Presented by Nationwide Insurance Agent Jeff Vukovich
DETROIT — A disappointing and disjointed one-two punch to the Bulls’ season has exposed potential underlying problems.
In short, if things don’t improve, the future of the Big 3 is in question, either by the Bulls’ decision or perhaps even by the players themselves.
From the Bulls failing to recognize Nikola Vucevic’s favorable play in the opening game and Vucevic’s heated exchanges with coach Billy Donovan about offensive stagnation to DeMar DeRozan having to play hero ball in the only win to Zach LaVine’s career-high 51 points in a game Saturday night’s loss to the resurgent Detroit Pistons saw the core fail to find collective chemistry.
“Of course we are all frustrated about why it is not working as it should. But that is the situation we find ourselves in. We have to figure it out,” LaVine said. “Lonzo (Ball) was a big part of it. Things looked really good when Lonzo was here.
“From day one I said it was time to put pen to paper. It’s our third year here together. We know what this business is like. We all love each other. DeMar is one of my best friends. We talk all the time. But we have to figure out how this thing works.”
Players know what’s at stake if this isn’t the case.
“We’ve been here long enough. Shoot, Vooch was traded. I was traded. DeMar was traded. We understand the business,” LaVine said. “We take care of each other. You understand what’s on the other side of it.”
Vucevic made similar comments first in an offseason interview with Yahoo Sports while playing for Montenegro in the World Cup and then during the preseason, emphasizing that management could destroy the core if success does not occur this season.
Remember: DeRozan is an unrestricted free agent after this season unless he and the Bulls agree to a contract extension. And the first conversations led to nothing. If the losses continue at this point, it wouldn’t be a surprise if DeRozan chose to wait and see the future direction of the franchise.
Just like management can wait to see how this season plays out before the February 2024 trade deadline.
Only one thing is certain: the times when Ball was the leader of the Eastern Conference are fading into the background.
“You can’t really compare the first year. We had Lonzo Ball. He made a huge difference running the show. Without that, we were constantly trying to figure out what worked for us,” DeRozan said. “In the evenings we show individuals how it works, but as a collective we are still working on finding a balance, not just for ourselves but for the team.
“We showed jumps here and there, but it wasn’t as consistent as we would have liked. None of us are selfish. We always try to figure out how we can make things easier for each other for the team. We just weren’t consistent with it.
“I think we’ll do it. It’s frustrating because so much time has passed that you think it’s a given. But it’s one of those things where I think sometimes we overcompensate for each other because at the same time we want things to work out so well for ourselves.”
This overcompensation may also be exacerbated by Donovan’s desire to provide less isolation and stagnation and more off-ball action and ball and player movement. The Bulls ranked 24th in offense last season, although LaVine, DeRozan and Vucevic each had strong individual seasons. Donovan wanted to address this.
After three games, it’s still a work in progress.
“We’re trying this new thing to create a complete, cohesive, equal opportunity offense. It will take some time to figure this out. The preseason looked good. But preseason is preseason,” LaVine said. “We have a lot of our stuff in transition. During the first few games, DeMar and I stood in the corner a lot. Now we’re trying to figure out how to engage in more touching.
“In the first game, Vooch had Chet Holmgren there. I told Vooch that I need to recognize this. We all need to realize that he and Dre (Andre Drummond) dominated. This must be a Vooch game. We all need to figure out how to help each other. It can’t be a 50-point game from me or a 20-point quarter from DeMar every game. You can’t live like that. We need everyone else. But it has to work like a well-oiled machine.”
It is not. The half-court offense has been extremely sluggish through three games.
Asked if the new offensive philosophy affects him individually, LaVine said: “We’ll have to figure that out. Each of us has been a team’s primary option at some point. This is something new we need to figure out. We didn’t do 100 percent in the first three games.”
LaVine said that sounded like a yes: “It’s difficult when you’re trying to figure out something that’s not working.” We’re sticking with it. This is what we have to do.”
The Bulls have no other choice for now. But if it doesn’t change, other changes could come.
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