‘Peace of mind, we have yet to see them play.’ ‘Don’t rush it, it’s just preseason.’ “They are undefeated, but the calendar is helping them.” All you want, but the reality is that the Chicago Bulls are 4-0, something that hasn’t happened in the Illinois franchise since the 1996-97 season; yes, since the Michael Jordan era.
From here we never assured that Chicago was going to start the campaign like that, but we did gather weapons to achieve it. Last night, in Toronto, they took the victory again despite the final reaction of the Raptors, who after lifting a 20-point deficit, had a final triple to tie that Fred VanVleet missed. He did not enter and the Bulls remain as the only undefeated team in the Eastern Conference, which is no small feat.
The movements made in summer are working. Lonzo Ball had five 3s for 15 points and five assists. Alex Caruso had eight points and had four steals from the bench. DeMar DeRozan was the leading scorer with 26 points (11 in the fourth quarter). The veteran guard is clear that he chose the Bulls convinced that they could do really well.
“One of the reasons I decided to come to Chicago was that everyone was eager to be successful, to win. Everyone had that chip in their head, from the city to the organization and also the players I spoke to. That was everyone’s mentality, now it’s about winning on the floor. We are not in a development stage, we want to win now, “he says.
The calendar puts them to the test
That’s how it is. The Bulls have played so far against Detroit (twice), New Orleans and Toronto, all teams that raise doubts about their performance at the start of the season. The level of demand will rise significantly in the coming dates. The next six games will be against the New York Knicks, Utah Jazz, Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers (twice) and Brooklyn Nets. It will undoubtedly be an ideal occasion to gauge what Chicago can become this season.
“We have a long way to go. We have much more to clean up, to learn. It’s a long season, man. Starting 4-0 is great, but we have a lot more basketball ahead of us. We cannot wear this record as a kind of badge of honor; we have to understand that the next game will be even more difficult, “says DeRozan.
The former Raptors player is right. The Illinois men have 78 games of regular season; as true as that, however, it is that they had never been in a positive balance over the course of a season since March 2017 and that LaVine had never been part of a four-game winning streak. Something change.
Toronto, always in the fight
They have won only one of their first four games, but the Raptors have not given their arm to twist easily for that. Last night they took pride to be about to raise a meeting that seemed impossible. OG Anunoby went to 22 points, Gary Trent Jr. had 18 and Fred VanVleet had a double-double of 15 points and 17 assists to set his career best in basket passes. They were not happy, obviously, but they should go to more while they wait for the return of Pascal Siakam, which should take place at the end of November.
(Photograph by Patrick McDermott / Getty Images)