PORTLAND – It would have been easy for the Bulls players to take one glance at the skeleton crew of a starting lineup tossed out onto the Moda Center floor by Portland on Friday, and ease up on the gas pedal.
That’s been an all-too familiar modus operandi this season anyway, so why change now?
Why?
Because there’s more than just a play-in push on the line.
“This is really about us,’’ coach Billy Donovan said. “When you’re at this point of the season it’s playing to the standard we need to play to. [Opposing] personnel is going to be personnel. It’s what we can control and what we can do. That’s where our focus has to be.’’
Maybe that message is finally getting through, as the Bulls (35-38) throttled the Trail Blazers 124-96.
About right with Portland starting the likes of Drew Eubanks, Matisse Thybulle, and Trendon Watford, while Damian Lillard and Jusuf Nurkic were scratches.
“Right now it’s do or die, you gotta win games,’’ guard Coby White said of the win. “Everything’s gotta carry over. This game is going to carry over to the next game and that will carry to the next game. It’s the start of a three-game road trip, so you start off right it carries over to the next two games.
“It doesn’t matter who is playing. We’ve gotta play to our identity and do what we do.’’
With eyes watching.
Executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas not only brought most of this roster back from last season, but even when the wheels were off during the February trade deadline, opted to stand pat. One of only two front offices in the entire Association that did nothing – the other was the Cavaliers.
Karnisovas’ main reasons for the inactivity was finding out what his players were made of. A strong message sent to the locker room, and one that’s being heard.
“They’ve actually put their trust in us from Day 1 last year if you think about it,’’ veteran guard Alex Caruso said. “I think they’ve always had this underlying belief in us, even when we haven’t played great just because I think they know the sum of the parts they have when everything is clicking, and it’s really good.
“So for me it’s just that sustained faith to not blow everything up at the trade deadline.’’
Caruso, however, is also a realist.
He won an NBA championship with the Lakers in 2020, but was allowed to walk in free agency in 2021. Things can change quickly.
“There’s also a business aspect of it to putting a product on the court and finding ways to being productive,’’ Caruso said. “It’s understood and it’s almost expected, because at the end of the day you put a basketball team together to try and win games, and when it doesn’t win games for a stretch or as many as they are capable of, you have to examine and readjust things.’’
Which the Bulls players would like to avoid.
Good thing Portland was a willing participant, allowing Zach LaVine to score 33 points, White to add 19 off the bench, and the Bulls as a team shoot 17-of-28 (60.7%) from three.
Thanks to a Pacers loss on Friday, the Bulls remained locked into the No. 10 seed, which is the last play-in spot. With how shaky that part of the standings has been this season, there’s definitely room for movement, with Toronto at No. 9 and Atlanta at No. 8 all within reach.
“The team we have right now is better than where we are in the standings,’’ Caruso said. “We’ve proven that with some of the wins we’ve had. That’s where the frustration comes in. We’ve gotten a little unlucky, but we just haven’t taken care of business, either.’’
