This all began in Music City four long, long, long months ago, and the Bulls have faced the music along the way, a disastrous 5-14 start that culminated with a dead fish effort in Boston, almost daily rumors about trading All-Star Zach LaVine until he was lost for the season following surgery, weeks-to-months long absences for regulars Patrick Williams and Torrey Craig.
But from timidity came tenacity, from retreat came resilience. Multiple winning streaks of at least three games, the emerging elegance of Coby White as an All-Star in waiting, the mystery of their own towers of power, the relentlessness of Alex Caruso, wins in Miami, Philadelphia and Milwaukee, and if not certainty, then certainly some possibilities with game after game down to the waning, if not always winning, moments.
It would be so again Wednesday in Cleveland as the Bulls went right up and pressed their noses against the window of promise, losing 108-105 to the streaking Cavaliers as White’s intended shot to tie went long at the end.
But even if the next destination for many may be the beach, this isn’t a Bulls team ready to find itself beached or burned.
“The last two months has been kind of crazy for us with the injuries, dealing with all the noise on the outside with the trade rumors,” admitted DeMar DeRozan, who supported White’s game-high 32 points with his own 24. “Emotionally, physically, mentally we took on a tall task the last 60 days and we pushed through it. Now we can kind of breathe a little bit, gather our minds and emotions and get Pat back, hopefully, and get some bodies back and kind of get rejuvenated for the next (27) games.
“To go through everything we went through showed we are right there,” DeRozan insisted. “Fatigued, being beat up, coming back with fresh minds and bodies we should be able to run off everything we need to run off. It’s been a toll on us all, playing with limited bodies, not knowing who was going to play, a lot of guys racking up a lot of minutes. Refresh the mind, get that eagerness and hunger to want to be back on the court. When we get back out there we should be ready to go.”
And so will come that final sprint starting Feb. 22 at home against the East leading Boston Celtics, the Bulls currently ninth in the conference at 26-29. But convinced in belief that the best is yet to come.
“These moments are good for us,” said White, finally given his turn for that potential game winner/saver. “I always watch Deebo (DeRozan) and one thing I’ve learned from him is whether the shot goes in or not he’s living with it. He gave me motivation after the game to move on from it, learn from it, can’t dwell on it. But I am gonna dwell on it. I’m gonna try to not dwell on it, but carry on. Obviously, we’ve got to find a way to get over the hump. I think we will find a way to get over the hump.”
You get the feeling from this Bulls team they believe. You can be heartened by the way they lose themselves in these games to the end even if the end doesn’t always go their way. There just may no longer be enough there without LaVine and the uncertainty surrounding Williams. But they’ve also demonstrated that they’re not taking the easy way out, or making it so for their opponents.
Which was how it went Wednesday with their final game before All-Star break.
Without anyone on the roster headed to Indianapolis for the NBA’s winter bacchanal, the Bulls looked like they were ready for a star turn in the nationally televised ESPN game.
The Bulls scored the first eight points, half by Andre Drummond starting with Nikola Vučević to counter past Cavaliers success against the Bulls with their giants up front. The Bulls won the rebounding with Drummond getting 10 points and 15 rebounds and thwarted the Cavaliers in second chance points, where they previously dominated the Bulls.
Caruso returning again from a missed game moved back to the bench role with Ayo Dosunmu remaining as a starter with his recent hot shooting. He made four more threes, all right corner open shots off drives and passes, for all his scoring. But Vučević was 4-of-16 for nine points and eight rebounds as playing with Drummond he seemingly was denied his usual comfort zone spaces in the paint.
Asked after the game a to-do list for the final sprint, Bulls coach Billy Donovan quickly responded, “We need time with the big lineup. We kind of got forced into that with some injuries. We’ve got to clean that up some.”
There’s considerable appeal to seeing Drummond’s power and physical intimidation, but the pairing obviously remains a question and concern to Donovan given Vučević's place, and the Bulls then with DeRozan playing his usual high minutes becoming a much slower and poorer three-point shooting team. As a result, the Cavaliers were able to dominate the Bulls inside with 52-28 in points in the paint. The Bulls relying more on size had 15 turnovers the Cavs turned into 22 points. The Bulls had just nine points on turnovers with fewer players aggressively chasing the perimeter with Drummond and Vučević eating up minutes. Though the Bulls did make two more threes than Cleveland, the surprising Cavs now 36-17.
“I really felt the physicality of this game, Orlando, Minnesota, there’s been some games we’ve been in late that give you a playoff feel of physicality. Generally teams that are high up in the standings have that,” said Donovan. “I felt the physicality by them forced us into some turnovers. I thought our ball handlers got a little rushed. The big lineup probably helped us on the backboards, but we could have done a better job taking care of the ball.”
That playoff feel produced some shoving and third quarter shared technicals from White and Georges Niang, and just before that Donovan going at Cavs guard Max Strus, who was jawing with Donovan while Donovan was debating an official. Donovan laughingly said he later apologized to Strus, who seems to delight in poking the Bulls since his release.
Strus didn’t release much like in some earlier Cavs wins over the Bulls, now eight straight. But regular nemesis Donovan Mitchell, even against Caruso, was too quick and powerful with 30 points, seven assists, six rebounds, a highlight split-the-double driving dunk and some praise for old buddy White.
Mitchell said they previously had the same representation, and he’s seen a difference with White.
“He’s been scoring, he’s been making guys around him better, making winning plays,” said Mitchell. “Then making me pay for not rotating at the end of the game, 11-of-17 from the field. Those are timely shots. He’s gotten better. To see the growth, the confidence. You can see it in his eyes. There’s the look like he belongs here, he deserves to be playing like this. I have the utmost respect for his game and for him. He’s up there in that (Most Improved Player) conversation, for sure.”
It would have been even nicer with the national TV win, but White pretty much dominated the second half conversation with 23 points, four of six threes and the three to tie at 103 with 1:03 left.
Oh, for just one more three.
White did cash in a pair of free throws with 7.7 seconds left to get the Bulls within 106-105. But the last minute of a fourth quarter with 16 ties and lead changes was little for the Bulls to celebrate.
Though it didn’t look for much of the game it would come to that as the Bulls never lost the lead the first three quarters.
After Cleveland’s cavalier start that went to 11-2 with a White three, the Bulls charged ahead by 11 and still 32-25 at one. Caruso got himself a couple of midcourt steals and the Cavs were contending with a season worst offensive first half as the Bulls went ahead by 17 points, though within 49-43 at halftime. But that was with a quiet first half White.
“They were really physical with him; he really course corrected at half and came out and played a great game,” said Donovan. “I thought Coby had an exceptional second half. I thought he was great, especially the way they were playing him defensively.”
Cleveland got within a point a few times in the third quarter, and the Bulls went to the fourth still leading 76-71.
And then it was the NBA at its finest, White with a three and then a drive and Dosunmu wide open for his three from White. But White tried it again and Mitchell anticipated and was in the lane for the steal and fast break score for Strus. They were trading shots and haymakers and threes, Darius Garland and White responding around that minute mark. But Caruso got called for a one-shot away from the ball foul on Mitchell and it was 104-103 Cleveland with 43.8 seconds left.
The Cavs missed a three and White rebounded. But on what even White called the defining play, the Bulls didn’t have the answer. The ball went pinballing around and back to White, who was driving left and passed to a diving Vučević down the right side of the lane. The pass went high and out of bounds with 17 seconds left in regulation and the Bulls trailing by one.
“Slow down and make the right read,” White counseled himself, always humble and classy and pointing a finger only inward. "I thought Vooch was going to pop to the three; he made the right play by coming in. If I put the pass on the money, he’d have a layup or one of his little floaters. I feel like I had to slow down a little more and make the right read. I think my intentions were right finding Vooch; he was open. I’ve just got to make the pass. I feel I was too frantic. Like I said, those moments define the game and I felt that moment defined the game. So for me I’ve got to take it on the chin and digest and learn and be better next time.”
But he’d have another chance.
And this time for himself.
It’s been a Bulls staple the last three seasons that DeRozan would be the one to try to firmly bind the opponent with the last shot. Even team lead executive Arturas Karnisovas last week conversationally noted that DeRozan was the team’s closer.
Though with White’s big shot emergence this season, there’s been a community ask for him.
Donovan apparently heard.
“I put him in the first option (game-tying attempt) on purpose,” said Donovan. “For our team, DeMar has been great. He’s an unbelievable closer. But there are going to be times they are going to double team him, trap him, there are times they put a lot of length and size on him, may deny him and prevent him from getting the ball. And he’s not always going to be the guy to save the day. We’re going to have to have guys to step up in different moments. I’ve got a lot of confidence and belief in Coby, and I think he needs to be in those moments.”
With 11 seconds left, the Bulls fouled Garland, who finished two free throws for a 106-103 Cleveland lead. But then the Bulls got a call on Strus and White matched Garland again, this time with free throws. So it was Cavs by one again and with the ball. The Bulls fouled and Donovan completed both.
So ‘tyin’ time?
Caruso inbounded to Vučević, who set a high screen, but perhaps too high as White came spinning top around it from the left baseline and was pretty far away on top, almost 30 feet with a shot that caromed hard off the back of the rim, up and Cleveland was rockin’.
“Obviously, I’m pretty pissed I didn’t make the shot,” said White. “Learning moments; got to continue to learn from it. Looking back and reflecting on this year and past years, to be trusted in those moments is huge for me. But I am pissed off I didn’t make the shot. I felt I got a pretty good look at it. Learn from it and next time I’m in that moment, just be mentally ready and mentally prepared for it. This is the first time in my career I’ve been trusted in those moments. For me to take steps in the right direction to become the player I want to be in this league, I need those moments; it’s all part of the journey.”
One which the Bulls insist is far from over.
“The end of the day the W is not on the board, it’s an L,” Donovan acknowledged. “A month from now no one’s going to remember what happened: ‘They lost to Cleveland.’ But they’re and fighting and competing and battling. They lined up and competed.”
To be continued.
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