What can Bulls take from summer league title?
After hoisting the Las Vegas summer league trophy Monday, Chicago Bulls coach Pete Myers talked about how any time you lace up the sneakers, you should try to win.
So the Bulls going 7-0 and winning the summer championship with an 84-82 victory over Minnesota is something to be proud of. They won and 23 other Vegas summer squads did not.
But does a summer title provide any positive signs for the upcoming real season? Let's take a look:
• Basically, the Bulls had a team on paper very capable of dominating summer league.
That's because they had four guys with a good amount of NBA experience on the roster - Bobby Portis, Jerian Grant, Cristiano Felicio and Spencer Dinwiddie. With rookie Denzel Valentine, the Bulls had a strong five-man lineup.
The rule of summer league is any legitimate NBA player should be a star, and the Bulls' roster delivered on that promise. The other guys on the summer team made only mild contributions.
Portis stepped up like he should in his second turn at summer league, averaging a team-best 17.3 points and 9.4 rebounds. He also was the team's best 3-point shooter by far, hitting 10 of 24 attempts for 41.7 percent.
If he continues to shoot the ball that well, Portis may challenge for the starting power-forward slot this fall. Either way, he should stick in the rotation.
• Valentine might have been the Bulls' most interesting player, though he certainly was not their best. The 6-foot-5 swingman averaged 11.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists. He didn't shoot well, 35.2 percent overall and 25.5 percent (12 for 47) from 3-point range.
But the rookie from Michigan State showed he might carry the clutch gene. The Bulls wouldn't have won the title game without Valentine.
First, he drained a dramatic 3-pointer with 0.2 seconds left in the fourth quarter to tie the score, after Minnesota's Tyus Jones hit a long, contested, go-ahead 3-pointer with 3.6 seconds on the clock.
Then Valentine dropped in the game-winner, an 18-foot key jumper at the buzzer in overtime.
In the semifinal against Cleveland, Valentine capped a Bulls comeback by hitting a go-ahead 3 with 2:40 left.
Knocking down clutch shots consistently is a rare talent in the NBA. Valentine doesn't figure to take the last shot very often as a rookie, but this performance helped demonstrate his confidence.
The Bulls credited assistant coach Charlie Henry with drawing up the play for the tying 3-pointer. They threw a long inbounds pass to Felicio, who had the option of hitting Portis or Valentine. Portis was covered, Valentine wasn't.
"I would've left me open, too," Valentine told bulls.com. He was 1-for-7 overall from 3-point range. "But I got open and made the shot.
"I'm here for a reason. The Bulls picked me to be a confident player and come through when the team needs me and be a winner."
• When it comes to the other guys, the Bulls can remain optimistic that Felicio will be a decent contributor. He averaged 11.4 points, 6.7 rebounds and shot 75 percent (33-for-44) from the field in Vegas.
Grant was named MVP of the title game. He showed a nice scoring burst and got to the basket consistently, but there still are plenty of questions about the former New York Knicks guard.
He shot poorly in summer league - .349 overall, .220 from 3-point land - and created some bad possessions by dribbling the ball into oblivion. That's something coach Fred Hoiberg is trying to avoid.
Dinwiddie is still a tossup to make the final roster, but he averaged 10.6 points in Las Vegas and at 6-6 he has a chance to be the best defender of the Bulls' backup guards.
• Myers shared a story about how Hoiberg told the coaches and players after last season he wanted to change the culture. What that means exactly is unknown. But Myers praised Portis, Felicio and Doug McDermott for working hard at the Advocate Center after short vacations.
Another part of the culture probably was being winners at summer league. This trophy doesn't mean much, but five guys who could be in the rotation next season looked mostly good, which isn't a bad thing at all.
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