Official: DeRozan! Player of the Week p69

[kodo]

Has DeRozan ever been the #2 on a team? Seems like he's always been asked to be the #1 option on teams, but those teams never went far. Now that he can be the #2 or even #3 option (when Vuc is on), he's proven how good he can be. AKME did an amazing job finding an undervalued asset. He got DeMar and Vuc very cheaply given their stats. If Vuc performs like he did last year, look out. The Bulls have a legitimate big 3.

Agreed. AK had a plan and right now it smells good. DDR is in the best position he has been in. Lowry never complimented him as much as Zach in a certain sense and Ball plus Caruso help cover the defensive flaws. I mean no one on this team is perfect plenty of flaws but as a whole. Looking to be ok. We need a lil something to be a true contender still (hopes of pat making a leap are crushed) but not too far off. Lots of balance and honestly some hustle guys and maybe 1b/2a players all having the most success they have ever had all together. DDR matured and found the right fit. I think DDR and Vuc are priced right, in a market that overpays ( we can list how many are from Felicio to wall). Much like CP3 sometimes it is the right fit. Feels like smart GM’ing which is foreign in these parts for a long time.

I thought Derozan was a good deal anytime you can trade a 1st rounder for an all-star level player is a win, but I thought Vuc was expensive. I don't regret the move but IIRC the media said there was a bidding war for Vuc at the deadline and the Bulls had to bump up their package to beat out Boston.

But you have to pay to play. This entire system doesn't work very well with defense first, non-scoring PGs without someone like Vuc making plays and shooting in the half court setting. Lonzo is great in transition, but he's pretty much a kickout shooter once we enter half court. Shooters are hugely valuable of course but we don't have a traditional PG in the half court.

Also entirely possible there's no Derozan without Vuc, DDR said over the summer Vuc was the one who he mainly talked to about coming to Chicago.

[Axl Rose]

You may have to give Rob Pelinka executive of the year for helping other teams out

He certainly helped us out tremendously with Caruso and DeRozan.

[BullChit]

You may have to give Rob Pelinka executive of the year for helping other teams out

He certainly helped us out tremendously with Caruso and DeRozan.

AK can give him a shout out during his acceptance speech.

Sent from my SM-G986B using Tapatalk

[Michael Jackson]

Has DeRozan ever been the #2 on a team? Seems like he's always been asked to be the #1 option on teams, but those teams never went far. Now that he can be the #2 or even #3 option (when Vuc is on), he's proven how good he can be. AKME did an amazing job finding an undervalued asset. He got DeMar and Vuc very cheaply given their stats. If Vuc performs like he did last year, look out. The Bulls have a legitimate big 3.

Agreed. AK had a plan and right now it smells good. DDR is in the best position he has been in. Lowry never complimented him as much as Zach in a certain sense and Ball plus Caruso help cover the defensive flaws. I mean no one on this team is perfect plenty of flaws but as a whole. Looking to be ok. We need a lil something to be a true contender still (hopes of pat making a leap are crushed) but not too far off. Lots of balance and honestly some hustle guys and maybe 1b/2a players all having the most success they have ever had all together. DDR matured and found the right fit. I think DDR and Vuc are priced right, in a market that overpays ( we can list how many are from Felicio to wall). Much like CP3 sometimes it is the right fit. Feels like smart GM’ing which is foreign in these parts for a long time.

I thought Derozan was a good deal anytime you can trade a 1st rounder for an all-star level player is a win, but I thought Vuc was expensive. I don't regret the move but IIRC the media said there was a bidding war for Vuc at the deadline and the Bulls had to bump up their package to beat out Boston.

But you have to pay to play. This entire system doesn't work very well with defense first, non-scoring PGs without someone like Vuc making plays and shooting in the half court setting. Lonzo is great in transition, but he's pretty much a kickout shooter once we enter half court. Shooters are hugely valuable of course but we don't have a traditional PG in the half court.

Also entirely possible there's no Derozan without Vuc, DDR said over the summer Vuc was the one who he mainly talked to about coming to Chicago.

I think the cost on Vuc was more about perception change than it was the actual player if that makes sense. Eversley might have gotten DDR here without Vuc, but the sell is way easier to have a guy you like who is actually good. A 32 year old can give an eff about future draft picks at all honestly. You at that stage want to play with the best situation and WCJ and a rookie Wagner are not more appealing. Totally agree it was an overpay but absolutely needed to facilitate a image too, like this FO trades for good players instead of busting on draft picks that they horde.

[madvillian]

I have a confession: I consider myself a pretty big NBA fan and I figured I knew how Derozen liked to play and what he was capable of -- I was completely wrong. He's a totally different player than I expected and is capable of much more.

[jsleesl28]

I think Demar might be the most fundamentally sound player the bulls had in a while.

he doesnt waste any of his moves. It seems like everything he does has a purpose.

I also kinda get why some people say Demar gets shut down in the playoffs.

That warrior defense with either draymond or iggy will cause demar some issues. If you can get into Demar's space and prevent him to get to his spots in the mid range, Demar will struggle.

[gardenofsound]

I think Demar might be the most fundamentally sound player the bulls had in a while.

he doesnt waste any of his moves. It seems like everything he does has a purpose.

I also kinda get why some people say Demar gets shut down in the playoffs.

That warrior defense with either draymond or iggy will cause demar some issues. If you can get into Demar's space and prevent him to get to his spots in the mid range, Demar will struggle.

Thankfully he has outlets to LaVine and Vucevic if that happens, or Ball if he's open.

That's what makes this fit so great. He might be a flawed option 1A, but 1B is right behind and can light it up on all three levels (and is an active cutter who can play on or off ball).

[fleet]

I think Demar might be the most fundamentally sound player the bulls had in a while.

he doesnt waste any of his moves. It seems like everything he does has a purpose.

As KG was saying, only 2-3 dribbles then the ball goes up or it is passed. Not a ball stopper.

[Michael Jackson]

I have a confession: I consider myself a pretty big NBA fan and I figured I knew how Derozen liked to play and what he was capable of -- I was completely wrong. He's a totally different player than I expected and is capable of much more.

Well no one watched a ton of Toronto basketball I bet outside of Toronto. The Spurs since they traded Kawhi has not been must watch TV, they barely had people excited to watch them when they were winning. This guy needed a bigger stage to get noticed, apparently even by the fans of the team that signed him.

[ATRAIN53]

He deferred top Zach last night in some big clutch moments IMO.

and Zach was stuck in 3 point shot mode last night unfortunately.

But Demar was getting to the FT stripe.

I don't understand why they didn't send him and Zach at Jurkic a few more times to try and pick up that 6th foul on him.
Jurkic was the only big man on the floor and had his way the rebounds late - esp that game sealing rebound!

You win close game at the FT stripe in the NBA.
Make the refs make calls. They gave up trying to get calls when it mattered and jacked up 3's.

We got burned by a couple of late Logo Lillard shots tho. Lonzo made it a tough night for him but the guy hit them when it mattered.

[GoBlue72391]

DeMar has been amazing this season, an MVP candidate so far. My only question is if he'll be able to keep up this level of play all season long because he's playing well above expectations.

[SHO'NUFF]

DeMar has been amazing this season, an MVP candidate so far. My only question is if he'll be able to keep up this level of play all season long because he's playing well above expectations.

He’s younger than Steph & KD. He can keep this up for years to come.

[dabig3]

DeMar's game is going to age more beautifully than others. Absent injuries, I don't see why he would regress in a big way. We were already seeing him improve his game last year where he arguably had his best individual season yet. Hopefully this season with the Bulls overtakes that one lol.

So his great play this year isn't some fluke or anything like that and I don't know what mean he should be expected to regress to. He's just seasoned basketball player evolving his game, and it helps that he's right now surrounded by the best talent in his 13 season career.

[kodo]

DeMar has been amazing this season, an MVP candidate so far. My only question is if he'll be able to keep up this level of play all season long because he's playing well above expectations.

Volume will go down once Vuc is back, I assume. He & Zach have had to hoist a lot of shots by necessity.

But efficiency-wise, he's at 59.0% TS now. For all of last season he was at 59.1% TS in San Antonio last year, and the year before he played 68 games at 60.3% TS. He's not doing anything he hasn't before.

He was a damn good player before. There's nothing flukey about his play that's an outlier in Chicago.

[Just_Bullz]

I just hope Coby or the bench can provide some sort of a release valve for DDR.

Yes, he's not a dinosaur in terms of age and his mid-range game will age like fine wine but it's also part of front office's role to manage the workload and extending the longevity of players.

A good supporting cast makes the grinding easier for our starters.

[WindyCityBorn]

I just hope Coby or the bench can provide some sort of a release valve for DDR.

Yes, he's not a dinosaur in terms of age and his mid-range game will age like fine wine but it's also part of front office's role to manage the workload and extending the longevity of players.

A good supporting cast makes the grinding easier for our starters.

I think we’ll be fine with him playing heavy minutes this season at 32 years old. Hopefully we can build some depth so he can play a bit less minutes next season.

[jsleesl28]

so vs the nuggets demar had the ball in his hands in the last 2 minutes.

it will be interesting who has the ball more zach or demar in the last few minutes going forward.

to be honest, i feel like demar is handling the ball is much better in the last few mins, bc i believe demar is a more fundamentally sound dribbler and not as turnover prone as zach. and also zach is better spot up shooter so it all kinda makes sense.

but i sure do feel that zach will want the ball too.

good problem to have, but something we need to monitor in the future.

[kodo]

Puts into perspective how good he's been.

Read on Twitter

(and I forgot how good Jalen was with us, I loved him as a player. Fab 5!)

[RastaBull]

DeMarvelous is so much fun to watch. He epitomizes one style of basketball of many that is just beautiful "art." I think on the offensive end it really is the closest thing out there to what Kawhi epitomized that Raptors season. It's no herky jerky, it's not blazing speed. It's not dramatic/fancy ball skills or passing. It's not bruising.

It's settling back, taking a top defender one-on-one. It's taking high IQ angles to get around to basket for layup or at least a high percentage foul. It's keeping the ball tight and being one step ahead of defender with simple dribbling, and then reacting quick with a well-times hitch or spin here or there.

Watching him is a complete joy ... and it really really makes me want to see him go down to West 4th Street Court (NYC, sorry) so I can hang out on the fence and watch him play some blacktop ball.

[Dieselbound&Down]

Also entirely possible there's no Derozan without Vuc, DDR said over the summer Vuc was the one who he mainly talked to about coming to Chicago.

I did not see that before. If true, I find that very interesting he would talk to Vuc. But it is the savvy call, to another experienced, high level player who came into this franchise from elsewhere within the last couple months before DDR had to sign.