This season, DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine have taken the Bulls to new heights in the East. After years of mediocre play, the team is enjoying their most dominant stretch in years as they hold the first seed in the Conference.
No doubt, the arrival of DeRozan, in particular, has helped turn the Bulls into a contender and it’s a development nobody saw coming. In Toronto and San Antonio, the veteran wing was often overlooked and disregarded when compared to his peers.
In fact, when he first signed with the Bulls, there was much doubt that he would make them better. In a chat with ESPN, DeRozan addressed those doubts and revealed what Zach LaVine told him before it all began.
(via ESPN)
After DeRozan signed, Chicago coach Billy Donovan flew to California to meet with the Bulls’ new duo. The whispers of skeptics from outside the organization had crescendoed.
Could these two ball-dominant guards work together? Would this defense be just bad or historically bad? Where’s the outside shooting?
An ESPN offseason survey of 10 scouts and executives around the league tabbed DeRozan’s signing as the worst move of the offseason.
“Don’t worry about anything, this s— will work,” DeRozan told LaVine. “If we do what we’re supposed to do, the caliber of players that we are, everybody will be happy.”
Months later, the Bulls are proving everyone wrong by standing as one of the best and most consistent teams in basketball.
“Him coming here and being able to be himself, I think was the best thing for him,” LaVine said. “And for me personally, because I needed another guy on the team that each and every game was going to go out there and have my back.”
“I’ve been here on the Bulls for the last five years and we have done nothing but lose. I put up incredible stats that get washed under the rug because we lose. But individually, you’re not going to have that success until you’re a successful team. I have no ego. I don’t mind sharing or DeMar DeRozan taking fourth-quarter shots or hitting game-winners. I’m happy because we’re winning.”
With averages of 26.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game on 49.3% shooting, DeRozan is having the best season of his career and it’s no mystery why. He’s found a team, and a culture, that suits his game.
The big question now is if they can keep this performance going through the playoffs. With little experience on the team and squads like the Nets and Bucks in their way, the path will not be easy.
Nevertheless, the Bulls are in the conversation for the first time in years and that’s got to count for something.
