There’s lots to be excited about now in Chicago.
Lavine continues to be a bucket. Lonzo is balling out on both ends. The GOAT Caruso leads the league in steals while filling in at the 4 for Patrick Williams. Vooch’s numbers being down hide the fact he’s doing a lot of other things well; his assists and steals and blocks are WAY up while his turnovers are down.
But this year for Chicago, it has really been about one guy: DeMar DeRozan
To say DeRozan has been unstoppable would be an understatement. He has scored 17 or more in every game this year and topped 30 four times, including back-to-back games against Boston and Philly in which he scored 37. His average is 26/6/4 which are Dame and Trae numbers and just a point short of his career high.
Last year he averaged 21 for the Spurs and there was so much chatter he was washed, and that he’d have to sign a mid-level. Most people had him joining the geriatric squad in L.A.
But now? If he’s not the leader in the MVP race, he’s close.
What in the world is going on???
Turns out a whole bunch of people got DeMar wrong, and now he’s blistering team after team like it’s a revenge tour. He even mentioned on Tuesday that the chatter that he was washed has not gone unnoticed. He said:
"I can go down the list of just being counted out, being looked over. So many chips that's on my shoulder that I carry. And just wanting to be a winner and wanting to enjoy this ride. We can't play this game forever, so I want to get as much as I can out of it."
How’s he doing it?
On a recent episode of the Hoop Collective, Brian Windhorst and the crew made the argument that his success this year comes from Billy D getting him to buy into NOT shooting threes and taking more of his bread and butter mid-range shots.
This is only partially true.
Comparing his entire run in San Antonio to this year, he’s actually shooting twice as many threes as he did as a Spur. From well under one a game to nearly 2.5 as a Bull.
Listen to sports talk now on Audacy and shop the latest NBA team gear
What he’s doing different is he’s taking BETTER threes, which is why he’s hitting a career high 37% from deep.
And the reason this is happening is because the Bulls are playing unselfish basketball. All five starters average four or more assists, which is VERY different from the Bulls last year when Vooch (who came over at the trade deadline) was the only player to average more than four assists per game. The Bulls play remarkably fluid and connected basketball, which seems impossible considering their top eight players were all on different teams last year.
After a recent win, DeRozan said, “I couldn’t be more happy being in Chicago,” and you know what? It shows.
DeMar isn’t just a legit MVP candidate, he also seems to LOVE his new teammates. He called the GOAT Caruso “one of the highest IQ players I've played with since I've been in the game."
And DeMar is CARRYING this team and playing some of the most unselfish basketball in the league. In the Sunday night win over the Clippers, Billy D ran DeRozan and four defenders with no 5 at the small ball Clippers and neutralized a lineup that beat the No. 1 seed Jazz last year in the playoffs. And when the Clips brought in Hartenstein at the 5? DeMar was the guy heading immediately to the bench for the Bulls to counter a big man.
I think it’s pretty clear that DemaMr was the best pick up of free agency and you can tell a ton of teams are regretting not signing him when they had the chance.
The Lakers would have (of course) been the most obvious fit. And there are a ton of questions about why the Lakers didn’t go and get DeMar, especially given that he is from LA and has been VERY VERY clear about wanting to go back home.
It turns out he met twice with Bron and spoke with him often about how he would fit with him and Ad.
“We need you DemaMr, come to LA LA, DeMar,” Bron reportedly told DeRozan.
Instead, Pelinka went with Russell Westbrook and we all know how THAT is going.
Do you think DeMar was a bit salty about it? Of course he was.
“Yeah, I mean, it was, it was a real possibility, I mean, I’d be lying to you if I didn’t say I wanted to come home, you know? I did try to make it happen. There’s a real possibility of it happening. You know, just things didn’t work out, you know what I mean?”
DeMar with Bron and AD makes a TON more sense than Russ from a spacing, scoring and shooting standpoint. Had the Lakers gotten DeMar (for around half what Russ makes remember) and signed Caruso, who just blasted Pelinka for how he handled his contract negotiations, the Lakers would be a REAL contender instead of a team hanging on by a thread and one of the more disappointing teams in the league.
As for DeMar? He’s scored 103 points in the fourth quarter this year … by far the most in the NBA and nearly 20% better than Cole Anthony who has 85.
He’s unstoppable. He’s unselfish. And he’s clutch.
So let’s give DeMar his flowers.
He is now the engine behind a team that the entire NBA fanbase wants to be good.
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow Audacy Sports
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram