- Speaking to reporters this afternoon, Bulls guard Zach LaVine confirmed that he intends to play through a small ligament tear in his left thumb, but said he’ll be smart about it and won’t take any risks if the medical staff advises against it. “I don’t want to put myself in any danger,” LaVine said (Twitter link via Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago). “I don’t have all the information on it yet. We’ll see how I feel tomorrow and go from there. You know me, I try to play through everything. If I’m able to, I will. If not, we’ll see how it goes.”
- Appearing on the HoopsHype podcast with Michael Scotto, K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago discussed a number of Bulls-related topics, including his first impressions of Lonzo Ball and LaVine’s long-term future. “I’d say every indication I’ve been given both internally from his side and the organization is this is a match made to move forward together,” Johnson said of LaVine, who will be a free agent in 2022.
The NBA’s 2021/22 regular season is only eight days old and no team has played more than four games, but 27 of the league’s 30 teams have already lost at least once. The three undefeated teams left standing are the Bulls (4-0), Warriors (4-0), and Jazz (3-0).
Of those three clubs that have opened the season on winning streaks, Utah is perhaps the least surprising. The Jazz had the NBA’s best record last season and were expected to be in the mix for that honor again in 2021/22 — no team in the Western Conference was projected by oddsmakers to win more regular season games than Quin Snyder‘s club.
Still, the Jazz haven’t faced faced an especially tough test through the first week of the season. Their first two wins came over lottery teams (the Thunder and Kings), and their third opponent (the Nuggets) was missing its two maximum-salary players, Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic, due to injuries when Utah pulled away in the second half on Tuesday.
The new-look Bulls, led by All-Star Zach LaVine and newcomer DeMar DeRozan, have looked great so far, especially on defense, where they rank fourth in the NBA. But they also haven’t been tested by a top-tier opponent — their first four wins came against Detroit, New Orleans, and Toronto, all of whom are missing key players.
Chicago’s road will get a whole lot tougher starting on Wednesday. Twelve of the Bulls’ next 13 contests will be against playoff teams from last season, and the 13th game will be vs. Golden State, the league’s other unbeaten club.
The Warriors’ hot start may be the most impressive of the bunch — their first two wins were against the Lakers and Clippers, and three of the four have been in road games. I was a little concerned entering the season about Golden State’s depth with Klay Thompson, James Wiseman, and Jonathan Kuminga still on the mend, but a second unit led by Damion Lee, Andre Iguodala, and Nemanja Bjelica has been solid so far, and Stephen Curry (29.0 PPG) has been his usual dominant self.
The Dubs have a chance to keep their hot start going, as they begin an eight-game home stand on Thursday. That stretch will include six games against 2020/21 lottery teams, though some of those clubs – including Chicago and Charlotte – have looked more dangerous in ’21/22.
We want to know what you think. Being undefeated at this point in the season doesn’t mean much – the Magic started last season 4-0, for instance – but do you feel like these teams are for real? Are the Warriors and Bulls playoff-bound? Will the Jazz be the West’s No. 1 seed again? Or do you expect one or two of these clubs to cool off and come back down to earth in the coming days or weeks?
Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts!
Bulls guard Zach LaVine has been diagnosed with a small ligament tear in the thumb of his non-shooting hand, sources Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
However, according to Charania, LaVine isn’t expected to miss any time due to the injury. His plan is to play through it, since it’s a matter of pain tolerance and he wants to help keep the Bulls’ positive momentum going following their 4-0 start.
LaVine is fortunate that the injury affects his left hand rather than his right, since it would be more difficult to play through a ligament tear in his shooting thumb. Lakers guard Talen Horton-Tucker underwent surgery to address a similar injury to his right thumb earlier this month and was ruled out for at least four weeks.
Through four games (33.8 MPG), LaVine is off to a strong start in his bid for a second consecutive All-Star nod, averaging 25.5 PPG, 5.3 RPG, and 4.8 APG with a scorching-hot .500/.444/.952 shooting line.
While Chicago’s undefeated start to the season is impressive, the team’s four victories came against Detroit, New Orleans, and Toronto, with Cade Cunningham, Zion Williamson, and Pascal Siakam on the shelf. The Bulls will face more significant tests starting this week — they face New York on Thursday and Utah on Saturday, with contests vs. Boston, Philadelphia, Brooklyn, Golden State, and both L.A. teams to follow.
The Bulls have adopted an aggressive strategy to win right away, which made them a perfect fit for what DeMar DeRozan was looking for in free agency, writes Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic. Since last season’s trade deadline, Chicago has been pushing to build a playoff-ready roster, which included pursuing DeRozan even after adding Lonzo Ball. The early results have been positive as the Bulls are the NBA’s lone 4-0 team and the only unbeaten team left in the Eastern Conference.
DeRozan’s value was on display Monday night in a gritty road victory against the Raptors. With a large second-half lead in danger of slipping away, he hit a series of important buckets to close out the game.
“That was part of the reason why I even chose to come to Chicago, everyone was eager to want to be successful, to want to win,” DeRozan said. “Everybody had that chip on their shoulder from the city, to the organization, to the players that I spoke to. Coming into this season, that was everybody’s mindset. ‘It’s all about winning now. We’re not in a development stage. We want to win now.’ That was my mindset.”
There’s more from the Central Division:
- Jarrett Allen looked worthy of the Cavaliers‘ $100MM investment during Monday’s win at Denver, observes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Allen put up 21 points and 16 rebounds in a virtual standoff against reigning MVP Nikola Jokic. “It’s hard to put in words, but Jarrett Allen has my full trust,” said coach J.B. Bickerstaff. “He has my full trust that what we’re doing as a team is more important than anything that could happen for him individually. And that comes from time spent last year, a lot of conversations, a lot of time over the summer.”
- Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley is already a standout in a strong rookie class, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic. The third overall pick has been as good as advertised defensively while adding another perimeter threat to Cleveland’s offense. Mobley looks capable of becoming “The Guy” on a good team, which is something the Cavs had been missing, says Hollinger.
- The Bucks believe last year’s title could be the first of many, per Jamal Collier of ESPN. With Giannis Antetokounmpo in his prime and a strong supporting cast in place, Milwaukee may be the team to beat for several years. “We definitely have a lot more confidence in ourselves,” Khris Middleton said. “It’s natural, we should. We are the champs. We’ve been through every type of situation you could go through. So at the same time, you know what to expect. There’s no need to worry about failing because you know what you need to do.”
- Bulls guards Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso have been bringing chaos defensively, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times examines. The pair’s strong defensive effort is a key reason why Chicago is 3-0 to start the season. “(Ball and Caruso are) so active (defensively) you’ve got to be aware of them,’’ LaVine said, as relayed by Cowley. “Even for guys like me and DeMar DeRozan), it helps us be in the passing lanes more, get some extra rebounds because then guys’ rhythm is off. They’re effort and energy bleeds throughout us as a team.’’
Pistons point guard Cade Cunningham is set to miss Detroit’s entire early-season road trip due to a lingering ankle injury, but could be ready to make his NBA debut on October 30 against the Magic, per Rod Beard of The Detroit News. Cunningham, 20, is apparently still dealing with some soreness.
“Last week, we made the decision to make sure we bring him back gradually, where he’d get some time with the G League team (the Motor City Cruise), practice with them, and get some reps with them,” head coach Dwane Casey said of the top draft pick out of Oklahoma State. “The medical people are holding back — and rightfully so… You don’t want to rush him back if it’s not 100%. That’s the one thing that they want to make sure of, that it was 100%, because there were certain movements he had that were still sore.”
There’s more out of the Central Division:
- Reserve forward Javonte Green has already endeared himself to the Bulls faithful since coming over to Chicago at the 2021 trade deadline, writes Joe Cowley of the Chicago Tribune. “(Green is) one of the biggest energy guys we have,’’ Bulls starting point guard Lonzo Ball said. “Not only running the lane but playing defense. He can guard a lot of different positions, and he uses his hands very well… We definitely feed off of that when he comes into the game.’’
- Pacers guard Jeremy Lamb and forward Oshae Brissett are proving their mettle as galvanizing scorers off the bench so far this season, according to Akeem Glaspie of The Indianapolis Star. “A lot of the time the starters are not gonna be able to have it completely going and be able to make shots,” starting point guard Malcolm Brogdon said. “But as long as we defend and the second team comes in and gives us some energy and a spark off the bench offensively, we’re gonna be fine.” Indiana is currently 1-2 in this young season.
- Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff and his assistants have been showing film of some NBA legends to rookie big man Evan Mobley, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Mobley, the third pick in the 2021 draft out of USC, was utilized much like Hall of Fame big man Kevin Garnett on defense during a 101-95 Cleveland win over the Hawks. He has also watched game tape of future Hall of Fame power forward/center Dirk Nowitzki, as well as current All-Star bigs Anthony Davis and Giannis Antetokounmpo. “He’s asking me to emulate them but knows I’m still my own player,” Mobley said about Bickerstaff’s strategy. “I try to play my game, take bits and pieces from them, but still be myself and play how I play.” Mobley, already the Cavaliers’ starting power forward, is averaging 15.7 PPG, 8.3 APG, 2.3 BPG and 1.3 APG through three games. Cleveland is 1-2 in those contests.
- The Suns’ ability to make the Finals with a young group fortified by key veteran additions helped convince Bulls executive VP of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas to take an aggressive approach to the offseason, Chris Herring of Sports Illustrated writes. “It was very motivating to see how big a jump a team like Phoenix was able to make,” Karnisovas said. Herring takes a close look at how the pieces acquired by the Bulls could fit together.
USA Basketball has announced that former Bulls head coach Jim Boylen will coach Team USA during November’s qualifying games for the 2023 FIBA World Cup, which will take place in the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia. The U.S. team will face Cuba on November 28 and Mexico on November 29.
While NBA players make up Team USA’s roster in the World Cup itself, the qualifiers take place during the NBA season, so the roster is typically made up of G League veterans. After November’s games, the next round of qualifiers will take place in February.
Jeff Van Gundy coached the qualifying team leading up to the 2019 FIBA World Cup before handing things off to Gregg Popovich for the World Cup itself. USA Basketball has yet to announce Popovich’s successor, but Steve Kerr has been identified as a frontrunner. If Kerr gets the job, he’d coach the 2023 team in the World Cup, assuming Boylen’s group clinches a spot in the event.
Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- NBA veteran Lance Stephenson, who last played in China, has signed an NBA G League contract and will be draft-eligible on October 23, our JD Shaw reports (via Twitter). Stephenson’s last stint in the NBA came during the 2019/20 season with the Lakers. He has appeared in more than 500 career regular season games.
- The NBA announced on Tuesday that this season’s opening-night rosters feature a total of 109 international players from 39 countries. That includes a record number of players from Canada (18) Germany (seven), and the Bahamas (three). Appropriately, the Raptors lead the league with 10 international players.
- Within his in-depth look at the players who did and didn’t sign extensions this offseason, ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Insider link) notes that Wizards guard Bradley Beal and Bulls guard Zach LaVine remain extension-eligible, but would be able to maximize their future earnings by waiting until free agency to sign new deals.
- Dante Exum, who was waived on Saturday by the Rockets, owns a minority stake in the South East Melbourne Phoenix, and the NBL team’s general manager indicated it would love to him as a player. “If and when Dante decides that the NBL is the right move for him, we of course will do whatever we can do to make that as easy for him as possible,” GM Tommy Greer said (link via NBL.com.au).
Veteran reserve center Ed Davis understands why a rebuilding Cavaliers team wants him on the roster, per Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer (Twitter link).
“I’m authentic with everything,” Davis said. “For these guys, I’m not in competition. I’m not trying to beat out (starting center Jarrett Allen) for his minutes or take the rookie (Evan Mobley)’s minutes. Anything that is coming from me is coming from an honest place. I know my role. I know why I’m here.”
The 32-year-old big man inked a non-guaranteed deal with the club last week. He averaged just 2.1 PPG and 5.0 RPG over 23 games as a back-up for the lottery-bound Timberwolves during the 2020/21 season.
There’s more out of the Central Division:
- Pacers small forward T.J. Warren continues to recover from a stress fracture in the navicular bone in his left foot, per Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files (via Twitter). Agness reports that Warren remains in a walking boot, and appears to still be weeks away from returning to practices with Indiana. Warren missed all but four games during the 2020/21 season with the injury. A valuable two-way contributor when healthy, the 28-year-old will reach free agency in 2022.
- Pistons head coach Dwane Casey has indicated that wing Josh Jackson earned a spot in the club’s rotation, per Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link). “He’s definitely in the rotation the way he’s played and played with confidence, defending without fouling,” Casey said. “His growth has been fantastic.” Jackson, selected with the fourth pick in the 2017 draft out of Kansas, has bounced around during his NBA tenure so far.
- New Bulls starting point guard Lonzo Ball will be looked on to help open up the floor as another high-level passer for a suddenly ball handler-heavy Chicago team, per K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. “Lonzo instinctively on made baskets does a really good job of getting high outlets,” raved head coach Billy Donovan. “There are times where the ball gets inbounded and he’s looping and there are guys already down the floor and we can do that. There’s a balance there for him.”
The Bulls will hang onto big man Tyler Cook for the regular season, converting his Exhibit 10 contract into a two-way deal, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
Chicago’s roster now appears set for the regular season. In addition to their 13 players on guaranteed contracts, the Bulls are carrying Cook and Devon Dotson on two-way deals, along with Alize Johnson and Matt Thomas on non-guaranteed contracts.
Although Johnson and Thomas each have fewer than four years of NBA experience, they were ineligible to be converted to two-way contracts due to the deals they signed — neither one included Exhibit 10 language, but Cook’s did, making him the obvious candidate to fill the team’s open two-way slot.
A 6’8″ forward out of Iowa, Cook played for the Cavaliers and Nuggets as a rookie in 2019/20, then spent time with the Nets and Pistons during the 2020/21 campaign. After signing a 10-day contract with Brooklyn, he inked a pair of 10-day pacts with Detroit and then agreed to a multiyear deal in April. The team waived him at the end of July.
In 32 total games in 2020/21 for the Nets and Pistons, Cook averaged 4.9 PPG and 3.0 RPG in 32 games (13.7 MPG). He made 67.0% of his field goal attempts, but just 48.6% of his free throws.