Goran Dragic isn’t much into nicknames.
At age 36 and just starting NBA season No. 15, nah, let someone else spend that energy.
What the Bulls veteran guard knows about himself and the current collection of bench players is there’s something good going on. Maybe great. And what others in or outside of the Advocate Center want to label it? That’s on them.
Especially when the sample size is still so small.
Backed against the ropes and trying to avoid an eight count in Monday’s first quarter against Boston, coach Billy Donovan was searching to find a cohesive unit. He settled on reserves Dragic, Derrick Jones Jr., Andre Drummond and Alex Caruso, staggering them with All-Star Zach LaVine.
Not really a look that had seen a bunch of time together in practice, especially with LaVine’s knee management schedule, but one that instantly started to work. A 19-point deficit eventually was trimmed down to just a point after a Jones dunk from a Dragic dime. LaVine tied it when he split a pair of free throws at the 8:51 mark of that second quarter, and Dragic put the Bulls ahead with a layup a minute later.
As Jones put it, “and we never looked back.’’
So does that grouping have staying power? Dragic hoped so.
“I feel like we have the right players,’’ Dragic said of why he felt that grouping worked. “Nobody is selfish, but the key for that group on offense is the ball has to move. When you play stagnant, when you hold the ball, that’s when the second unit gets in trouble. You move the ball, we can be great. I honestly think we could have one of the best second units in the league.’’
Big words, especially with how new that grouping was, but Dragic’s hope was if the mindset remained, the players could even be a bit interchangeable.
Coby White could spell LaVine in that group and Javonte Green has a similar skillset to Jones, but that was for another game. What proved to be lethal against the Celtics was Caruso – a plus/minus of plus-20 in that second quarter – Dragic (plus-16), Jones (plus-16), LaVine (plus-15) and Drummond (plus-11).
“The fact that we played with energy on both ends is everything,’’ Dragic said. “Of course you have to play with energy, but it’s also about the right mix of the players. You have guys that can play on the ball, play pick-and-roll, then you have guys that are really good at setting screens and applying pressure. Guys like Derrick [Monday night], rolling to the rim, [Drummond] the same. Then you have Zach’s shooting, and with A.C. [Caruso] you have that feistiness, his defense, so just a right mix of players that we really could be a problem.’’
Jones was all for that.
In the first two regular-season games of the season, the veteran sat and watched. While Donovan was close to playing the forward against Miami and Washington, it just didn’t happen.
Then during the blowout to Cleveland on Saturday, Donovan put Jones in to try and stop the bleeding, and liked what he saw in his 17 minutes of work.
“Just stayed ready,’’ Jones said of his role. “I’ve been through this many times through my career, so it’s not the first time. I’m good.
“I’ve been playing this game for a long time and I know what I’m good at.’’
That will again be tested Wednesday against Indiana.
So could this be a new version of the “Bench Mob’’ that carried the Bulls to the Eastern Conference Finals a decade ago?
With just four games played, they’ll be plenty of time to figure that out. And who knows, maybe even a nickname.
Just don’t bother Dragic with that.
