They have disappointed so much for several seasons that no one is really excited in Chicago. However, since Zach LaVine's injury, the team has been playing its best basketball of the season with 6 wins in 9 games. The latest, in Philadelphia, confirms that Billy Donovan has perhaps found the right formula with a better distributed score, a serious defense, and overall a better-oiled team.
“The most important thing is to have a group with five guys connected”, believes Donovan. “If you don't have that and the talent level is equal or lower, you have no chance of winning. None ! So I think the most important thing is connection, sharing and moving the ball, helping in defense, extra passes, rotations and looking for strong passes. These are all the things that allow us to be connected. »
The right attitude even in defeats
This “connection” is precisely visible because there are absentees, over several weeks, or from one match to another, and Donovan distinguishes it even in defeats.
“I liked their attitude after the Milwaukee and Miami games. It's not that I wanted to see them like that, but they were really touched.” continues the Chicago coach. “Frankly, there were games this year where we didn't have the right to be angry after the game because we didn't even give ourselves a chance to win. But when you fight like they did against Milwaukee and Miami and you can't win, it hurts. We then have to see what we can do best.”
For Alex Caruso, symbolic player of this collective, “the Bulls could be at 9v-0d”while Nikola Vucevic emphasizes “a change in the state of mind. » “Our energy is different. We play with a more aggressive mentality on both ends of the pitch. We play for each other, share the ball, and play at a faster pace. This is how we get the best out of everyone. »
Involve everyone
Extended this summer, Nikola Vucevic has gained volume in the Bulls' game, and he is the first to take pleasure in the current period.
“We enjoy playing. Every night, it's a different guy who comes forward. We all support each other. It feels » concludes the Montenegrin. “And when you play that way, it’s very contagious. Positive energy accumulates. We are less still than at the start of the season. We go to the circle, we find the unmarked player, we make the extra pass. This is how we manage to involve everyone.”
| Shots | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Bp | Int | Ct | Party | Pts |
| Demar Derozan | 25 | 36.4 | 44.4 | 36.8 | 82.3 | 0.8 | 2.7 | 3.6 | 5.2 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 2.2 | 22.5 |
| Zach Lavine | 18 | 35.3 | 44.3 | 33.6 | 86.6 | 0.3 | 4.6 | 4.9 | 3.4 | 2.0 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 2.1 | 21.0 |
| Coby White | 27 | 34.5 | 44.9 | 42.6 | 82.1 | 0.4 | 3.4 | 3.8 | 4.7 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 2.7 | 17.3 |
| Nikola Vucevic | 27 | 34.4 | 44.9 | 26.8 | 86.0 | 2.9 | 7.7 | 10.6 | 3.4 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 2.7 | 16.5 |
| Patrick Williams | 27 | 26.6 | 43.8 | 37.5 | 73.5 | 1.2 | 3.0 | 4.2 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 1.9 | 9.4 |
| Alex Caruso | 21 | 22.6 | 53.5 | 47.2 | 77.4 | 1.2 | 2.0 | 3.2 | 2.2 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 2.1 | 9.3 |
| Ayo Dosunmu | 25 | 20.9 | 47.9 | 35.4 | 70.8 | 0.5 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 1.8 | 7.0 |
| Torrey Craig | 27 | 21.2 | 42.4 | 38.2 | 78.3 | 1.9 | 3.0 | 4.8 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 2.5 | 6.1 |
| Andrew Drummond | 27 | 13.1 | 50.0 | 0.0 | 60.0 | 2.9 | 3.9 | 6.7 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 1.7 | 6.1 |
| Jevon Carter | 27 | 14.0 | 37.4 | 34.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 5.0 |
| Dalen Terry | 11 | 6.2 | 31.3 | 20.0 | 50.0 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 1.3 |
| Julian Phillips | 15 | 4.6 | 29.4 | 0.0 | 25.0 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 0.7 |
| Terry Taylor | 6 | 2.1 | 100.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.7 |
| Onuralp Bitim | 1 | 3.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
