Each match, its scenario, and Sunday, in Brooklyn, the Bulls once again disappointed their fans and their coach. While they got off to a great start, to the point of leading by 21 points in the first quarter, Zach LaVine’s teammates were unable to manage this lead.
Under a shower of 3-pointers, they suffered a 13th defeat in 18 matches, and Billy Donovan points out the lack of intensity of his players. The former Thunder coach does not understand how his players can fail like this.
“I don’t know, and that’s what’s a little mind-boggling, frustrating, whatever word you want to use.”regrets Billy Donovan. “DeMar [DeRozan] is our team’s leader in passing. He sacrifices his body in the service of the game, and so he is fully capable of doing so… We saw Vooch [Nikola Vucevic] protect the circle…. We saw Zach [LaVine] come and help when needed. It’s not like we’ve never done it. »
Bulls affected mentally then physically
But now, we have the impression that the stars of the team are failing, and the rumors around the future of Zach LaVine, or even Billy Donovan, are perhaps weighing on the mentality of the group.
“We are not thinking about what is going to happen and our only concern is to try to turn the situation around” assures Nikola Vucevic. “Rumours come with the situation…. If you play well, everything is fine. Everyone speaks well of you. If you lose, you are criticized and rumors start. We must face it. The only way to fix it is to play better. This is the only way for this to stop.”
But Billy Donovan insists, he has the feeling that his players are mentally breaking down when things don’t go well.
“That’s what I’m constantly trying to talk to them about.”continues Billy Donovan. “For me, it’s like being really frustrated when you’ve given it your all. There will be missed screen delays, missed rotations, missed shots, all that kind of stuff. You can’t let yourself be influenced by a ball going into the basket… When you make a screen, really do it. When we give you a screen, use it! When there is a shoot, take a player! When there is penetration, show yourself physically! »
“There is no regularity”
Nikola Vucevic recognizes that it is incomprehensible because in training, the intensity is there. “ When we train, we are always determined. We try to find solutions, talk and everything else. It’s just that it doesn’t happen like that on the ground for one reason or another.”regrets the Montenegrin. “We’re going to stick together and continue to try to find a way to do it.” Throughout the matches we showed signs of what we could do. But there is no regularity. That’s why we have huge gaps in games, where we play very well, then we fall back into our mistakes and try to come back. We fight and we don’t give up. But only results count. So we have to play better. »
With or without Billy Donovan on the bench? The question deserves to be asked after such a start to the season, and the person concerned knows that he has been on an ejection seat since training camp!
