Bulls’ start dripping with hot sauce
Is this team as good as its record? 10 questions about Bulls’ torrid start.
Ten questions about the Chicago Bulls’ hot start heading into Saturday’s rematch against the Philadelphia 76ers at the United Center.
1. It’s not even Thanksgiving yet. Do I have to watch?
Yes, you have to watch. This team isn’t the Brooklyn Nets, with whom you can wait until Kyrie Irving returns to really start paying attention. Every game matters for one of the league’s early surprises.
The Bulls are 6-2 and have two of the NBA’s top scorers in DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine and two sparkplugs in point guards Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso. They’re capable of big second-half comebacks — and of getting into big first-half deficits. When the Bulls are playing well, Ball’s defense has been a key — disrupting, deflecting and deflating opponents.
“It’s kind of my job to get everyone in their spots and make sure everyone is comfortable at the same time on both sides of the ball,” Ball said. “That’s what I’m trying to do.”
2. Are the Bulls as good as their record?
You wouldn’t think so if you heard coach Billy Donovan cite their deficiencies — slow starts, spotty ball movement, etc. They’ve sneaked away with wins in some games they should’ve lost, as Donovan conceded, specifically the opener against the Detroit Pistons and the 19-point comeback Monday against the Boston Celtics.
“We’re doing some really, really good things,” Donovan said. “You’re always looking at and trying to measure where the team can be and how good it can be. I’m not going to sit here and say our record is misleading. That would be unfair to the guys. But I’d say there’s a lot of work we have in front of us.”
Donovan thinks the Bulls can “play faster,” and their ceiling can be reached when they get used to each other.
3. Are the Bulls now a Big 2, not a Big 3?
With DeRozan and LaVine getting the bulk of the scoring opportunities, center Nikola Vučević has been more of a facilitator than a third option. His shooting percentage and points per game have dropped.
Donovan wants his guards to find Vučević more out on the perimeter to stretch defenses with his 3-point proficiency. Vučević insists he’s not “sacrificing” his game for the other scorers.
“I think it’s just the way we play,” he said. “They have the ball a lot, and it’s just they get a lot more opportunities. But there were games where I had shots as well that didn’t fall for me, so it’s not necessarily just sacrificing . ... I think as a big man that’s usually how it is.”
Vučević laughed and added: “It’s just the rough life of a big man, you know?”
4. Was Billy Donovan ever part of a Big 3 when he starred at Providence under Rick Pitino?
Not according to Donovan. “Maybe back on the playground, back in New York,” he said. “Thank God there’s no documentation on that.”
5. How is Zach LaVine’s left thumb?
The same. LaVine’s injury will take some time to heal, and he has accepted the fact he’ll play in some pain.
LaVine won’t make excuses and still is performing at a very high level.
While it’s not his shooting hand, LaVine has shot 24% on 3-pointers over the last four games since suffering torn ligaments in the thumb Oct. 25 in Toronto. Last year he shot 42% on 3s.
With DeRozan in the house, at least LaVine no longer has to carry the load.
6. When will Coby White return from shoulder surgery?
White participated in light-contact shooting drills at practice Friday, but Donovan said “I don’t know how close he is” to being cleared for a practice.
The Bulls miss White more than some fans realize. Even as Ball replaced him at the point and Alex Caruso is the backup, White can provide instant offense off the bench when he’s on one of his hot streaks.
7. How much credit does Donovan deserve for the early success?
Having better starters is the main reason, but Donovan has done a great job of deciding when to play or sit Ayo Dosunmu, Tony Bradley and Derrick Jones Jr., three valuable reserves. And frequently keeping DeRozan in with the second unit has helped alleviate pressure on the bench to score when LaVine, Vučević and Ball are out. It’s also hard to imagine a Jim Boylen-coached team coming back from 19- and 18-point deficits in back-to-back games.
8. Are centers extinct, as some suggest?
“Don’t start with me on analytical things,” Vučević told a reporter. “I think it’s stupid.”
He pointed to Giannis Antetokounmpo winning the NBA MVP and Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid and Anthony Davis as three other examples of great modern-day centers.
“We just play differently,” Vučević said. “Now you have more bigs than ever that can pass the ball, more bigs that can shoot the 3, that can space the floor. So it’s just different the way that we’ve been utilized. (By) no means (are centers extinct). I mean, Jokic, he’s maybe the best player in the league with Embiid.”
9. Why does Caruso wear a headband when he’s bald?
Alex Caruso was nicknamed the “Bald Mamba” when he played with the Los Angeles Lakers. He said he shaves his head for fashionable and altruistic reasons.
“It’s definitely thin, but I could get some hair going if I needed to,” Caruso said. “I had hair, a mustache, chin hair, all of that.”
Caruso said he has a partnership with Manscaped in which he’s paid by the grooming-product company to shave his head with the money going to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
“It was a little bit of both (charitable and personal) reasons,” he said. “Mutually beneficial.”
10. Will hot sauce be served Saturday?
Only if Bulls TV analyst Stacey King remembers to bring it.