The Bulls are trying to get center Nikola Vucevic more involved in an offense that was often dominated by Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan, writes K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. LaVine hopes to even out the scoring duties after Vucevic saw his average drop to 17.6 PPG last season, his lowest mark in four years.
“We’ve all been main options,” LaVine said. “When things get a little tougher in the game, I think that’s when we look to our own ability to try to implement ourselves. But we need to look more inward and play more as a unit. That’s what we’re working on.”
Coach Billy Donovan tried some new looks with Vucevic during the preseason, Johnson notes, giving him additional opportunities in the paint and putting him in more read-and-react situations. Donovan trusts LaVine to make the approach work and says he has been willing to adapt to whatever the coaching staff has asked.
“For Zach, you’ve got to look that it’s always been about the team,” Donovan said. “My first year here — and just calling it like it was — he was the only guy who could really make a play at the end of the game off the dribble. We just didn’t have breakdown guards. … Now you add DeMar and Vooch and some other pieces, this is different. All these guys look at ways our team can get better and they can get better. And they have enough confidence in their own offensive ability that they’ll figure out where those spots are at.”
There’s more from Chicago:
- Alex Caruso credits his time with the Lakers for helping him become a more complete player, Johnson adds in a separate story. Caruso was surrounded by veterans in L.A., and he says LeBron James had the biggest influence. “He helped me reach new levels of my game that I maybe didn’t have the confidence to reach at a certain point in my career,” Caruso said. “He enabled me to get on the court because we had such good chemistry. I was able to play off him and understand the game. … He shows up and plays every night. He’s out there as the best player, No. 1 on the scouting report. And he’s going hard.”
- After returning from an injury last season, Patrick Williams played noticeably different with the second unit than with the starters, notes Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune. He’s more aggressive on offense when surrounded by reserves, but when he’s on the court with LaVine and DeRozan he tries to get the ball to them. “A lot of times in the first unit, obviously with Zach and DeMar, they’re All-Stars,” Williams said. “So I feel and the team feels like the best shot is for the ball to be in their hand. We’re trying to set screens for them and trying to get them open. … But with that second group, it’s just whoever has it.”
- In another piece, Poe looks at six revelations from the preseason, including Ayo Dosunmu‘s new responsibilities as the starting point guard and Dalen Terry‘s push for a rotation role as a rookie.
I’ll believe Zach and DDR will throw the ball to Vujevic at the end of a game when I see it. And I don’t really expect to or want to for that matter. Dalen Terry showed me he at least deserves some minutes like Ayo did last year, although they are a lot deeper this year. Especially if and when Ball comes back their might not be many there.
Well Derozan taking half the shots himself probably isn’t going to help and not seeing him stopping playing that way.
Its almost as though there is only 1 basketball, and when you are on the floor with other guys that need the ball in their hands, you’re less likely to be the guy with the ball in your hands. Who would ever possibly begin to be able to consider that?
Yeah, I’m hoping the article itself was alot more in depth than just that insightful, news breaking information…lol
The Bulls roster is a disaster.
We will have to agree to disagree I suppose…Now, I’m not saying their roster is amazing or anything, but it certainly isn’t trash..
Without Ball their roster does clearly have some issues, but with a healthy Ball their roster looks very promising.
They’ll possess a quality mix of veteran former/current all-stars in LaVine, Vucevic, and Derozan, and they’ll have surrounded those three with a host of young talented players and solid role players like a Patrick Williams, Dalen Terry, Colby White, Lonzo Ball, Alex Caruso, Ayo Dosunmu, and Jovante Green. Plus, they’ll also have the experience of some former all-stars who can still contribute in short bursts like Andre Drummond and Goran Dragic…
When you can go 12 deep with talented players, I would have a hard time calling that roster a disaster..
Yes, the Bulls have their holes and their weaknesses, but they also have their fair share of strengths as well..