Ayo Dosunmu and Patrick Williams left out of the Bulls’ five

There is something wrong since the start of the season in Chicago. After a sluggish start to the exercise, the exit of Zach LaVine, “benched” by Billy Donovan in a defeat against Orlando, added a little fuel to the fire and “Windy City” cannot manage to hitch the right wagon. in the Eastern Conference. Since Orlando, the Bulls have signed three wins for three losses, with in the last game lost against Golden State a novelty attempted by Billy Donovan.

Holders since the start of the season, Ayo Dosunmu and Patrick Williams were removed from the five major in favor of Alex Caruso and Javonte Green. Billy Donovan is still looking for the right formula, the most relevant rotations and associations to try to get the best out of his group. His choice was therefore not guided by recent poor performances by the Dosunmu-Williams tandem.

“It wasn’t so much like saying to Ayo and Patrick, ‘Hey, you need to improve your game a bit.’ It was more about putting Javonte and Alex on and seeing what happens”explained the coach of the Bulls.

Ready to perform off the bench

After the meeting, the two players concerned took the news with philosophy. Aware of the situation, they will now try to perform well off the bench.

“Look in the league, there are a lot of good players coming off the bench. Jordan Poole put up 30 points tonight. I don’t think he takes offense at not being a starter. He is comfortable in his role and that’s what I have to turn to, go with the “second unit”. They want me to be aggressive, to score, but also to be a defender, a two-way player, and that’s fine with me., for his part declared Patrick Williams (7 points, 2 rebounds in 19 minutes), less prominent than his counterpart Javonte Green (13 points, 4 rebounds in 23 minutes). “I kinda expected that. Not especially the changes he made, but it is clear that we were not at the level of play at which we should evolve. So that’s part of the game, when you’re trying to see what works, changing the fives, that sort of thing. I am ready to do anything to win, and at the moment, we are not winning. You have to believe in the “process”, control what you can as a player. I trust Billy, the staff, the decisions they make. And Ayo, it’s the same”.

Ayo Dosunmu was sharper, finishing with 9 points on 4/4 shooting, 5 rebounds and 3 assists in 21 minutes. Like Patrick Williams, the sophomore wants above all to help the team and continue to progress, whatever role he is given.

“My motto, whether I’m a beginner or not, is to improve by one percent every day. When you accumulate days like that, in the end, you always become a better player. So nothing has really changed. The coach told me to continue, it was just a decision he thought was the best to help the team, to regain morale, to try different things”, he confided. “I’m not into this thing, knowing who starts. Even when I received the news that I was going to start at the start of the season. All that matters is to keep progressing. This is my state of mind”.

The adjustment remains minor and did not really have an impact on the performance of the Bulls against the Warriors. The next matches will perhaps allow us to get a better idea. Zach LaVine in any case took the opportunity to take his share of responsibility. For Chicago to get out of it, its DeRozan-LaVine-Vucevic trio will also have to raise their level of play.

“The coach makes his decisions, but you know, us, the best players in the team, we have to be the ones who make the difference. Take criticism on bad days, and make sure we help the team win. Defending, shooting, that’s what we do. That’s why we’re in this position. It’s a player-driven league. And it always starts from the top down”, he reminded.