Bulls' DeRozan makes Game 2 guarantee after rough shooting in Game 1
MILWAUKEE - DeMar DeRozan made a guarantee following the Bulls' Game 1 loss in Milwaukee.
He didn't promise to win Game 2 or anything. This involved the team-wide lousy shooting night at Fiserv Forum.
"No way in (heck) I shoot 6-for-25 again," DeRozan said. "Nothing they doing defensively. Most of the shots I took were wide open ... wide open. I'll live with them again."
The numbers on the stat sheet were alarming. Besides DeRozan's off-night, Nikola Vucevic hit 9 of 27 attempts, Zach LaVine went 6 for 19. Both LaVine and Vucevic were 2-for-10 from 3-point range as the Bulls shot 18.9% from distance as a team.
It's hard to believe the Bulls stayed in the game with those percentages, but this also felt like a missed opportunity to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
"I think we took good shots," LaVine said. "We get those shots again, I think we'll make a lot more of them."
As is his nature, DeRozan tried to draw fouls as much as he could. And even though the Bulls made more free throws than the Bucks, DeRozan went 6-for-6 from the line and was left looking for a whistle several times.
"I don't know what the (heck) is going on," DeRozan said of the Bulls' 32.3% shooting. "Probably a week off. It just wasn't me. All of us, we've just got to get that feel.
"It's fine. Every shot I took felt good. I guarantee me, Zach or Vuc ain't going to miss that many shots again. We've just got to keep what we did defensively up and try to take that to another level."
Caruso on watch:
Even with 12 days off between games, Bulls coach Billy Donovan said he plans to be cautious with Alex Caruso's minutes in this playoff series.
Caruso sat out the last three games of the regular season to rest a back injury, before returning in Sunday's Game 1. He played 33 minutes and scored 7 points in the loss.
"I do think with Alex, (minutes) are going to be somewhat important," Donovan said before the game. "I think if you start pushing him with his back, I don't think that will be really wise. I'm going to see how he's feeling in the game. He kind of throws his body out there and plays incredibly hard and physical, so we'll have to see how he responds.
"But there has been some talk about managing him and his minutes. I think once you start getting up in the 30s, that would probably be something that wouldn't be good for a period of time."
Bull horns:
With two days between Games 1 and 2, the Bulls will return to Chicago and practice at the Advocate Center. ... Veteran Bucks guard George Hill was out Sunday with an abdominal strain. ...
The Bulls went 10 deep in Game 1, though Tristan Thompson (7 minutes), Ayo Dosunmu (9) and Derrick Jones Jr. (10) logged limited minutes. Coby White (23) and Javonte Green (17) played the most off the bench, while DeRozan led the team with 43 minutes.
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