Three-pointers aren’t unfamiliar territory for veteran Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan — they’re just never going to be his primary attack, especially given his lethal mid-range game.
“I have no problem with it at all,” DeRozan said of long-range shooting. “No one is forcing me to shoot more threes. Whatever shots I can get in the offense, I’m going to take it.”
Such was the case early in Friday night’s game against the visiting Raptors, as the Bulls started out 0-for-5 from the field, including 0-for-4 from three-point range, until DeRozan said enough and attacked the rim for the Bulls’ first basket.
Minutes later, as the Bulls were making a run, a three-pointer from DeRozan tied the game and forced a Raptors timeout.
That might be the reality for this team for a while after rightly changing the shot profile and embracing the three-pointer more. There are going to be hot and cold nights — maybe more than with most teams to start the season — but it’s about riding it out.
“We’re getting close,” DeRozan said. “Once our rhythm hits, once one guy gets it rolling, it will make it easier on all of us. Just stick with it, stay disciplined, understand what we’re doing when it comes to the offense.”
That’s all coach Billy Donovan has been asking since making it known after last season that the offense would be tweaked to open up more three-point opportunities.
“You’re going to have bad shooting nights, and if those guys could control shots going in, they’d never miss a shot,” Donovan said. “But what can you actually control in the game? Maybe we didn’t shoot the ball well. Maybe it was deflating. But we still have to have a level of resiliency to stick with it.”
Since coming together three seasons ago, the Bulls’ core group hasn’t seen an increase in its success. During the 2021-22 season that ended in a playoff berth, the Bulls were last in the NBA in three-point attempts with 28.8 per game but fourth-best in percentage made (36.9%). Last season, they inched up to 28.9 attempts per game but dipped to 36.1% (16th). They put up 42 attempts in their season-opening loss to the Thunder but made only 12 (28.6%).
Donovan’s message remains simple.
“If it’s a good shot, shoot it,” he said. “We’ve got to shoot it.”
Caruso Watch
The Bulls are in the midst of their first back-to-back of the season, heading to Detroit for a game Saturday — the first of three on the road against the Pistons, Pacers and Mavericks.
As usual, guard Alex Caruso’s minutes will be a wait-and-see as he gets back to form after tweaking his ankle earlier this month.
“Just trying to really monitor him and then take his pulse on where he’s at,” Donovan said. “We had some contact [Thursday] in practice, he went through everything, so I think if we can keep him in that [high 20-minute range per game], that seems to be the sweet spot for him. He should be fine, but we’ll try and manage his minutes, so to speak.”
