Kings of NY

The Chicago Bulls keep proving that they can roll with the best of them. To beat the Nets in Brooklyn without some key players is pretty impressive. The Bulls were without Javonte Green & Coby White to begin the game due to the players entering the NBA’s Health & Safety Protocols while Alex Caruso was questionable with a hamstring strain. Caruso did start the game but only played 8 points, leaving the game & not returning. It was a huge blow but the Bulls were able to persevere with the help of their stars & great help off the bench in the rookie Ayo Dsonmu. Along with Caruso, Dsonmu is becoming a fan favorite & why not? The kid is from Chicago, plays with grit & intelligence & has helped the Bulls win multiple games this season. He was a whopping +16 that night too. The Bulls did struggle a little bit against the team but were able to string together some runs & rally back into the game. There were great adjustments made throughout the game & of course the help of two of the best fourth quarter players in the NBA, DeMar DeRozan & Zach LaVine.

The Bulls came out looking fine. They moved the ball really well & played okay defense; their shots weren’t falling though & let the Nets get a few wide-open looks. Their defensive rotations did look a little sloppy but eventually were able to somewhat tighten it up. Caruso scored six points in the first eight minutes before exiting the game. Zach was able to pick up some of the scoring slack by getting to his spots to score eight in the opening period. Rebounding began to look like an issue in the beginning & almost remained one the whole game. Brooklyn took a six-point lead at the end of the first. The second quarter was a little more even as the Bulls were ablet to make some adjustment & hit shots. They did shoot eight free throws compared to the Nets zero in the second quarter but only cashed in on three of them. They got outrebounded big time & the Nets were constantly able to not only get second chance points, but even third & fourth opportunities. Kevin Durant was getting to his spots & scoring while DeMar did the same. Ayo came off the bench & provided some spark for the Bulls with high energy & hustle. DJJ played well too even though he had become the primary defender on Kevin Durant. Coach Donovan brough in Alize Johnson to help with the rebounding but that was of no use since the Nets continued to outrebound & outhustle the Bulls. The quarter remained a lot of back & forth with Brooklyn taking a 56-52 lead going into the break.

The Bulls defense looked a little bit more like themselves during the third quarter but were still having difficulty making shots. They were able to go on a little 6-0 run early in the quarter with some spark of the bench once again. The impact of the bench won’t really show in the box score though, those are the type of plays they made. Zach got going however, scoring 13 in that frame; he was able to get to the line as well hitting six of seven from the charity stripe. Coach Donovan did throw Tony Bradley in the game to help with rebounding which was huge. His large body was able to help the team box out & allow for easier rebounds. The fourth quarter was a sight to see. This is when the game became so much fun to watch—felt like a playoff game. The Bulls were able to identify mismatches on both offensive & defensive ends to ramp up their overall play. Their rebounding got significantly better & hands became more active on defense. Ayo played exceptional basketball to supplement the fourth quarter kings, DeMar & Zach. Watching DeMar & KD trade mid-range shots for a couple minutes during the quarter was beautiful; I’m sure the old-heads that watched the game thoroughly enjoyed those sequences. DeMar scored a smooth 13 points in the quarter & Zach added seven. It definitely helped that James Harden does not look like himself plus the incredible defense played by Lonzo. Speaking of Lonzo, the dagger three ball he hit at the end of the game gave me an adrenaline rush—just awesome. DeMar clearly trusted Zo even though he had struggled the whole night but was able to cash in on the most important shot in the game. That’s trust. Bulls go on to outscore the Nets by seven in the quarter to steal a huge win in Brooklyn.

The Bulls look good, man. If anyone is still doubting them then they’re just in denial. Without some key players in the game, they were able to show tenacity & pull through. Kevin Durant called the Bulls a contender—that's huge. Now the Bulls go on to face the Denver Nuggets tonight but with the heartbreaking news of DeMar DeRozan entering Health & Safety Protocols. The last time the Bulls faced the Nuggets was in the mile high city without the MVP, Nikola Jokic. This time Jokic will play & Vooch will too, so it’ll be a fun matchup to watch. Zach will be needed right off the bat with DeMar being out & DJJ & Ayo will need to play tremendous basketball as well. Troy Brown Jr should be getting more playing time as well so expect him to play good defense & hit some threes. The Nuggets aren’t playing fantastic since they have so many injuries & missing key players so even without DeMar, the Bulls should be able to squeeze this one out.