Preseason opener exceeds Bulls' expectations for fast pace
According to Bobby Portis, a number has been attached to how quickly coach Fred Hoiberg wants the Bulls to play.
"I think he said he wants us to have 100 possessions per game," Portis said after the Bulls beat New Orleans 128-116 in their preseason opener Sunday. "I think we're a high-tempo team, push the ball. No matter if they score the ball or not, coach wants us to get it out and get it up early; take early shots."
According to nba.com, the Bulls surpassed their goal with ease, producing 115 possessions Sunday. They met the criteria last season, too, finishing 10th in the league in pace with 100.3 possessions per contest.
"We want to play fast," Hoiberg said Monday at the Advocate Center. "That's what we've talked a lot about, and I thought our guys bought into that. I think they've done a good job thus far in camp of trying to get the ball on a make up quickly and not hang heads and move on to the next possession."
Last season, New Orleans played at the league's fastest pace with 102.7 possessions per game.
Guards work together:
Between the first and second quarters of Sunday's preseason game at the United Center, Kris Dunn and Zach LaVine were featured in a video board segment called "Dad Jokes," where the two players see who can laugh least while Dunn read some corny jokes to LaVine.
When the game resumed, Dunn and LaVine seemed to have a nice chemistry on the court as well. Even though they're heading into their third season as teammates, in Minnesota and Chicago, the backcourt partners are still getting used to each other.
They spent a little bit of time together this summer to try to build a little chemistry. If the Bulls' rebuilding plan works as designed, they could be manning the same backcourt for several years.
"We worked out once in L.A. I got out there and we played some competitive 2-on-2, 3-on-3," Dunn said. "I already know what his game is like. It felt good this summer to be around each other and work hard and see what we improved on and what we could do to try to be one of the best backcourts we can be.
"Zach is probably one of the best scorers we have. And I feel I can give him the ball whenever he needs it. On the other side, I can teach him some of my defensive tricks. And he can teach me some of his offensive tricks. We joke about that all the time. It just feels good to have him back out there healthy."
So in a competitive 2-on-2 game, who's on the other team?
"I don't know. It was some people down there," Dunn said with a laugh. "I don't ask questions, 'Let's hoop.' "
Bulls get running practice:
Coach Fred Hoiberg thinks he has a couple point guards who can push the pace in Kris Dunn and Cameron Payne. But the team can only play at a fast pace if everybody runs.
"That's the thing we need to get better at," Hoiberg said. "We've been doing a lot of running. We've had very demanding practices. Every time we turn the ball over we're running sprints. We had 30 of them the first day.
"So we're running, trying to be a team that's as good as conditioned as any team in the NBA. And right now I like the commitment to it, but there's always room to grow."