At first we could wonder what fly had bitten DeMar DeRozan. He went to voluntarily put a stamp on Jalen Green, a gesture unlike the leader of the Bulls, causing an escalation with Dillon Brooks. The rearguard's frustration was linked to several actions that had occurred previously.
DeRozan had just repeatedly attacked the rim, not getting a whistle despite making contact. This sequence dating from a month ago on the Rockets floor can illustrate the observation made by the Bulls: physical intensity has gone up a notch in recent weeks in the NBA.
“ I noticed it after the All-Star break. I think we've all noticed it. The referees let us play more, the physical level is higher without there being any fouls. It's clear that the physical intensity has increased, which is a good thing because that's how it happens in the playoffs “, remarks Coby White.
Arbitration has evolved
This increased physical dimension is noted while “scoring” has evolved downwards in recent times. The league even admitted to talking to referees about the tendency of attackers to lunge into moving defenders to get whistles. Fewer contacts sanctioned, therefore fewer points scored.
New example with DeRozan DeRozan, used to getting whistles on his mid-range shot feints which he loves. “ Deebo always recovered from mistakes. It has to do with the way he shoots from mid-range, so guys are always landing underneath him trying to contest him. This year I didn't feel like he got as many whistles as last year », Continues Coby White.
Which, on the whole, is not really borne out in the figures. His teammate, one of the most prolific in the league in this area, still gets a lot of free throws, and even more after the All-Star Game (9 per game), than before (7.2).
“ I read the game, I have a sense of the game. Whether it's using shot fakes or understanding when guys are going to approach, I try to play correctly […], to use the looks of others to my advantage. It's about being smart, knowing when you can attack guys who are undisciplined on defense », Summarizes the veteran, whose team has every interest in raising their voice physically to push back the Hawks during the first round of play-in.
“ Some of the games we had, the way they were officiated, were more like play-in or playoff games. It's a good thing for us to be prepared. We need it. We don't want to get to the play-ins or play-offs and suddenly everything is different “, appreciates Coby White.
| Shots | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Bp | Int | Ct | Party | Pts |
| Demar Derozan | 78 | 37.7 | 48.0 | 33.0 | 85.4 | 0.5 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 5.3 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 2.1 | 23.9 |
| Zach Lavine | 25 | 34.9 | 45.2 | 34.9 | 85.4 | 0.3 | 4.8 | 5.2 | 3.9 | 2.1 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 2.3 | 19.5 |
| Coby White | 78 | 36.4 | 44.4 | 37.8 | 83.7 | 0.6 | 4.0 | 4.6 | 5.1 | 2.1 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 2.4 | 19.0 |
| Nikola Vucevic | 75 | 34.2 | 48.2 | 29.1 | 81.7 | 2.7 | 7.8 | 10.5 | 3.3 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 2.5 | 17.9 |
| Javonte Green | 8 | 24.1 | 65.6 | 42.9 | 76.9 | 2.0 | 5.4 | 7.4 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.9 | 12.4 |
| Ayo Dosunmu | 76 | 29.1 | 50.1 | 40.3 | 81.0 | 0.7 | 2.1 | 2.8 | 3.2 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 2.2 | 12.2 |
| Alex Caruso | 70 | 28.6 | 46.5 | 40.5 | 75.5 | 0.9 | 2.9 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 2.6 | 10.0 |
| Patrick Williams | 43 | 27.3 | 44.3 | 39.9 | 78.8 | 1.1 | 2.8 | 3.9 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 2.0 | 10.0 |
| Andrew Drummond | 79 | 17.1 | 55.6 | 0.0 | 59.2 | 3.4 | 5.6 | 9.0 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 1.8 | 8.4 |
| Torrey Craig | 52 | 19.8 | 43.1 | 39.5 | 75.0 | 1.3 | 2.8 | 4.1 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 2.0 | 5.8 |
| Jevon Carter | 71 | 13.9 | 38.7 | 33.8 | 57.1 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 1.0 | 5.0 |
| Adama Sanogo | 9 | 7.3 | 51.9 | 0.0 | 66.7 | 2.1 | 1.9 | 4.0 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 4.0 |
| Onuralp Bitim | 23 | 11.7 | 38.1 | 27.3 | 80.0 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 1.0 | 3.5 |
| Dalen Terry | 58 | 11.3 | 44.0 | 23.6 | 59.5 | 0.4 | 1.4 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 3.0 |
| Henri Drell | 4 | 7.5 | 40.0 | 33.3 | 50.0 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 2.8 |
| Julian Phillips | 40 | 8.1 | 41.6 | 31.6 | 68.4 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 1.0 | 2.2 |
| Terry Taylor | 31 | 6.1 | 51.3 | 22.2 | 80.0 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 1.5 |
| Andrew Funk | 5 | 2.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
