The Chicago Bulls start the season 1-0, after the huge victory last night against the Heat in Miami. 1-0 in the regular season, 1-0 against top tier teams in the Eastern Conference. I can’t stress enough how big a win this was. After the ugly news that Zach LaVine is likely to miss the first couple games of the season with knee injury management, for many of us a loss to the Heat was a foregone conclusion. DeMar DeRozan, Nikola Vucevic, and the rest of the Bulls had other plans.
Dear lord, DeMar DeRozan is a beast! 37 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, and a block. He should be at the top of the MVP candidate list, but the national media has already crafted their story lines for that award. DeRozan did everything to will the Bulls to this crucial victory; dagger 3’s, precision mid-game, facilitating offense for others, and defense, he put it all on display. I’ve said this before and DeRozan proved it again last night, he is a master craftsman perfecting his art. DeRozan hit shots over the All-Star defense of Jimmy Butler like he wasn’t even there. DeRozan was sublime.
Nikola Vucevic had a rough night shooting, but he did everything else at an All-Star level. 17 rebounds and some inspired defense, he made a huge impact on the game.
Even with the bad shooting night, Vooch was money in the clutch…
Other Bulls players that stood out to me in last nights win: Ayo Dosunmu and Goran Dragic.
Ayo was calm and composed the entire game. He did a great job getting everyone, including himself, opportunities to score. He played solid defense and just looked super comfortable as the starting point guard. Very impressive outing for Ayo.
Goran Dragic had a great 1st half. His play with the 2nd unit really kept the Bulls in the game when it looked like the Heat might run away with it early. He hit some threes, threw some ollie-oops, made some steals, he was all over the place in a good way.
It sucks that Zach is out right now, it sucks that Lonzo Ball is out right now, but if last night proved anything, it’s that the Bulls are a VERY talented team. They can beat any team on any night, and that makes them just as dangerous as the Boston Celtics, the Golden State Warriors, and any other team that could legitimately win the Championship this season. Last night was the start, it’s not going to be easy, but the Bulls are back, and the League should be concerned.
Until they are, thanks for reading and GO BULLS!
RokDeez Bulls Blog 