Many believe the NBA season doesn’t really begin until Christmas Day. But try telling that to DeMar DeRozan’s knees after the Bulls’ 109-95 loss to the visiting Cavaliers on Saturday night.
The veteran forward sat at his locker draped in ice after a 40-plus-minute night.
“I don’t even want to get up,” he joked with reporters.
There will be no rest for the weary, however. And DeRozan knows what he and his teammates already have been through this season, starting with a destination training camp in Nashville, Tennessee, only for the bond they built there to be tested by a poor start and the public revelation that two-time All-Star Zach LaVine would be fine with moving elsewhere in a trade.
But just when it felt like rock bottom — a blowout loss in Boston on Nov. 28 that dropped the Bulls to 5-14 — LaVine was sidelined with inflammation in his right foot, and the Bulls took off. They’ve gone 8-4 since, with marked improvements in both their offensive and defensive efficiency. The ball is moving, the scoring is balanced, and the defense is more like it was last season, when the Bulls finished fifth.
“We’ve been resilient,” DeRozan said. “The first part of the season, there was a lot of emotion, a lot of frustration. We dug ourselves out of that hole and found the positivity to lean on — kind of thrust ourselves toward the right direction.”
That’s where DeRozan wants things to pick up when the Bulls (13-18) reconvene to host the Hawks on Tuesday night after a two-day holiday break.
“We have to continue to do that, understanding that the last few weeks we’ve been playing together, playing amazing, [that the] positivity, energy, everything has been there,” he said. “[We need to] just come back and feed from that — understand that we can go into the new year with a whole different type of outlook for this team.”
The outlook might not be the only thing changing. While the trade market for LaVine has been quiet so far, it could pick up after Jan. 15, when the remaining NBA players who signed contract extensions last summer become eligible to be traded. There’s a scenario in which LaVine reacclimates back into the mix and the front office waits until the offseason to try to move him. But if both sides get their way, LaVine will be moved sooner.
What he can do until the right deal comes along is ball out on both ends. Offense has never been an issue for him, but this isn’t the same offense he left a few weeks ago. The days of scoring in isolation seem to be over, except in the final minutes of close games, with DeRozan a central figure in those situations. On defense, if LaVine can again contribute like he did last season, he’ll only improve his standing with potential suitors.
Coach Billy Donovan sees no reason why he won’t do that.
“I think it’s really hard to have a top-five defense and play five against four,” Donovan said, referring to what LaVine accomplished last season. “He’s always been a good defender on the ball. I think he takes personal pride in guarding the ball and doing those things. He’s gotten better with his help. He’s gotten better off the ball. We need him to do what he does well, and if he can do that, it only makes us better and helps us.”
