Chicago Bulls Continue Perfect Start: How Far Can They Go?
In beating the Toronto Raptors in a hard-fought contest that finished 111-108, the Chicago Bulls collected their fourth win on the bounce. This now signals the best start for the Bulls since 1996-97 and has left fans of the United Center side dreaming of a push for a first NBA title in over 20 years. In this blog, you will know about Chicago Bulls Continue Perfect Start: How Far Can They Go.
Billy Donovan’s side was tipped to improve on last season’s 31-41 record, but even the most optimistic of Bulls fans will not have predicted quite such a strong start. A lot of credit should be given to Marc Eversley for overhauling an average roster with solid moves in the free agency.
So could the Bulls really push on and make a run into the latter stages of the postseason? If you wanted to back Chicago in the futures market, then a look at sidelines.io/nba/odds will show you just how enticing such a bet would be. Despite their 100% record, you can still get an astounding (+6000) on an NBA title, which is still admittedly a stretch, but at those odds, you can’t really afford to ignore the possible payout.
Zach LeVine has been the standout thus far, but he’s had plenty of back-up from the likes of Nikola Vucevic and Lonzo Ball. Another player to have really made an impact is DeMar DeRozan, who arrived at the Bulls via the San Antonio Spurs and is really keen to continue the excellent start to the season;
“Part of the reason why I even chose to come to Chicago was everyone was eager to be successful, to want to win,” DeRozan said after Monday’s victory.
“Everybody had that chip on their shoulder, from the city to the organization to the players that I spoke to.
“That was everybody’s mindset; it’s all about winning now. We’re not in a development stage; we want to win now.”
The Bulls haven’t been over .500 in over four years, and that says something about just how far they had slumped. Defensively Chicago has been in great form, but they still have a few chinks in their armor when it comes to the offense, and it’s an issue that coach Donovan is acutely aware of;
“Offense is always more difficult; I think sometimes people think you throw these scorers in there, and they’re just going to score. It never works that way.
“If the group is committed to work defensively, to get over screens, to help each other, to rotate, to scramble, the defense, to me, always comes a lot easier.”
Donovan continued;
“Obviously, I’d like to take more (3s); we’re low, near the bottom of the league (in attempts). But our shooting percentage is very high. So I think when you talk about wanting to take more 3s, you gotta make sure they’re the right 3s and good 3s. Because I think part of the reason our shooting percentage has been good is we’ve taken, for the most part, pretty good 3s.
“If we can generate more, I would be totally fine and comfortable taking more, but I don’t want to take more at the expense of shots that are just — a 3s not there, and we’re taking it cause we’re trying to get more. I think it’s got to be in the framework of what we’re trying to do.”
It’s a good sign that even in the midst of such a great start, the Bulls’ backroom staff and players are aware of their limitations, and that could be key to managing expectations as the season progresses.