of chicago bulls They moved up 2-1 in preseason play with a very entertaining 115-98 comeback win over the Raptors on Sunday.
Here are 10 observations from the competition.
1. After seeing Javonte Green in the first unit against the Nuggets, Billy Donovan spun the starting power forward wheel again and landed on Derrick Jones Jr. previous preseason games.
The move didn’t have the immediate positive results it did against the Nuggets by inserting Green. Jones Jr. scored his two and he had two rebounds in the first 12 minutes, Williams shot his 8-1 off the bench, and Green didn’t check in until the second half began.
Donovan argued that sliding Williams into the reserve role in favor of Green after the Nuggets game was done with the intention of evaluating various personnel groups, not demotion. was by far the most impressive of the group.
2. In the backcourt, Ayo Dosunmu made his third straight preseason start as point guard. He performed well again, recording 14 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks in 29 minutes. The Bulls’ starting points guard His spot looked like an open competition going into training his camp and preseason, but Dosunmu’s consistent and consistent play added momentum, and Lonzo, who was absent, had his spot on. It is no exaggeration to say that it has become a substitute for the ball.
3. Similar to their preseason opener, the Bulls got off to a rough defensive start, losing 38 points (18 in the paint) on 59.1% shooting percentage in the first quarter. The good news this time is that they tightened up on the halfcourt in the second half, allowing him 19 points on 6 of 24 shots. The Bulls had 11 turnovers in this period, so 10 of them came from fastbreak chances.
Four. Sure, ball security was an issue. The Bulls had 16 turnovers in the first half and the Raptors scored 12 points. Zach Lavigne was his leader in the category with 5 and in his down performance (3-for-9 shooting) he had two blocked jump shots that ended early in the third quarter.
For the most part, sloppy passing has been the cause of the Bulls’ turnover troubles, but I’m not so worried for several reasons. First, the Bulls handled the ball well last season, ranking sixth in the league with a 13% turnover rate. Second and his third, they continued to experiment with revamped attacking principles against Toronto’s long, athletic and active defensive team.
Five. In the third quarter, the Bulls took over that tight defense and continued to pick up the pace, but they did it in a cleaner way. They won his first 10 minutes of the quarter 30-14 and from 10 down at the half he led 77-71 before Toronto closed out the period with his 9-0. The Bulls won the second half by a 68-41 margin after running away and hiding in the fourth quarter.
6. Green, in particular, played seven minutes in third after not playing in the first half, scoring a +10 plus-minus. He came into transition with one of his typical thunderous slams and Pascal scored his triple in the corner on his Siakam contact and he converted his play by four points. Then, in the fourth quarter, he added 11 more points, including this gravity-defying dunk.
Green, who scored 17 points (just 15 minutes) on 7-8 shooting in the game, is now averaging 16.7 points in preseason play, shooting 17-22 and 6-8 combined 3-point ranges. I’m here. As we learned in his long stretch as a starting pitcher last season, Green’s off-ball movement and explosive athleticism are a compelling complement to the Bulls’ primary shot creator. Can we see him in that role again this season? He’s making quite the case.
7. Nikola Vučević continued to look comfortable in the offensive end, scoring 13 points on 10-for-6 shooting. Again, he found success with the training camp theme, Inside Out. Vučević’s five shots were in the paint, providing several quality shot opportunities from blocks and elbows in his area.
8. Another night, another 20-plus point outing for DeRozan. He scored 21 points to lead the Bulls in this game and has scored at least 20 points in each of the team’s preseason games. , averaged 7.7 free throw attempts in exhibition play. Additionally, on Sunday, he stole his three steals and made the charge. No rust to report on the current second-team All-NBA forward.
9. Goran Dragic took a healthy rest day and didn’t work out for the competition, but Donovan reiterated throughout training camp that the team would manage the 36-year-old’s time carefully. Jones Jr. earned the spot in his nine-man first half rotation.
This paved the way for others to grab the spare reins. Alex Caruso had a typical footprint in the first stint, sprinting to his two fast breaks his layup and wreaking havoc on defense. And Darren, who was again on duty in the fourth quarter, his Terry once again demonstrated his do-it-all skill with five points, three assists and two rebounds. Instead of emptying the bench as he did in his first two games, Donovan kept the rotation down to his 11 players.
Ten. Andre Drummond is a career 13.2% 3-point shooter, making 15 of 114 in his 10-year NBA career.
Also Andre Drummond:
In the final minutes of practice and shootarounds, Drummond can often be found putting up corner triples. On the night the Bulls scored his 13-for-32 (40.6%) from long range, Drummond was the only player he made more than two of his 3s.
What’s next for the Bulls: Back home to wrap up their preseason slate against the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday.
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