After some early issues, Bulls blow out Detroit
The Bulls won't have any true practice days for roughly the next month, so working on some defensive tweaks during a game was Tuesday's agenda.
While the Bulls allowed points on Detroit's first five possessions, coach Billy Donovan used a timeout and made an early substitution. Eventually, they figured things out and delivered a 133-87 stomping of the Pistons.
This was a rescheduled game from Dec. 14, when the Bulls had 12 players in health and safety protocols. The Pistons were playing the second leg of back-to-back games, while the Bulls (27-11) started a run of four games in five nights.
"Second half we came out and played how we should have started the game," DeMar DeRozan said. "We came out slow, let them kind of jump on us. I think we were more ourself team-wise in the second half."
Ever since he came back from protocols last week, Donovan has been talking about how the Bulls have been slipping on defense. He felt it was a natural occurrence when a team goes through a nine-game win streak like the Bulls did, but having players move in and out of the lineup didn't help either.
On the second possession of the game, Nikola Vucevic picked up Saddiq Bey at the 3-point line and nobody recognized that Vucevic's man, Isaiah Stewart, ran unguarded beneath the basket. When the timeout didn't help the cause, Donovan decided to add another guard and sent in rookie Ayo Dosunmu for Derrick Jones Jr.
"Derrick, he is an unbelievable defender and rebounder and shot-blocker," Donovan said. "And I just felt like there were some opportunities for him to get that into the game and he just didn't get into the game early.
"I just felt we could put Lonzo (Ball) on Saddiq Bey and then we could put Ayo on (Cade) Cunningham. I just felt like we needed a jolt of energy. Ayo's always been a really good motor guy."
Dosunmu (10 points) delivered a good dose of what the Bulls needed. He ended up playing 14 consecutive minutes after checking in early.
"I don't think I was gassed, because you've got timeouts, you've got fouls," Dosunmu said. "All of that stuff I tried to get my breath. Then I tried to use it as a mental thing, not really think about it, just going out there having fun playing. It goes by fast."
Of course, there was some symbolism to Dosunmu guarding Cunningham. The Pistons guard was the No. 1 pick in the draft, while Dosunmu went No. 38.
"Of course, me being drafted in the second round, every night I have to play with a chip on my shoulder just to prove where I thought I should have belonged," the former Illini star said. "That's all in the past. I try to go out there and compete on the defensive end."
DeRozan, who has 1 career triple-double, finished with 20 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists. It was his highest rebounding game since he grabbed 12 in a playoff game for the Spurs on April 13, 2019.
Vucevic got off to a slow start, hitting his first shot, then missing his next six. But the Bulls big man settled in, finishing with a team-high 22 points and 8 rebounds, while hitting 10 of 18 shots. The Bulls looked for Vucevic in the post a little more than usual, since he had a height advantage on Trey Lyles and Luka Garza.
Alfonzo McKinnie and Matt Thomas, two guys whose contracts became guaranteed for the rest of the season on Monday, added 10 points off the bench.
The Bulls will host Brooklyn on Wednesday night for an unusual 9 p.m. tipoff. The Bulls lead the Nets by 2½ games for the lead in the Eastern Conference standings. Golden State visits the United Center on Friday, followed by road games in Boston on Saturday and Memphis on Monday.
With the schedule getting busy, a blowout was an ideal scenario for the Bulls. All of the starters logged less than 30 minutes, with Zach LaVine the leader with 29.
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