Talk about déjà vu.
The Chicago Bulls, led by former USC Trojan superstar swingman DeMar DeRozan, were aiming for the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference for the second year in a row, but lost to the Miami Heat in the second play-in game of the year. This loss was even more difficult because the Bulls were playing a Heat team without two starters, point guard Terry Rozier and All-NBA small forward Jimmy Butler. Yes, Chicago was missing key players in Zach LaVine and Patrick Williams, but neither was as essential to the club's culture as Butler is to Miami.
In a close 112-91 road game on Friday night, DeRozan went 8-of-16 from the floor (3-of-6 from the 3-point line) and 3-of-4 on charity shots. He scored 22 points, a career best for the Bulls. stripe. The six-time All-Star had four assists, three rebounds, one steal, and one block while posting a plus-minus of 20 points…which may not sound bad, but check out the box score. , the starter had an even worse plus-minus until you realized three other Bulls players were scoring.
After the fact, DeRozan spoke to reporters about his impending unrestricted free agency (he's eligible to sign an extension with Chicago until July, when the 2024-25 season officially begins).
“The next time I play a game will be my 16th season. You personally realize the window is closing,” DeRozan said. “I'm not going to play for 25 years. It's still the same, but I just want to win.”
He's certainly not going to win much in Chicago. This team is surprisingly inflexible when it comes to team building. President Arturas Karnisovas has not made a trade involving a player since August 2021 (he traded for the No. 35 pick in last summer's draft, then selected raw forward Julian Phillips from Tennessee). . Chicago seems to continue to be plagued by injuries year after year, doesn't shoot or defend as many 3-pointers as other teams in the league, and has a woefully inconsistent defense. The team has gone 125-121 in his last three seasons, and the actual playoffs have officially been made only once during that span.
It's not DeRozan's fault.
Despite making his second consecutive appearance in his first season as a Bull, and missing out on All-Star selection this year, DeRozan put up a typically impressive stat sheet in his 34th season. The 34-year-old played in 79 games and averaged a league-high 37.9 minutes per game, averaging 24 points, a .480/.333/.853 shooting split, 5.3 assists, 4.3 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 0.6 rebounds. . Although he was never a strong defender or long-range sniper, he was one of the most capable mid-range shooters in the game, an excellent passer, a solid rebounder, and was able to draw contact and create He still has a knack for getting fouls called. He is also very durable, especially considering his age. He deserves to contend for a title after a mostly mediocre few post-Toronto Raptors years.
The Bulls may keep his services next season and pull up the brink track to stay in the No. 9 seed, but the 2009 Pac-10 Tournament MVP may want to think with his heart and not his wallet this time around. do not have.
NBA details: Former Trojan Kobe Johnson is considered a top transfer candidate.