Chicago Bulls' Valentine responds well to starting role
With the possible exception of rookie Lauri Markkanen, every one of the Chicago Bulls' young players falls into the "jury is out" category. As in, can any of them become useful NBA players on a good team?
But there have been positive signs from Denzel Valentine lately. In six games since becoming a starter, the second-year forward is averaging 11.7 points and his all-around game has blossomed.
During that time frame, Valentine ranks second on the team in both assists (4.3) and rebounds (7.2). He also has connected on better than 50 percent of his 3-point attempts (18-for-35).
In Sunday's loss to Miami, Valentine set career highs with 7 assists and 13 rebounds, while hitting 4 of 6 shots from 3-point range.
"I love how he rebounded the ball," coach Fred Hoiberg said Monday. "When he does rebound, he's a guy that's able to push the ball down the floor for us. He's making, for the most part, simple plays. He's taking less bad shots. We have the confidence in him that he can raise up and shoot those (3-pointers)."
Valentine's 3-point percentage has risen to .431 on the season, which is best on the team and ranks 29th in the league.
Lopez looks ahead:
Center Robin Lopez talked about the possibility of the Bulls getting forward Nikola Mirotic back in uniform soon.
"Niko's a great shooter; I think he's a good scorer from anywhere on the floor," Lopez said. "He has good basketball instincts.
"I know he gets a little flak for not being a good defender, but there were games last year where we had him on the court down the stretch and he made huge defensive plays for us. He gives us a big boon on both ends of the floor as a basketball player."
The Bulls could get Mirotic, Zach LaVine and David Nwaba, who was in the starting lineup before suffering a sprained right ankle Nov. 4, back relatively soon.
"Wins would be awesome," Lopez said. "It's good having Niko back, a chance for Zach to come back, Dave will be back any day now. It's fantastic."
Slo-mo quarter:
Sunday's first quarter against Miami was the lowest-scoring quarter in Bulls history with a total of 20 points produced. The Bulls led 13-7. It was the third-lowest first quarter in NBA history.
The previous record for lowest-scoring quarter in a Bulls game was 24 points, which happened three times: vs. Miami (6-18) on Nov. 6, 1993; vs. Philadelphia (8-16) on Dec. 1, 2001; and vs. New Jersey (12-12) on Dec. 28, 2004.