In the absence of consistency, these Bulls have great resilience. Chicago was off to a bad start Monday in Sacramento, trailing 89-67 with just over three minutes remaining in the third quarter. But once again, Billy Donovan's players managed to find solutions to rewrite the scenario of the match and dominate the Kings at the finish (109-113). This success would seem unexpected for many teams. For these Bulls, it's becoming something of a habit.
Chicago scored its third victory this season after trailing by 21 points or more, an NBA record (the Bucks, Kings, Raptors and Suns signed two, specifies NCBS reporter Kevin Anderson). “ This group continues to fight » welcomed Billy Donovan after the meeting. His players pulled off the perfect hold-up, completely thwarting the Kings, yet another benchmark in terms of composure and success at the end of the match. The visitors concluded the game with an 11-1, during which Sacramento stupidly lost three balls.
A workforce of character
For Coby White, author of his career record with 37 points including the baskets to equalize then go in front at the end of the match, the “ locker room character » from the Bulls makes all the difference. “I’ve been here five years, and been with some of these guys. When you get to know their lives, where they come from, their backgrounds, their stories, how they are able to fight adversity… On the basketball court, it's easy. But what a lot of these guys have been through in their lives, how they've fought, how every challenge that's come their way… They always seem to overcome them and break through those obstacles. The character in this locker room creates the resilience of this basketball team. »
The Bulls leader was perfectly supported Monday by DeMar DeRozan, on fire in the last quarter with several very high-level shots. The All-Star winger had only taken one shot at halftime before taking control of operations. “ It's just a question of feeling »reacted one of the heroes of the evening. “ Often I try to analyze physically and mentally how our opponents play us, how they try to get their players into rhythm. Sometimes I just let go and go for it. There are matches where I feel it straight away and others where I need to go little by little. It's just that I know myself. At one point, I knew I was going to throw my match. »
And how ! DeRozan scored 19 points in the last quarter, all at exceptional percentages (10/12 shooting, 11/12 free throws). Nothing very surprising for “DMDR”, still third best scorer in the league in situations described by the NBA as “clutch”, with a gap of five points maximum, five minutes from the end. At his side, Coby White has the best +/- ratio in the league, +87 over 35 games, in the clutch and by quite a distance (+75 for Derrick White).
From the 25th attack to the best in “money time”
Behind its two offensive leaders, all of Chicago is transfigured. Mentally, the Bulls go from a very average team to almost irresistible. Since Zach LaVine's injury, Chicago has won 17 of its 26 undecided games. From the 15th-ranked defense in the entire NBA, the Bulls move to second in these decisive situations. And the 25th attack in points per game this season becomes… the most prolific in the league (11.1 points) in “money time”!
Chicago's last three victories bear the mark of these late-game strengths. The Bulls thus won after two overtimes against Cleveland after being led by 12 points with just over eight minutes remaining. Three days earlier, they had the same deficit less than three minutes from the end of the third act before dominating the Pelicans, another team in the Top 6. It now remains to convert these snatch victories into continuity while the currently 9th in the Eastern Conference has not had three victories since January 10. “ This victory is very important, we must continue this momentum in the next match »insisted DeMar DeRozan. Not an easy task, in the heart of a road trip to the West with upcoming games at the Jazz, the Warriors and the Clippers this week.
