The dog was chasing.
That’s about the best analogy DeMar DeRozan could come up with in the wake of the signature win of the Bulls 2022-23 season so far.
Down 11 with just over three minutes left in regulation, DeRozan led a furious comeback, and then a dominant performance in the overtime, to beat the conference-rival Bucks at the United Center on Wednesday night.
Oh by the way, a second win over Milwaukee this season, to go along with two wins each over Boston and Miami, as well as a victory over suddenly red-hot Brooklyn.
So how does a team that’s lost to Orlando, Houston and Oklahoma City have a 7-1 record against the Eastern Conference’s elite?
“It’s kind of like when you’re running fast, you start running faster if a dog starts chasing you, right?’’ DeRozan said when asked that very question. “That’s kind of like that type of feeling, if that makes sense.’’
It definitely does.
And there’s the frustration with this Bulls team. Why wait for the dogs to be unleashed to care enough to start sprinting?
Urgency can’t be treated like a light switch.
That’s how teams have disappointing seasons, and front offices are duped into chasing fool’s gold. How can executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas wake up Thursday morning and say “I’ve got to blow this up?’’
Hard to justify when the players have competed against the NBA’s best on most nights.
And that’s the problem with the 15-19 Bulls. They’re inconsistent enough to lose to anyone in the league, but good enough to force Karnisovas & Co. to stick with the “continuity’’ plan, missing out on at least attempting to flip some pieces for draft capital.
What Karnisovas has on his side, however, is time. The deadline isn’t coming until Feb. 9, so if DeRozan can get his teammates to actually play with urgency rather than just talk about it, minds can be eased.
“I guess the best brings the best out of you,’’ DeRozan said. “Now we’ve got to translate that over to carrying that within, and go out there and play like that every single night. Not worry about if we’re playing a good team, are we playing a not so good team, and we’re going to run over them.
“We’ve got to play with that sense of urgency every single night, and nights like this [one against Milwaukee] we’ve got to turn into consistency.’’
Basically, what coach Billy Donovan has been begging of his team since last season. Donovan calls it “the price of admission.’’
That fee players have to pay every game, which means playing hard both mentally and physically, even if that means sacrificing your body for the team. That’s just to get in the door as far as Donovan was concerned. Then there’s all the other details of the game that have to be taken care of.
Does this Bulls roster have the make-up to do that over the remaining 48 games? Considering they have the second-easiest schedule left in the NBA that will definitely be tested.
That’s why as frustrating as it’s been for the fan base, there’s a very likely scenario that Karnisovas is not a seller at the deadline.
In fact, maybe he actually looks to add some minor role pieces.
Either way, DeRozan has a feeling that it will at least be interesting.
“Very theatrical,’’ DeRozan said of the season so far. “That’s what makes a great movie. We’ve just got to end it off well. Definitely been entertaining.’’
