When the Chicago Bulls open the season 7 p.m. Thursday on TNT against the Philadelphia 76ers, they will play without second-year forward Lauri Markkanen.

Markkanen sustained an elbow injury last month that is expected to keep him out of action for the season’s first few weeks.

Any match against a strong post team could spell disaster; the only options the Bulls have to counteract good front court production are reliable-but-not-great veteran Robin Lopez and rookie center Wendell Carter, Jr.

Carter will get the start Thursday, but Lopez will eat up much of the playing time. Lopez isn’t going to surprise anyone with his production. He’s averaged between nine and 11 points per game every season; he doesn’t block shots well, and his rebounding is mediocre.

Optimism was evident when the Bulls announced Chicago-native forward Jabari Parker was joining the squad, and Carter has drawn comparisons to five-time all-star Al Horford.

Carter providing half of Horford’s scoring and rebounding would be a shot in the arm for the Bulls, who finished last in blocked shots last season. Carter blocked two shots per game in his only season at Duke, while no Bulls player averaged more than one block per game last season.

Parker averaged 20 points per game before an ACL ended his 2017 season, but last year he was relegated to bench duty; the Bucks replaced his production with a superstar breakout season from Giannis Antetokounmpo. Once on the bench, Parker seemed to lose motivation, and his scoring dipped along with his playing time.

The Bulls also lack a true small forward. Parker can fill the role on offense, but he’s too slow to spend any meaningful minutes at the position. This leaves defensive duties to Justin Holiday, a good-but-not-great defender who doubles as a black hole offensively, except for the rare occasions his shots are falling.

Parker matches up size-wise, but the only part of the Carmelo Anthony comparisons scouts gave him before he was drafted that fit correctly was his inability to defend.

Guards Kris Dunn and Zach LaVine aren’t unknown entities, but this will be Dunn’s first year having to cover for LaVine’s anemic defense. LaVine missed most of last year with an ACL tear, but he hasn’t lost any of his incredible athleticism. He still averaged 16 points per game in limited playing time over 24 games last season and had a few highlight reel dunks in the preseason.

Fresh off a four-year, $78 million contract extension, LaVine seems poised to take his place as the Bulls’ leading scorer, but he can’t stay in front of anyone defensively.

The Bulls didn’t have a bad offseason; Parker and Carter are helpful additions that speed up the rebuilding process, but the Bulls have too many holes defensively to truly contend.