It’s uncommon for the Chicago Bulls to get the possibility to go huge — however Monday evening’s victory over the San Antonio Spurs confirmed how enjoyable it may be to play the bully across the rim.
Starting heart Nikola Vučević splashed a pair of 3-pointers whereas scoring a team-high 22 factors. Backup Andre Drummond crushed the rim with a collection of dunks on his option to 21 factors. The pair additionally mixed for 27 rebounds, 4 steals and three blocked pictures.
And for 4 quarters, the Bulls dominated across the rim, outscoring the Spurs 74-58 within the paint — 30 of which got here from Vučević and Drummond — within the 128-104 win on the United Center.
Entering Tuesday evening’s street sport in opposition to the Memphis Grizzlies, Drummond and Vučević each had discovered success within the earlier two video games because the Bulls used bigger lineups. But coach Billy Donovan isn’t satisfied they will constantly follow Drummond on the second unit as he assessments the group’s skill to play small.
“I don’t have a problem at all using Andre,” Donovan stated. “I think we have to use a whole roster and all of our guys when it’s called for. … We need to see a little bit of those guys playing small against bigger teams. A lot of it’s going to come down to, are we better off switching or are we better off being in coverage with our center?”
Drummond and Vučević are markedly several types of facilities — Drummond a bullish enforcer across the rim, Vučević a savvy pick-and-pop shooter who makes use of velocity over measurement. During their careers, they’ve been well-accustomed to one another’s sport.
“It was always tough to play against him,” Vučević stated. “He’s such a dominant player, especially when he was in Detroit, on the glass especially. He’s a guy I respect a lot, a guy I’ve played against a lot in my career.”
Drummond has performed with different All-Star facilities up to now — most notably six-time All-Star Joel Embiid with the Philadelphia 76ers final season.
While Vučević is a special sort of huge man than Embiid, Drummond highlighted Vučević’s capturing and mobility as challenges for an opposing heart.
“Vooch is his own beast in his own way,” Drummond stated. “It’s very fun to play with him.”
The variations between Drummond and Vučević supply a bonus to the Bulls when enjoying in opposition to bulkier groups such because the Spurs.
While the Bulls offense can assault by means of the identical pick-and-roll situations, the 2 facilities take completely different approaches — Drummond homing in on the restricted arc, Vučević coming out for a mixture of soar pictures.
“It makes it difficult for other teams because they have to adjust every time either one of us is on the floor,” Drummond stated. “It’s really difficult for them to set their defense.”
Drummond’s resurgence during the last week got here as a welcome change for the massive man after being a wholesome scratch in 5 of seven video games from Jan. 13-28. But it’s unclear if this can be a long-lasting change to the Bulls rotations.
Donovan stays steadfast that Drummond can fill sure wants for the Bulls, however he prefers rotations with Derrick Jones Jr., who’s 5 inches shorter at 6-foot-6 however provides extra defensive versatility. Although Donovan will go for Drummond in opposition to bigger facilities such because the Spurs’ Jakob Poeltl, he prefers to sacrifice rebounding to accommodate the defensive switching Jones can supply.
Even after Drummond’s 21-point efficiency Monday, Donovan was fast to emphasise the significance of the rotation with Jones enjoying heart.
“DJ at the five is something we still have to keep looking at,” Donovan stated. “There’s going to be some games where they’re small and we can switch and there’s not that threat of size and physicality at the rim, and Derrick may be the better option.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com