Can winning version of Bulls stick around all season?
The Bulls finished their six-game homestand with a 4-2 record after a 105-92 victory over Philadelphia on Saturday.
The Bulls are now 10-5 since Nov. 30, which also happens to be the day Zach LaVine left the lineup with a foot injury. The Bulls were 5-14 before that date.
The season isn't yet halfway over, but it's OK to wonder if this successful version of the Bulls can stick around permanently.
“Is it sustainable? Yes, but we have to put the work in,” coach Billy Donovan said after the game. “We can't think that, 'Oh, OK we've got it figured out.' We have to put the work in to do that, to get down the floor, to flatten the floor, out, to get the ball moving.”
The Bulls excelled without LaVine and survived the last three games without center Nikola Vucevic, who is out with an adductor injury.
Andre Drummond finished with 15 points and 23 rebounds, getting a big ovation when he checked out with about a minute remaining. In the three games as a starter, Drummond has averaged 21 rebounds and 15.3 points.
According to Bulls PR, Drummond became the first player in the NBA this season to have 10-plus rebounds in the first half for three straight games.
The biggest challenge may arrive when or if LaVine is healthy again and returns to the lineup. The Bulls looked awful in late November, when talk of a potential LaVine trade first surfaced. Donovan said it's “very possible” LaVine returns to practice next week. Can he fit in with Donovan's preferred style of play, with emphasizes pushing the pace and moving the ball?
“I think we have to play that way to be effective, where we become maybe a little bit more difficult to guard as a team,” Donovan said. “There are nights, the Denver game, the Cleveland game, we were a step slow. We've got to be able to push through those moments. I think the guys understand what we have to do, but we have to work for one another.”
This was one of those friendly schedule nights for the Bulls. The Sixers (22-10) were not only missing reigning MVP Joe Embiid, who missed his fourth game with an ankle sprain, they also were on the second led of back-to-back games, after playing in Houston on Friday.
Philadelphia shot just 36.7% in the first half, but the Bulls stayed locked in a close game until finishing the second quarter with an 11-2 run.
The Bulls pulled away whenever they stopped turning the ball over. For most of the game, the Sixers, who lead the NBA in steals, played sort of a sagging man defense, which worked almost like a zone. They invited Bulls ballhandler to drive, then clamped down with extra defenders and were able to strip the ball or deflect passes.
All five Bulls starters finished in double figures, led by DeMar DeRozan with 24. Coby White snapped out of a brief shooting slump to score 20 points, Alex Caruso had 14 and Patrick Williams 13.
The Bulls have also survived when playing a small lineup with 6-5 Terry Taylor as the backup center. Taylor spent some time guarding 7-foot Mo Bamba in this game.
“I've actually played it my whole life, so I'm kind of used to it,” Taylor said. “This isn't my first time going against Mo Bamba. I've been used to it my whole life. I accept the challenge. I don't back away from anybody.”
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