Demar's Old Stomping Grounds

So, the Chicago Bulls finally had a “test” last night by facing the Toronto Raptors. The Raptors are a solid team but by no means a team they once were; no longer having players like Leonard, Derozan & Kyle Lowry, they sort of went into a rebuilding phase. They do have potential with players like Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby, Gary Trent Jr & their recent first round pick, Scottie Barnes. They play tough basketball with good defense & good ball movement; a relatively longer and taller basketball team compared to most in the NBA. I expected rebounding to be an issue but as seen in the past few games, the team has a collective effort. With Demar returning to face the team that originally drafted him, most expected him to have a good game. The Chicago Bulls also had not won a game in Toronto since 2017, a pretty crazy stat. I expected a relatively easy win—that was not the case.

The Bulls for the fourth game in a row, started off pretty slow. They tried to get Vooch going early but he’s just not hitting shots; he’s missing from the restricted area & the low block. Reports said that Vooch was feeling ill & he definitely looked it out there. He seemed slow & lazy on defense while most of field goals attempts on the offensive side were falling short. It was another game where Zach couldn’t get it going in the first quarter as well but luckily this is no longer last year's team—we have Derozan. He’s become very consistent & is always taking the pressure off Zach. He’s seeming to be the perfect compliment. Patrick Williams is looking a little off to me as well; as the starting PF who played 26 minutes, he had no rebounds. He also seems to hesitate a lot on open jumpers. Someone from the staff or the team has to talk to him to get him going. Zo was hitting his threes & playing excellent defense—playing as advertised.

The offense & defense flowed well throughout most of the game, until halfway through the third quarter. The Bulls were up by twenty & seemed to just take their foot off the gas, make boneheaded turnovers & play lazy defense. Toronto recognized this and used their energy & athleticism to cut the lead back down. Ball movement became stagnant leading to bad shots & careless mistakes. The bench lacking offense is an issue that will be addressed but also improved after the return of Coby White. The Bulls looked extremely unprepared to close out the game & in my opinion, lost composure as soon as the game got to within 7 points. Billy Donovan should’ve have called a timeout a little earlier when the Raptors went on a run. Zo & Caruso had very uncharacteristic turnovers in the clutch causing the game to be a lot closer than it should’ve been. DDR had a couple tough buckets to bring us back up six points but a couple terrible turnovers allowed the Raptors to once again, claw their way back in. It was a hideous second half & the team knew it. If this was last year's team, this would’ve been a loss; this year is a team of known winners or winners' mentality & they displayed that last night.

A win is a win, as an upset Zach Lavine said in his post-game interview but a great learning experience for the team. Going back & watching film to learn what went wrong is crucial as the Bulls play their next 14 games against playoff teams—the true test. The Chicago Bulls have to learn to get going early, not to take their foot off the gas & recognize who should close out their games; I’m not saying there has to be one specific closer, but each game will have its own respective closer. The Chicago Bulls won their first game in Toronto since 2017 & have started their season with a 4-0 start—the first time since the 96-97 season. The Chicago Bulls take on Julius Randle & the New York Knicks on Thursday night in Chicago. Stay hype, Bulls fans!

Defense defeats Detroit

The Chicago Bulls had their first back-to-back game of the season last night against the Pistons, who they had played for their season opener. I expected the Bulls to come out a little slow & sluggish, considering they played the night before but having beaten them just a couple games ago I thought they’d get another win. NBA “experts” & “analysts” had said during the offseason that Demar Derozan would not fit with the Bulls, but he has proven them wrong. They also said that the Bulls would not be a good team defensively and after 3 games played— the Bulls lead the NBA in defensive rating. The UC was booming as always & the atmosphere once again seemed electric. The Bulls are showtime & they showed it last night.

Honestly, there isn’t much to say—at least from me. The Bulls came out slow on offense & defense during the first few minutes but they recognized that they need to increase their intensity. The offense was stagnant during the beginning of the game but Vooch kept us in it with a few quick buckets followed by DDR’s elite mid-range game towards the end of the first. Demar is looking like an excellent fit as a great offensive wing who also plays solid defense. Vooch has been seeming pretty off these first few games with a lot of point-blank misses & at moments, kind of lazy. Lonzo is going to stay Lonzo as an elite rebounding & playmaking point guard. Zach had an off night but something that is not concerning; this would have been a concern a year ago when the Bulls didn’t have a second or third scorer. The Bulls are constantly moving the ball & look for the right shots. The transition game wasn’t the same tonight but they did play a game the night before. The whole Bulls team showed up including the bench, something that is a must during the second game of a back-to-back.

The second half is where the Bulls really showed their defensive tenacity. Billy Donovan must’ve said something during halftime but the intensity was present from the beginning of the second half. The Bulls were playing with active hands, passing lanes, & double-digit blocks & steals. Zo being able to guard positions 1-4 allows the Bulls to avoid switching on PnRs & avoid sending a double team. Caruso is so active on defense that it’s becoming contagious, other Bulls come in & want to play defense—something that wasn’t present last year. Javonte Green is Javonte Green. Seeing Ayo play is always great to see, your local kid from Morgan Park playing for his hometown team. Ayo plays great defense & will definitely work his way into a consistent role in the rotation. Basically, the Bulls second half defense made the Pistons look like they belonged in the G-League. You love to see it.

Bulls get a day off before facing the Toronto Raptors in Toronto on Monday night. Toronto is sort of in a rebuilding phase & their rookie Scottie Barnes is pretty nice. Regardless, this is another game that the Bulls should be able to win. I expect Demar to play well again considering that was his team for nine years & should be familiar with the atmosphere. Bulls are sitting atop the entire NBA as the best team in the NBA & I can see it sustaining; elite defense & multiple scorers on the team can allow for that. Get hype, Bulls fans!

Zo's Revenge Game

After a rugged win against the Detroit Pistons for their season opener, the Chicago Bulls had their much awaited and exciting home opener against the New Orleans Pelicans. After a shortened season due to COVID and safety concerns, Chicago Bulls fans were finally able to experience a game live. There aren't that many NBA arenas throughout the country that create the same hype, excitement and noise as the United Center does. It was great to see fans present & get loud as well as the players getting to experience a roaring atmosphere at home for the first time in over a year & a half. The United Center was electric and that definitely played in part of the Bulls fantastic home opener. 

New Orleans came in without their "star" Zion Williamson, who is out due to an ankle injury & rumors spreading that he wants out of New Orleans. Apparently, Zion has also gained weight with some reporters stating he has hit north of 300 pounds. After a pretty solid season & having two all stars last year, the Pelicans should have high aspirations for this year. Trading Lonzo to the Bulls probably impacted them more negatively than they imagined, but us Bulls fans definitely would like to thank David Griffin. The Pels did get their new point guard in the sharpshooter Devonte Graham, but I would not consider that an upgrade over Lonzo Ball. Brandon Ingram is a stud, Jonas Valančiūnas is a solid big man, Nickeil Alexander-Walker is a well rounded guard who can definitely have a breakout season & Jaxson Hayes is a high energy big man; Willie Green, a coach who I think has great potential, was just signed as their new head coach in this past offseason. 

Alright, on to my thoughts on the game.

Being the home opener and fans present, I expected the Bulls to come out hot and look flawless. I may have been wrong again. The team started off kind of sluggish and slow, once again missing makeable shots. Zach seemed to be forcing some shots early in the game going 0-4 from the field but Demar Derozan came out hitting. DDR was hitting his midrange jumpers along with finishing at the rim-- things he wasn't doing the game before. The ball movement reminded me of the classic Spurs basketball or even the 2016 Warriors; seemed like everyone was getting touches on practically every possession. Even with multiple 3-level scorers on the floor there was no selfishness, almost to a point where they may have been a little too unselfish. The biggest advantage I saw the Bulls have is their transition game, seemed like after every rebound someone was getting out in transitions; dunks everywhere, fancy layups & transitions threes were raining. The second quarter was once again Zach's with him going for 20 points. DDR & Zo were consistent throughout with Zo even getting a triple double against his former team. Alex Caruso is looking like a sixth man of the year with his crazy intangibles and hustle. Alize Johnson, like Stacy King said, is a baby Rodman; he's always hustling and never giving up on a play. Lastly, Javonte Green absolutely deserves a roster spot; Green was constantly playing elite defense along with crazy hustle and constantly running out in the fast breaks. 

The defense, once again, looked excellent. The pick & roll defense has improved significantly since last year; players battling through & over screens. Players rotating on defense in a timely matter & having active hands-- stopping dribble penetration. I feel like practically every jumper the Pels shot, there was a hand in their face. Not sure why sports analysts expected the Bulls to be bad defensively this year-- considering they were the 12th best defensive team last year. Zach Lavine has improved a lot on defense & Vooch looked pretty good as well; he kept his arms & used his large frame to disrupt shots. PWill looked a little off on his defense, not really looking like he did last year. This could be due to his ankle injury and now shoulder injury. PWill is not someone I'm concerned about though, he's a second year player who's only twenty years old with a lot of room to grow. If this was last year's defense or team, they would've lost for sure. They got a large lead & then took their foot off the brake & allowed the Pels to come back to within 10 halfway through the third. Luckily, this year has a team full of known winners & we knew to up the defensive intensity and get a dub. 

Overall, the Bulls looked very good. They had an electric home opener with a lot of showtime and highlight plays. Offense & defense clicked well while Zach & Demar have made it clear they are the scorers on the team. Zo messed around and got a triple double on his old squad-- completing his revenge game. The Bulls now have their first back to back game tonight against the Detroit Pistons. Let's see if they can come out aggressive 

& have relatively fresh legs to secure their third consecutive win. 

Chicago Bulls Season Opener

The much anticipated Chicago Bulls season opener was last night. Let me tell you, I've been following the Bulls since a child and avidly since the Chicago Legend Derrick Rose was drafted back in 2008. I've been through the crazies of Bulls teams led by the likes of Ben Wallace, Drew Gooden, Ben Gordon, Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler, Pau Gasol, Dwayne Wade & freaking Lauri Markannen. I saw lineups include the likes of some dude named Lemon Jr, Denzel Valentine (ugh) & Cristiano Felicio (even more ugh). We saw coaches like Vinny Del Negro, Tom Thibodeau, Fred Hoiberg & Jim Boylen. We went through many torturous years of the GarPax front office and their terrible trades & free agent signings. The only thing that has stayed consistent throughout these brutal years would be the elite & legendary commentating of Stacey King. Finally, have we Bulls fan struck gold; Artūras Karnišovas & Marc Eversley were brought in to replace the dreadful GarPax finally ending that era. Artūras was well known in the NBA community, specifically for rebuilding the Nuggets into a borderline finals team they're known as now. Billy Donovan was brought in after the much anticipated firing of Jim Boylen & lastly, a Zach Lavine led team filled with talented all-stars, borderline all-stars, defensive prowess & quite frankly-- a squad. 

Enough of the history jargon & let's move on to my personal thoughts on the game. 

Maybe I was too excited. Maybe I expected too much. Can you blame me though? The starting five of Lonzo Ball, Zach Lavine, Demar Derozan, Patrick Williams & Nikola Vucevic is easily a playoff caliber team, despite what Nick Friedell has to say. After seeing the excellent play on both sides of the floor shown in the four preseason games, I expected the Bulls to start out hot for their first regular season game. A bad Detroit Pistons team who also happened to be missing the #1 overall pick in this past draft, Cade Cunningham, should've been an easy win-- that was not the case. The Chicago Bulls started off quite cold on the offensive end but looked pretty solid on the defensive end. Shots were not falling for Vooch or DDR but those were shots that I can't see them missing in the future. DDR missed a handful of layups (although a lot of times he was fouled) and Vooch just didn't hit his usual post-up shots. The officiating was downright atrocious as well as there were Bulls players constantly on the ground but no calls; on the other end however, Pistons seemed to be getting the calls that the Bulls should have been. Still, no excuses. The Pistons simply aren't a good team & the Bulls still should've played better. Lonzo looked good both offensively and defensively, PWill looked okay but he has been injured & Alex Caruso was monstrous with his intangibles but boy was Zach Lavine looking spectacular. Lavine clearly showed how much he has learned from last year alongside his experience with the Olympic team. He was scoring in the second quarter when they needed it & closed the game with crucial rebounds and free throws. His attitude post game was different too, he knows he's on a team that's made to win but he still may have nights where he needs to lead them to win. 

The rotations looked pretty good to me. I haven't been a fan of Donovan's rotations last couple years but last night looked good. One thing though, DDR should not be running with the second group. Lavine should be subbed out a little earlier in the first and put back in with the bench guys; this way they'll still have good scoring along with the intangibles that those guys' have to offer. We still have to wait for the return of Coby White & how he can take up more a scoring guard role off the bench. Ayo Dsonmu looked good, he didn't seem to force anything like a rookie usually would do-- he might actually have a legitimate role in the rotation moving forward. Rebounding is going to be a group effort on a nightly basis but I'm okay with that since the smaller lineup allowed for the Bulls to constantly run out on fast breaks and get easy buckets-- something that was difficult in the past. Of course the addition of Lonzo is what makes that so easy. 

Overall, the Bulls looked good & they'll only get better. I'm excited for this new era of Bulls basketball and all Bulls fans should be as well. Lavine is & will remain the star of the show but as the others start getting into the groove of things, the Bulls might become a force to be reckoned with-- especially in an overall weak Eastern Conference. I look forward to the home opener this Friday against the New Orleans Pelicans. Stay tuned for my post game analysis.

2021-2022 NBA Awards Predictions

Hey Guys,

I'm just your local amateur basketball fan. As an avid basketball & Chicago Bulls fan, I'll be using this platform to give my personal overview of most Bulls games. 

My first post is going to be my 2021-2022 NBA Awards predictions:

MVP: Kevin Durant

ROTY: Davion Mitchell

COTY: Billy Donovan

DPOY: Anthony Davis

MIP: Jordan Poole

6MOTY: Derrick Rose