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Central Notes: Dosunmu, Jarrett Allen, Pistons

December 10th, 2021 at 3:27pm CST by Rory Maher

Rookie guard Ayo Dosunmu has started the past two games for the shorthanded Bulls, and Sam Smith of Bulls.com writes that he’s earned that opportunity. A Chicago native, Dosunmu played well in his first start, notching 11 points, six rebounds, and eight assists in nearly 42 minutes during the team’s win over Denver on Monday.

Coach Billy Donovan is a big fan of the rookie and says he possesses an innate desire to improve his game.

“I really love coaching him because you can really, really talk to him in a way he wants the truth,” said Donovan. “He wants to get better, he wants to grow, he wants to hear what he has to do to improve. For me as a coach, when you see a young man with that much hunger and desire to want to be good… he wants to hear it all and I really respect that about him. There’s a lot on his plate and he did a great job not only starting (Monday) but playing the number of minutes he did.”

Smith relays that Dosunmu, who went to the University of Illinois, located in Champaign, asked to be announced as “From Chicago” in his first home start, like former Bulls MVP Derrick Rose.

“I like to be proud to say I’m from Chicago because I know the ups and downs of the city,” said Dosunmu. “I’ve been here my whole life. I’ve seen so many things, so much tragedy. For me to be in this position, doing what I love at the highest level, anytime I get an opportunity to show love to where I came from, I always love to do that. I’m from Chicago. Chicago, Illinois. I love Champaign, but I’m from Chicago.”

Here’s more from the Central:

Bryan Fonseca of BasketballNews.com makes the case for Cavaliers big man Jarrett Allen to earn his first All-Star nod this season. Fonseca notes that Allen has posted career-high numbers in several categories for the 14-12 Cavs, including a ridiculously efficient 71.7% true shooting percentage, which ranks third in the league.
Speaking of the Cavaliers center, Joe Vardon of The Athletic tweets that Allen will be strongly considered for the next Team USA squad under new head coach Steve Kerr. The World Cup takes place in 2023, with the Olympics in 2024.
With a record of 4-20, the Pistons rank dead last in the NBA. However, Rod Beard of The Detroit News believes that coach Dwane Casey‘s job should be safe. He notes that the Pistons have struggled to make open shots all year, which is a player problem, not a coaching issue. The team believes in Casey’s ability to work with and develop young players, Beard adds.
The results might not be showing it yet, but James L. Edwards III of The Athletic says the Pistons are in a much healthier place this season compared to the last few. He points to several young players on rookie contracts, another potential top pick this summer, and cap flexibility moving forward as reasons why the outlook is brighter in Detroit than it might appear on the surface.

Bulls Sign Alfonzo McKinnie With Hardship Exception

December 10th, 2021 at 11:35am CST by Arthur Hill

11:35am: McKinnie has signed a 10-day contract, the Bulls announced (via Twitter).

8:34am: The Bulls will use a hardship exception to add veteran swingman Alfonzo McKinnie, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

McKinnie, 29, played for the Lakers last season, but was waived in August with two non-guaranteed years left on his contract. He got into 39 games for L.A. and averaged 3.1 points and 1.4 rebounds in 6.6 minutes per night.

He is currently in the G League, where he’s playing for the Mexico City Capitanes and scoring 24.1 PPG while shooting 43.3% from three-point range.

After going undrafted out of Green Bay in 2015, McKinnie played overseas and in the G League before signing with the Raptors in 2017. He also spent a season with the Warriors and one with the Cavaliers.

The Bulls are dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak that has sapped their roster. They added Stanley Johnson under the hardship exemption earlier this week, but have since had a fifth player, Derrick Jones Jr. enter the league’s health and safety protocols.

Derrick Jones Jr. Fifth Bulls Player To Enter Protocols

December 9th, 2021 at 12:32pm CST by Rory Maher

Forward Derrick Jones Jr. has become the fifth Bulls player to enter the league’s health and safety protocols, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

If it wasn’t evident already, the Bulls have an outbreak on their hands. Jones joins Coby White, Javonte Green, DeMar DeRozan, and Matt Thomas in the protocols.

It hasn’t been officially confirmed, but based on this tweet from Wojnarowski, it sounds like Jones tested positive for COVID-19 as well. If so, he will be out for at least 10 days or until he returns two consecutive negative PCR tests a minimum of 24 hours apart.

If Jones did test positive, the Bulls would be eligible to sign another player via a hardship exception, per Bobby Marks of ESPN (via Twitter). The Bulls already used the exception to sign Stanley Johnson in a move that became official today.

The high-flying Jones was the 2020 Slam Dunk Contest winner. Through 22 games this season (18.6 MPG), he’s averaging 7.0 PPG, 3.5 RPG, and 1.0 BPG.

Bulls Sign Stanley Johnson Via Hardship Exception

December 9th, 2021 at 12:02pm CST by Rory Maher

DECEMBER 9: The Bulls have officially signed Johnson to a 10-day contract using the hardship exception, the team announced today in a press release.

DECEMBER 8: The Bulls are signing forward Stanley Johnson by using a hardship exception, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Johnson was playing in the G League for the South Bay Lakers, but was with the Bulls during training camp.

The Bulls evidently applied for and were granted the hardship exception after Matt Thomas became the fourth member of the team to enter the league’s health and safety protocols.

Johnson, 25, was the No. 8 pick in the 2015 draft by the Pistons. He spent his first three-plus seasons in the league with Detroit before being traded to the Pelicans in 2018/19. Johnson played for the Raptors the past two seasons and was a regular rotation player last season, averaging 4.4 PPG, 2.5 RPG, and 1.5 APG in 61 contests for the club (16.5 MPG).

Johnson is a strong, physical athlete and a solid defender, but shooting has limited his effectiveness in the NBA. In 331 career games (19.7 MPG), he holds averages of 6.2 PPG 3.1 RPG, and 1.4 APG on .375/.298/.761 shooting.

In six games with South Bay this season (30.5 MPG), Johnson put up 15.3 PPG, 6.7 RPG, and 2.2 SPG with a .405/.286/.750 shooting line.

Matt Thomas Latest Bulls Player In Protocols

December 8th, 2021 at 11:02am CST by Rory Maher

Guard Matt Thomas is the latest Bulls player to enter the NBA’s health and safety protocols, per Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter link). In a follow-up tweet, Schaefer notes that Thomas was in Cleveland for the matchup Wednesday against the Cavs, but will travel back to Chicago.

Thomas is expected to miss several games, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter), so he likely tested positive for COVID-19, although that has not been confirmed yet. If he did test positive, Thomas will be out for at least 10 days or until he returns two consecutive negative tests a minimum of 24 hours apart.

Thomas is now the fourth Bulls player in the protocols, joining Coby White, Javonte Green and DeMar DeRozan. With those four sidelined, Patrick Williams out four-to-six months, and Alex Caruso out at least a week with a hamstring strain, K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago tweets that the Bulls could apply for a hardship exception in order to sign a player.

Thomas is playing on a non-guaranteed contract with the Bulls. He played 19 minutes in the team’s win over Denver on Monday, but had seen only 30 minutes of action across seven games prior to that contest. The 27-year-old holds career averages of 3.8 PPG and 1.2 RPG (8.7 MPG) across 94 games for the Raptors, Jazz, and Bulls, with a .432/.404/.808 shooting line.

The Bulls will have just 11 active players Wednesday night. Rookie Ayo Dosunmu played a team-high 41 minutes against Denver and should continue to see a heavy workload. Troy Brown also figures to see an uptick in playing time with the backcourt depth so thin at the moment.

Alex Caruso To Be Reevaluated Next Week

December 7th, 2021 at 8:23am CST by Luke Adams

The Bulls expect to be without key reserve Alex Caruso until at least early next week, head coach Billy Donovan stated on Monday evening. Donovan told reporters, including Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic (Twitter link) that Caruso, who is dealing with a right hamstring strain, would be reevaluated in about a week.

According to Cody Westerlund of 670TheScore.com (Twitter link), Donovan said that Caruso’s hamstring injury isn’t considered significant, but the team wants to play it safe in order to ensure the veteran guard doesn’t make the minor ailment any worse.

Caruso’s offensive numbers during his first year in Chicago – 8.5 PPG and 4.1 APG on .442/.333/.857 – have been relatively modest through 23 games. However, the 27-year-old has been a major part of the Bulls’ top-five defense. He leads the league with 2.2 steals per game despite averaging a relatively modest 28.6 MPG.

The Bulls’ net rating is nine points better when Caruso plays (+8.9) than when he sits (-0.1).

With Caruso on the shelf and Coby White and Javonte Green in the NBA’s health and safety protocols, the Bulls figure to lean heavily on Lonzo Ball and Ayo Dosunmu in the backcourt. Shooting guard Matt Thomas also logged a season-high 19 minutes in Monday’s win over Denver.

Bulls’ DeMar DeRozan Enters Protocols

December 6th, 2021 at 4:43pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Bulls swingman DeMar DeRozan has entered into the league’s health and safety protocols, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. The team plays the Nuggets on Monday.

Just hours before the announcement, DeRozan was named the Eastern Conference’s Player of the Week. DeRozan posted averages 30.3 PPG, 5.7 RPG, and 4.0 APG while shooting 58.7% from the floor in wins over Charlotte, New York, and Brooklyn.

He’s the fourth Bulls player who has entered protocols this season, Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic tweets.

DeRozan will need to produce two consecutive negative PCR tests at least 24 hours apart, or be isolated for at least 10 days. It’s obviously a big blow in the short term for a much-improved team that owns a 16-8 record. Following tonight’s home game, Chicago goes on a two-game road trip to Cleveland (Wednesday) and Miami (Saturday).

If DeRozan must sit out for 10 days, he’d also miss next Tuesday’s home game against Detroit and the Nov. 16 road game at Toronto.

A sign-and-trade acquisition from San Antonio, DeRozan has enjoyed an All-Star caliber season. He’s averaging 26.4 PPG, 5.3 RPG and 4.1 APG in 24 starts with his new team.

Donovan Mitchell, DeMar DeRozan Named Players Of The Week

December 6th, 2021 at 3:02pm CST by Rory Maher

Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell and Bulls guard/forward DeMar DeRozan have been named the NBA’s Players of the Week for the Western Conference and Eastern Conference, respectively, the league announced today (Twitter link).

Mitchell’s Jazz and DeRozan’s Bulls were both 3-0 during the week of Nov. 29 — Dec. 5. Mitchell averaged 33.0 PPG, 5.7 APG, and 1.67 SPG with a 57.1/43.3/93.3 shooting line, while DeRozan put up 30.3 PPG, 5.7 RPG, and 4.0 APG while shooting 58.7% from the floor in wins over Charlotte, New York, and Brooklyn.

The other nominees for the awards were Nikola Jokic, Dejounte Murray, Jae’Sean Tate, and Christian Wood in the West, along with Jarrett Allen, Darius Garland, Kevin Durant, and Jayson Tatum in the East (via Twitter).

Central Notes: LaVine, DeRozan, Lonzo, Rubio, DiVincenzo

December 6th, 2021 at 1:37pm CST by Rory Maher

The 16-8 Bulls are off to a terrific start to the season, led by strong play from stars Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan. Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic writes that they looked like the best tandem in the league in road wins over the two New York teams on Nov. 2 and 4. DeRozan says the two players are relentless in their pursuit of success.

“A commitment that we talked about long before we even played on the court was just having each other’s back, being there for one another,” DeRozan said. “That’s all I needed to hear. That’s all he needed to hear from me. As long as we could walk, we’re going to be out there and try to lead this team to be as successful as we can.”

Here’s more from the Central Division:

Within the same column, Mayberry notes that sign-and-trade acquisition Lonzo Ball has been inconsistent from game-to-game shooting from deep, but he doesn’t appear to lack confidence, which is key. Mayberry says the Bulls need the threat of Lonzo’s shooting in order to space the floor for DeRozan and LaVine. Overall, Ball is shooting a career-high 42.3% from three on 7.0 attempts per game.
Ricky Rubio was initially displeased when he found out he was traded to the Cavaliers last summer, but he’s played a key role in the team’s surprising start and is happy with how things have worked out, according to Joe Vardon and Kelsey Russo of The Athletic. “In the past, I would get traded and get frustrated, like, ‘Oh I have to start over again in my role,'” Rubio said. “And I was frustrated because of my ego. But when you set your ego aside and you just make the best of the role that you have and take advantage of that, there’s no better thing to do on a team than everybody accepting what they have to do.”
Fourth-year guard Donte DiVincenzo is nearing a return for the Bucks, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). DiVincenzo has been assigned to the Wisconsin Herd, Milwaukee’s G League affiliate, and Charania says DiVincenzo could make his season debut in December. He’s been recovering from left ankle surgery. DiVincenzo will be a restricted free agent this summer if the Bucks tender him a qualifying offer.

Central Notes: Johnson, Donovan, Dosunmu, Pistons

December 5th, 2021 at 2:45pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Spurs forward Keldon Johnson was apparently almost drafted by the Cavaliers. Johnson discussed his near-selection in an interview with Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter video link). The Cavaliers instead opted to draft Dylan Windler with the No. 26 pick in the 2019 draft, while Johnson was ultimately drafted by San Antonio with the No. 29 pick.

Injuries have limited Windler’s availability across two NBA seasons. Windler missed his entire 2019/20 rookie season with a leg injury. In just 48 games, Windler holds career averages of 4.3 PPG, 2.9 RPG, and 1.1 APG over 14.5 MPG.

“I was expecting to go the Cavs,” Johnson said. “Going back to draft night, I just feel like it’s a blessing I landed with the Spurs.”

The 22-year-old small forward out of Kentucky is averaging 14.9 PPG, 6.5 RPG and 2.0 APG for the Spurs. He boasts a slash line of .469/.410/657.

The 13-10 Cavaliers have enjoyed a breakout 2021/22 season, currently good for the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference. One can only imagine what Cleveland would look like had the club selected Johnson instead of Windler, though in so doing the team may have played its way out of the third pick in the 2021 draft that netted them breakout rookie big man Evan Mobley out of USC.

There’s more out of the Central Division:

Bulls head coach Billy Donovan expects the NBA will adopt stricter COVID-19 policies with the winter holidays on the horizon, writes Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago is currently missing guard Coby White and forward Javonte Green due to COVID-19 diagnoses. ‘‘I think that’s happening,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘I don’t think there’s any question that’s happening. My guess is stricter policies than there have already been this year. ‘‘[The holidays], people are going to be around family. The way it’s moving right now, it’s getting a little stricter. For us right now it’s a lot stricter because we have two players that are positive.’’
Bulls rookie guard Ayo Dosunmu, a second-round draft pick out of Illinois, has earned rotation minutes in the season’s first quarter. K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago examines how Dosunmu is adjusting to playing at the NBA level. “I think I’m getting better each game,” the rookie said. “One thing I love about Coach Donovan is he shows so much tough love to me. After every game, whether I play a lot or I don’t play a lot, he always calls me over and gives me words of encouragement. Sometimes it may be good. Sometimes it may be bad. I take the constructive criticism and try to help myself become a better player because I know that he obviously sees something in me if he’s coaching me hard.”
The end result of the 2021/22 season for the Pistons will be measured more by player improvement than by the year-end win-loss tally, opines Rod Beard of the Detroit News. The youth-oriented club, led by forward Jerami Grant and 2021 top pick Cade Cunningham, is currently the bottom seed in the East with a 4-18 record.