DeMar was the problem and the Bulls will win more games this year without him.

[ghostinthepost1]

Freed from his slow paced, ISO heavy, mid range centric playstyle the Bulls are currently 5th in points, 1st in FGA, 5th in 3PM, and 3rd in 3PA per game during the preseason.

I am so unbelievably excited to not have to watch him slowly walk the ball up the court, throw the ball meaninglessly around the perimeter, only for the possession to end with a DeMar ISO and contested midrange shot.

The only time we really had success with him was when Lonzo was taking the ball out of his hands and forcing the team to play at a much higher pace. Once he got hurt, we turned the keys over to DeMar and spent 2.5 years in mediocrity.

Redistributing DeMar's shots to guys who shoot 3s/play fast like Zach, Coby, Ayo and adding Giddy/Lonzo to push the pace more and get everyone easy shots will result in a better record than last year.

[drosestruts]

I think this is an over simplification of the issues we faced as a team over the last three years and I refuse to turn DeMar into some scapegoat for the franchises shortcomings.

Injuries and bad roster construction played a far bigger role in our lack of success.

DeMar's impact on our players and franchise will be greater than the wins/losses we achieved in his 3 years here.

[DuckIII]

I think this is an over simplification of the issues we faced as a team over the last three years and I refuse to turn DeMar into some scapegoat for the franchises shortcomings.

Injuries and bad roster construction played a far bigger role in our lack of success.

DeMar's impact on our players and franchise will be greater than the wins/losses we achieved in his 3 years here.

Agreed. Having no point guards, no power forwards, no rim protecting centers, and some of the worst 3 pt shooting in the NBA for 2.5 years was the issue. We just lived through some of the most grossly incompetent roster construction strategies you will ever see in your life.

[kodo]

We were very successful with healthy Lavine + Demar post-ASG in 2022-23. We were winning at a 50 win pace. The success of the team post ASG was what influenced AK to the "run it back again" strategy for 2024.

But with Lavine out, the shots were mostly Demar then Vuc (Coby was 3rd on FGA) and they need a half court setting. I think Demar was just doing his best to provide points. Ask a 34 year old to be your top scorer and it's going to have to be at a slower pace.

And let's see how the team reacts to real games, they will slow it down IMO. We'll see how far.

[CBS7]

DeMar was the problem!

Oh yeah and Vucevic and his 29% from 3 and no defense

Oh and also Lavine being hurt and not that good

And our lack of a single PF on the roster

Oh and I almost forgot the rest of the roster just not being that good

We may be more fun to watch this year but we won't be good lol

[FriedRise]

Having no competent PG on the roster for YEARS in a row was the problem. We had to play DeMar ball because that was the only way this team could be competitive. The slow pace and the reliance on midrange just came with it because that happens to be DeMar's game. But I will say though that I wish San Antonio DeMar would make more of an appearance than Toronto DeMar.

You can't turn somebody who's not a point guard into one overnight during the season and expect success, and we have so many combo guards/forwards who are just not a facilitator. The reason Pat Bev was so effective was because he was a point guard on a roster devoid of it. Coby White last year salvaged the season and made it fun to watch because he started facilitating, but he too isn't a natural point guard in a way that Josh Giddey is (he's a shooter/scorer first).

I wanna keep an eye on Sacramento this year and see how adding DeMar affects them. They had a 99.4 pace last year, and during this preseason, that number has actually gone up to 102.13 (though ranked lower overall - everyone just moves a lot faster during preseason).

[League Circles]

Demar is one of my favorite Bulls ever, but I think there MIGHT be a fair amount of truth to this. Bottom line, he was a joy to watch, but he was def below average on defense, and didn't draw double teams to create easy opportunities for others, and yet barely scored above league average efficiency.

A successful team where Demar has the usage that he did would probably need 4 high levels defenders "around" him, just to start. He definitely didn't mesh with what Billy wanted to do. Soooo relieved we let him walk. It hurt, but I'm so over it already.

A fun fact about the NBA, IMO, is that "#1 options" often shouldn't be, and are often hurting their teams more than helping them. There are probably only 5-10 guys in the league at any given time that help their team by having really high usage and shot attempts and ball control. IMO it's why often the surprise decent teams are the ones with no one approaching the status of an established #1 option. (Think the 03-07 Bulls for example).

[MrSparkle]

I could think of 3 big problems not named Demar.

But I readily admit that you need to equip your team correctly to win games with him. And playing him with Vuc, Zach, Pat and mediocre 3P shooters was hard to watch.

I don’t really understand why Sacramento went for him. I don’t think that’ll work well for them.

[HomoSapien]

If you removed DeMar from last year's roster Alexandre Sarr would be starting for us this year.

[sco]

Yeah, there is truth to the fact that Demar played with little pace and didn't defend, but ranking the team's underperformance issues CBS7 cited above, he wouldn't be the biggest issue, by a long shot.

His leadership and clutch play IMO, more than offset his weaknesses. I miss him.

Vuc is (still) a far bigger problem...which we could materially mitigate just by bringing off the bench.

[dougthonus]

DeMar was a floor raiser, so in terms of reaching greater heights, he may have been a problem eventually. However, we didn't have the rest of the roster set up (and still don't) for that problem to manifest in any meaningful way.

[samwana]

DeMar was the problem!

Oh yeah and Vucevic and his 29% from 3 and no defense

Oh and also Lavine being hurt and not that good

And our lack of a single PF on the roster

Oh and I almost forgot the rest of the roster just not being that good

We may be more fun to watch this year but we won't be good lol

Demar was not the problem, the problem was the coach who let him do whatever he wanted.
And let Vuc camp at the three point line.

We'll be way more fun this year if BD doesn't let some other player do whatever he likes.

[MrSparkle]

Hard to prove or quantify it, but IMO playing with better vet stars makes young players become better than they would've been. Coby/Ayo particularly seemed to gel well with Demar. They had a camaraderie and work ethic; turned their struggles around.

End of the day, this team lost direction because of knee injuries. Healthy Lonzo/Zach with Demar/Caruso could've been a respectable team. Vuc's decline, shooting struggles and rim protection were nails in the coffin. Demar brought a high level of game to Chicago. Back in summer 2021, I don't think anyone expected him to be the best Bull in 2024, at 35yo. That was a team with upside (Coby, Pat, Lonzo, Zach). Things went horribly wrong.

[Red8911]

Many don’t like to admit it or watch many games but Demar did actually change his game last year . After the poor start and Zach injury Bulls started playing different, more fast paced, more passing and 3pt shooting, same as how they are playing now.Yes Demar did it too, and saved his isos for the end of games only.

Now if they are better without him depends on the new guys who are now responsible with the ball late in games. Demar finished a bunch of games, can they do the same ? Can they make big shot after big shot consistently all season long ? We ll see.

[Red8911]

I could think of 3 big problems not named Demar.

But I readily admit that you need to equip your team correctly to win games with him. And playing him with Vuc, Zach, Pat and mediocre 3P shooters was hard to watch.

I don’t really understand why Sacramento went for him. I don’t think that’ll work well for them.

I think Demar will at least help them make the playoffs which is probably their goal. But yeah I don’t think they’ll do anything more with him.

Sacramento wanted someone/anyone to help give them a boost after failing last year. They wanted Zach too. They ended up with Demar at a cheaper price. It’s not a bad move for them and not the greatest either.

[nomorezorro]

i think some people are significantly overestimating the impact "playing with pace" will have on this team's win-loss record

[nomorezorro]

(watching the one guy on a basketball team who could reliably create an efficient shot) this right here is your problem. you should be just sprinting back and forth instead

[nomorezorro]

i guess my avatar doesn't make me look like a super impartial observer on this matter huh. gonna have to change that eventually

[ShouldaPaidBG]

This might be true.

We'll never know this team's potential until Vuc is gone.

[Indomitable]

Freed from his slow paced, ISO heavy, mid range centric playstyle the Bulls are currently 5th in points, 1st in FGA, 5th in 3PM, and 3rd in 3PA per game during the preseason.

I am so unbelievably excited to not have to watch him slowly walk the ball up the court, throw the ball meaninglessly around the perimeter, only for the possession to end with a DeMar ISO and contested midrange shot.

The only time we really had success with him was when Lonzo was taking the ball out of his hands and forcing the team to play at a much higher pace. Once he got hurt, we turned the keys over to DeMar and spent 2.5 years in mediocrity.

Redistributing DeMar's shots to guys who shoot 3s/play fast like Zach, Coby, Ayo and adding Giddy/Lonzo to push the pace more and get everyone easy shots will result in a better record than last year.

The team was a mess and Demar style did not really mesh. This will continue with Demar but that is the Kings issue.

I think Demar works his butt off but he is not Kobe/Jordan. They are only guys who won like he plays.