulls have some very talented young players on the roster, and it might be time to give some of them some more minutes.

Why Ayo Dosunmu deserves more minutes for the Bulls

Ayo Dosunmu is now in his third season with the Bulls, and at the beginning of the season, I said that he was due for a breakout season. I still see this as a possibility despite his minutes being much lower than they were in his first two seasons. Years one and two were good for Dosunmu and he got his footing in the league, but he is ready for a bigger role now, and he could be a young player that can step up and help change the fortunes for this Bulls season.

I'm not going to sit here and say that Dosunmu's numbers this season are eye-popping, but I still do believe he should be on the floor more. Right now, Dosunmu is averaging 5.3 PPG this season, which is about three points less than it was in his first two seasons. However, he averaged around 27 minutes in his first two seasons, and he is only averaging 14.9 this season. That's why his point totals are down. If you look at Dosunmu's percentages, he's actually having a pretty similar season to the past two years. His three point percentage is currently up 6% from last year, and his free throw percentage is up 3% from last year. His overall field goal percentage is down slightly, but I still think that Dosunmu can handle a bigger role.

Could I be fooling myself thinking that Dosunmu could provide a spark? Certainly. However, with the way that this season has started for the Bulls, it's clear that something needs to change. Chicago is running out of time to get some momentum going into the bulk of their schedule, and if they don't get that momentum soon, it's not going to be a fun season. They have nothing to lose.