It has been hard to know what to expect from the Bulls on a night-to-night basis so far this season.
After capping a four-game losing streak with a home loss to Orlando last Friday, the team had its two best wins of the season on Monday in Boston and Wednesday in Milwaukee. The win over the Bucks was Chicago’s best defensive outing of the year, as Darnell Mayberry wrote for The Athletic.
However, the Bulls followed up those two statement games with a letdown performance on Friday, falling in overtime to Oklahoma City.
According to Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times, head coach Billy Donovan had braced for some up and downs in the early part of this season as the club tried to move away from leaning so heavily on DeMar DeRozan‘s isolation-heavy offense and late-game heroics.
“DeMar took us as far as he can take us (last season), and we really have to look at, OK, how can we make another step or jump?” Donovan said. “If we get back to that, where it’s all (isolations) all the time, it just gets too easy to defend. This is going to take some time offensively for us to play the way we need to play, which is a little bit different.”
Here’s more on the Bulls:
- The 2021 deadline trade that sent Nikola Vucevic to Chicago has netted the Magic a pair of potential building blocks (Franz Wagner and Wendell Carter Jr.), with another lightly protected first-round pick still to come. Still, Vucevic isn’t worried about the critics who wish the Bulls hadn’t made the deal. “I know some people want to bring back the trade, the picks that were given, but it happened,” Vucevic told Cowley of The Sun-Times. “If it didn’t, it’s not for sure the Bulls would have picked Wagner or hit on the pick. Who knows what would have happened?” As Cowley observes, without the Vucevic trade, it’s also not clear whether free agents DeRozan and Lonzo Ball would’ve chosen Chicago later in 2021.
- It has taken some time for former No. 4 overall pick Patrick Williams to get comfortable at the NBA level, but the third-year forward finally seems to be finding a rhythm, according to Cowley, who writes for The Sun-Times that Williams hasn’t looked as passive recently as he did during the first few weeks of the season.
- Although two-time All-Star Andre Drummond is averaging a career-low 15.4 minutes per game this season, he has no intention of pushing for more playing time as long as the Bulls believe his limited role gives them the best chance to win games. “I’m at a point now where I’m just focusing on winning,” Drummond said this week, per K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. “I told Billy and the guys when I came here from the beginning: ‘Whatever you guys need me to do to help win, that’s what I’m willing to do.’ If that’s to play eight minutes, 12 minutes, 30 minutes, I’m able to do that. I’m cool with the role that I have. I just have to maintain it.”
This team likely looks better with Carter instead of Vucevic even if they missed on the picks
It’s look like Head coach Donovan could be in the hot seat very soon.
I never got Chicago’s Trade. If The Magic get a top 2 pick they will be unstoppable. Magic could happen!
It’s all about timelines of these players, Wendell was young and developing and the direction the team wanted to take was win now with LaVine and Lauri so they got in Vuce. They then doubled down with the cap space and got Lonzo and DeRozan but so far it hasn’t worked out. But as I said timelines. Zo is young and now on his 3rd team and although shooting more efficiently still not a huge scoring threat. LaVine is having an off year but he’s young enough to turn it around. DeRozan is nearing the end of his career, Vuce is probably in a similar spot to DeMar and on an expiring deal. Pat Will is a young guys still developing as is Ayo. It’s just a little all over the place.
Bulls were trying to go all in and win more games and didn’t want to wait around for developing guys. They are still in much the same position now as they were then albeit with better players. Good enough to get a playoff spot but then likely swept in the first round.
You either need to blow it up and rebuild or make a big trade and reset what you have.
Like I’ve said a bunch of times I’d go DeRozan and Pat Will for AD and Nunn.
I’d follow this move up and double down and go Vuce, Lonzo and White for Ayton and Crowder.
Thus leaving you to line up Ayo LaVine Crowder AD Ayton and off the bench Dragic Carusco DJJ Green and Drummond.
Ayo I really like, he plays both ends of the floor, he give you 110% effort, you can see he’s learning and trying to get better. I think he’s someone that if given the opportunity could take a Tyrese Maxey type step. Not as good of a scorer or ball handler but a lot better defensively.
Then you have Ayton and Crowder helping AD do the dirty work and making his work easier. Both guys can also give you some points aswell.
Off the bench the guard situation is abit messy with Dragic, Nunn and Terry all competing for minutes. Caruso moves back to the SG spot, DJJ at the 3, Green the 4 and Drummond the 5.
Dragic could easily be moved to say Dallas for a younger player for depth like Josh Green. That would leave Nunn and Terry battling for minutes and give you another back up wing.
Overall tho it’s just a fresh start for this team. Like I’ve said DeRozan is getting old, Zo has some injury issues too, Vuce is on an expiring, none of the players timelines are in line. They can’t just continue to run it back and have inconsistent results. This move is a breathe of fresh air, yes AD has injury issues as does Zo. But you’ve got Ayton and Crowder coming over to help ease that. Ayo gets a opportunity, Nunn returns home aswell, reminds me more of the bulls of old. LaVine attacking the rim and hard to stop, a big defensive leader, more of a grit and grind looking team. And if they don’t make it Ayo is young, Ayton is young, AD and LaVine have years left, you can try and try again.