The Chicago Bulls are still in a strange state of flux as a team because they refuse to embrace a rebuild and instead send a mediocre squad onto the court each night. But there are benefits to continuing to be semi-competitive. In spurts, the squad is still entertaining to watch because of the presence of reliable players like Nikola Vucevic, Coby White, and DeMar DeRozan, who allow the Bulls to surprise any opponent on any given night.
Actually, the Bulls have been winning well lately, defeating teams like the Sacramento Kings and Cleveland Cavaliers, who are both in the top eight of their conferences. On Wednesday night, they easily defeated the Utah Jazz, largely because of DeRozan’s clutch play.
DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls to a 119-117 victory on Wednesday by scoring 17 points in the fourth quarter and keeping the Jazz at bay. And in doing so, DeRozan made history by becoming the first player to pull off an incredible last-minute feat in 25 years. OptaSTATS reports that DeRozan made history on Monday by being the only player in the last game to score 19 points in the fourth quarter after his incredible effort against the Kings.
Because of his skill set, DeRozan has always been one of the NBA’s most potent weapons when the fourth quarter drags on. The premier player for the Bulls is capable of making tough shots and creating offense out of nothing; in fact, he outperforms almost every player in the NBA when it comes to getting to his midrange position.
When it comes to knowing when to attack, he also has excellent timing. DeRozan puts his opponents to sleep for the first three quarters, then when it’s time to put them away, he nearly always scores a ton.
Seeing DeMar DeRozan continue to put defenders on toast every night and lead his team to victory like he did against the Kings and Jazz is a treat to watch, even though the Bulls may not be progressing very quickly in the big picture due to their stubbornness about holding onto their best players.
