The Chicago Bulls traded away their two best players in Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan. DeRozan signed with the Kings in the offseason, in hopes of making the making a deep run into the playoffs than he previously had, and LaVine was traded away to the Kings, midway through the 2024-25 season. The two joined forces at Chicago in 2021 and even though they made the playoffs in the same year, they were immediately bounced out of the first round by the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Bulls had also acquired Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso. And with Coby White on the bench, along with center Nikola Vucevic, the roster looked stacked. However, Lonzo Ball suffered an injury which kept him out for nearly two and a half years, and that cost the Bulls as they had no pure playmaker to rely on. So the next two seasons, the Bulls played decently but they were nowhere close to making a deep playoff run. So after three seasons of experimenting with LaVine and DeRozan as their best players, the Bulls decided to break it up and sent the two away.
Also Read: Josh Giddey Stuns Lakers with a ‘Dagger’, Makes Case for NBA Play of the Year!
Surprisingly the Bulls have been balling since the All-Star break despite having a roster, which on paper, doesn’t look like it amounts to much. Let’s see what has changed for them.
Unlike what we’ve seen from the Bulls for the last two seasons, the team has really started to come together and their chemistry looks rock solid. One of the biggest changes that the Bulls made last off season was acquiring Josh Giddey from the Oklahoma City Thunder. Many fans and analysts wondered about Giddey’s fit with the Bulls since they already had Lonzo Ball and Coby White for the playing making duties. However, the Bulls made it work by making him play the point guard spot and as a result, the Aussie is averaging 7 assists a game which is his career best. He’s also been a decent defender and is also averaging a career high in steals with 1.2 per game.
Another reason to the Bulls’ recent success has been Coby White’s emergence as a scorer for the team. If you watched Bulls basketball, we always knew that White had a ton of upside to his game. However, after LaVine left the team, White is handling the scoring duties and he’s been on a terrific run. In the last 14 games, White is averaging 29.1 points, while shooting 49.1% from the field and 36.2 percent from beyond the arc. Head coach Billy Donovan has given White the green light to score and that has worked wonders for this Bulls team.
For the season, the Bulls are at the bottom half of the league when it comes to their defense, but in the last 10 games the Bulls have climbed up to become a top-10 defense in the league, which has helped tremendously with their winning streak.
The Bulls have a great chance of winning the play-in tournament with the way they have been playing recently. And even though they could be immediately knocked out of the playoffs if they play the Cavs or the Celtics, the Bulls may have found something to build upon with this young core of White, Giddey, and rookie Buzelis.
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