The Bulls live a never-ending story

The Bulls know they are under pressure this season. The trio Nikola Vucevic – Zach LaVine – DeMar DeRozan has still not confirmed expectations and the first three matches of this season are hardly encouraging.

There was the big defeat against the Thunder in the opening, with a moment of tension between Nikola Vucevic and his coach, plus a crisis meeting between the players. Then a close victory against the Raptors. Finally, they logically gave in against the Pistons.

That’s two defeats in three matches while Chicago has not yet faced a big team… “We are obviously all frustrated that it is not working as it should. But we are in this position and we must find a solution”admits Zach LaVine, author of 51 points in Detroit, to NBC Sports.

An attack reduced to individual exploits

Chicago’s offense is currently averaging 103 points and isn’t showing much. It is limited to one-on-one sequences from Zach LaVine or DeMar DeRozan. If Nikola Vucevic got frustrated against the Thunder, it is precisely because the ball does not circulate enough, that offensively, Billy Donovan’s troops lack lucidity and sometimes intelligence.

The coach would like the game without the ball to be more present, that there is more movement. For the moment, it’s not working and even Jevon Carter or Torrey Craig, complementary players, find themselves having to work miracles.

“We are trying new things to have a more complete and coherent attack. It will take time to find solutions,” continues Zach LaVine. “In preseason it seemed good, but it was only preseason. We are in a period of transition. The first matches, DeRozan and I were in the corners. The first game, we should have seen that Vucevic and Andre Drummond were dominating inside. We can’t live with a 50-point game from me, or 20 points in a last quarter from DeRozan. We need everyone, the machine is well oiled. »

You miss only one being…

For this, an important element is missing: Lonzo Ball. Absent last season and again this year, the playmaker is not there to set this group to music. The Bulls suffer a lot from this.

“We can’t compare with the first season because Lonzo was there. And that makes a big difference. Without him, we are constantly looking for solutions,” concedes DeMar DeRozan. “We show things on an individual level, but it must be collective. We are still working on collective balance. We show it in sequences, but it must be done regularly. We will get there. It’s frustrating because after so much time, it should be second nature. But sometimes we do too much, for each other, because we want things to click. »

Zach LaVine also regrets the absence of the former leader of the Lakers and Pelicans. “When he was there, it was really not bad. » But we have to do without him and this new offensive philosophy is still struggling to seduce. “We have to find, it’s new for us and during these first three matches, we didn’t do it 100%. It’s hard trying to understand something that doesn’t work. But we’re going to stick to it. This is what we have to do”he concludes.