CHICAGO (670 The Score) – After logging 91 starts and averaging 26.8 minutes per game across his first two NBA seasons, Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu had largely been relegated to a 10th man role early in this campaign, averaging just 11.7 minutes per game in the team's first nine games.
That changed Sunday evening, when Dosunmu had 13 points, three assists and four steals in a season-high 27 minutes off the bench. Dosunmu landed the bigger role because standout guard Alex Caruso was sidelined by a toe injury, and his effort was critical to the Bulls (4-6) earning a 119-108 win against the Pistons (2-9) at the United Center after they had a poor first quarter, which ended with them trailing by nine.
Bulls coach Billy Donovan and teammates credited Dosunmu’s push-the-pace slashes to the hoop and his defensive intensity for helping spark their turnaround, which started as they outscored the Pistons by 14 points in the second quarter.
“Ayo was a huge boost,” Donovan said.
"That was big," Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan added. "I told him, I had checked in for him in the second quarter and the first thing I told him coming out was, 'That quarter was because of you' — the energy he brought getting out in transition, getting those layups, getting those steals, I let him know. Without him, that quarter wouldn't have happened."
Dosunmu learned about 40 or 50 minutes before tip-off that Caruso had been ruled out and that he’d have a bigger workload, but it didn’t change his preparation or mindset in any way. A second-round pick in the 2021 NBA Draft who had a stellar rookie campaign before having shooting struggles in his second season, Dosunmu takes pride in filling whatever role the Bulls ask of him.
“You have to be prepared,” Dosunmu said. “That’s pretty much what I try to do. The night before the games, try to keep doing my same routine. You always want to train like you’re playing 40 minutes, because if you don’t, any time you slack, any time somebody is out and you get increased minutes, you’ve got to be prepared for it.”
Dosunmu has had a decreased workload this season for a few reasons. Coby White has earned the starting point guard job, the Bulls added reserve guard Jevon Carter in free agency and the team has been mostly healthy. Donovan has used a 10-man rotation as opposed to a nine-man rotation because Carter and Dosunmu “both certainly deserve to play,” he said while noting it would be difficult to cut one of them out.
Dosunmu is shooting 54.3% and has a 3.0 assist-to-turnover ratio in his limited playing time this season.
“It just goes to show that we have a very deep team,” Dosunmu said. “Any given night, your number could be called. So you have to just be a true professional, just be ready to seize the moment. You have to work out each and every day because you never know. There’s so much freak accidents nowadays in the NBA, so you got to be ready at all times.”
“Any time you can just help give some energy to our team, I think it’s always positive. Me coming off the bench, I have a unique way of viewing the game. Because I can see what the game needs, and I think that’s something that I really have taken away from coming off the bench – being able to read the game and understand what needs to be done and what’s lacking. That’s pretty much what I try to do – just play my game when I get out there, push the pace, bump up the energy, the joy. That’s pretty much what I try to do.”
Cody Westerlund is an editor for 670TheScore.com and covers the Bulls. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund.