Getty DeMar DeRozan #11 of the Chicago Bulls.
Perhaps Chicago Bulls star DeMar DeRozan subscribes to the notion that people who use profanity tend to be more honest, an idea supported by a 2017 study published in the Sage Journals.
That would help explain his reaction to teammate Patrick Beverley saying head coach Billy Donovan “got some s***” when explaining the head coaches strategic capabilities.
“Talk your s***, explicit!” DeRozan exclaimed from across the locker room in clear appreciation for the frankness of Beverley’s statement in a video posted to Twitter by Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic after the Bulls’ 131-87 win over the Brooklyn Nets on February 24. “I ain’t the only one that cuss in this b**** now.”
DeRozan would later explain in much greater detail just what it is that Beverley brings.
“When you got a guy like Pat Beverley on the team, the intensity that he come with the first second that he came with, the energy that he bring, you got to follow behind that,” DeRozan said, via another video Mayberry posted after the big win. “Holds everybody accountable and going to compete at a high level. When you see a teammate with that mentality, you got to follow behind it”
Beverley finished with eight points, five rebounds, and four assists. He connected on just one of his three looks from deep but did get to the line to shoot five free throws, sinking three.
He posted the third-best defensive rating on the team behind DeRozan and Alex Caruso.
Bulls force a shot clock violation to enter the final two minutes with a 56-28 lead.
Alex Caruso bounds off the court screaming his head off, then turns around and bumps chests with a grinning Beverley.
Bulls back??
“My job is to not hoist a lot of shots,” he said, per Mayberry. “My job is to make sure we stay in steady offense… I just tried to make the game easy for Zach [LaVine]. Make sure he didn’t have to do a ton of dribbling. And make sure DeMar caught it in his spots.”
To Beverly’s credit, the Bulls did just that to get a much-needed, skid-snapping win over a Brooklyn Nets team that is not the same as they were when the Bulls snapped their 12-game winning streak earlier this season. Without Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, the Nets could muster just 87 points against the new-look Bulls.
That is the fewest by any Bulls opponent this season.
Javonte Green Trending in the Wrong Direction
The Bulls could have to wait to get another boost to the group with forward Javonte Green making improvements following an arthroscopic debridement procedure in January – similar to the one Lonzo Ball had in September – but still a ways away from returning.
“I would say a couple of weeks away certainly before he can get back on the court in terms of the contact,” Donovan said per Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune.
Green has been out since dropping 12 points on 4-for-5 shooting against the Cleveland Cavaliers in a 103-102 loss on New Year’s Eve. K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago tweeted a story about Green bombing Johnson’s interview with Caruso during the former’s rehab. And there have also been videos of the sparkplug getting up shots.
Not the best quality video, but Javonte Green was getting some shots up after practice today
“It’s not like he’s missing out on anything,” Donovan said. “He’s around practice every single day, so he is up to speed on those things. Whenever he can come back and does come back, whatever time is left, that would be fine and we would try to maximize him as much as we could.”
The issues for Green are very similar to those that stood in the path of Ball.
He is not close enough to project a return at this point and there are just 22 games ahead of Sunday’s tilt with the Washington Wizards.
Ayo Dosunmu and Patrick Williams Take Steps Back for Leaps Forward
Second-year Ayo Dosunmu and third-year forward Patrick Williams both lost their starting roles — for the second time this season — out of the break.
As predicted pregame, Billy Donovan said Patrick Williams’ development can still continue with second unit because he’s in role where he can be more aggressive offensively
Both players saw more minutes than their replacements and closed the game.
But it is unclear just how much of that was the result of the blowout. This will be something to keep an eye on as both Dosunmu and Williams represent the next chapter for this Bulls organization on the floor.