Forward DeMar DeRozan was the driving force behind the Bulls’ 3-1 West Coast road trip and was rewarded for his efforts Monday.
After averaging 29.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 6.3 assists against the Kings, Jazz, Warriors and Clippers, DeRozan was named player of the week in the Eastern Conference.
‘‘His [midrange] game is as good as anyone in the world,’’ Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said before his team’s game against the Bulls. ‘‘He’s playing at a high level. He’s a vet. The things you heard about him in Toronto or San Antonio being a pro, that’s what you want and that’s what Chicago has.’’
The last four seasons of Kidd’s playing career were the first four of DeRozan’s, but Kidd said DeRozan is a long way from the old men’s club. His play supports that.
The Bulls’ injuries have contributed to DeRozan averaging the most minutes of his career this season. But the veteran approach Kidd talked about DeRozan having since his early years is the reason he’s doing it successfully.
Bulls coach Billy Donovan often talks about the extra time DeRozan puts into maintaining his body. It’s why he has been able to average 37.9 minutes this season. On the four-game road trip, he averaged 40 minutes.
It was DeRozan’s 15th career player-of-the-week award and his fourth with the Bulls, which ties him with Ben Gordon and Jimmy Butler for the fourth-most in franchise history. Michael Jordan leads the way with 23.
On the Mavericks’ side Monday was Western Conference player of the week Luka Doncic, who nearly averaged a 40-point triple-double during that time period.
‘‘He has a unique ability not only to get himself involved, but he can really make the game easy for everyone else,’’ Donovan said of Doncic. ‘‘Whether it’s generating catch-and-shoot threes for guys on the perimeter or finding their bigs on rolls for lobs, he obviously does a lot.’’
Urgency
After Monday, the Bulls had 17 games left on their schedule. Despite what Donovan deemed a successful road trip, he said the players aren’t satisfied.
‘‘You have these different pockets of the season that present different challenges,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘Going on the road for four games against good-quality opponents, I thought our guys had the right approach going from game to game.’’
The Bulls have a strong hold on ninth place in the Eastern Conference, which would earn them a spot in the play-in tournament for the second consecutive season.
‘‘I do feel there’s a drive inside the team,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘The communication is really good. They’re trying to rely and lean on each other.’’
Changing times
Kidd, who was enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018, is acknowledged as one of the greatest point guards the NBA has seen. His 12,091 career assists are second behind John Stockton on the all-time list.
The evolution of the point-guard position — with players moving away from being solely facilitators and into more positionless roles — is a result of the three-point line.
Players such as Stockton and Magic Johnson weren’t going to shoot threes. Certain coaches, Kidd said, weren’t going to let anybody shoot threes. Today, all 10 players on the court at any given time are capable of shooting threes, Kidd said, something he thinks is leading to what one day will be a completely positionless style of play.
‘‘Eventually, there will be no positions,’’ Kidd said. ‘‘It will just be your best five out there. They’re all going to be able to play each position. It becomes a hunt for the weak link on the defensive end. That’s what the game has turned into.’’
