DeMar DeRozan has a pretty good idea of what’s coming.
Straight from the mind of the mad scientist/NBA coach that is Nick Nurse, a game plan that will undoubtedly test the patience of the Bulls veteran forward, as well as likely put his teammates into some awkward roles that they’re going to need to fill.
DeRozan expects nothing less.
“Playing against Nick and those guys, they try to do everything in their power to make sure I don’t beat them,’’ DeRozan said of the upcoming Wednesday play-in game. “We got a couple days to gameplan and put together something. I’m aware of it for sure. For my sake, I definitely have my own theory of how I’m going to deal with it.’’
A game plan DeRozan has seen from Nurse before.
After watching DeRozan average over 27 points per game against the Raptors last season, Nurse obviously went to the lab and decided that wouldn’t happen during the 2022-23 campaign.
In back-to-back meetings in November, Nurse’s team threw double-team after double-team at DeRozan, blitzing him whenever he had the ball, and testing the rest of the Bulls roster.
The result was a loss in Toronto with DeRozan scoring 20 that night, followed by a win in Chicago, in which DeRozan was held to nine points, but did hand out seven assists.
Then in the rubber match in late February, it was another Bulls loss, as DeRozan went 5-for-11 for 13 points, again getting Nurse’s full attention on the offensive end.
The blueprint is there, and now can the Bulls solve it?
“If I was a coach I’d try to limit DeMar and Zach as much as possible,’’ veteran guard Patrick Beverley said after the Monday practice. “And then have the ‘others’ beat you. That’s going to be most teams’ plan going in. It’s the playoffs. You’ve got to give something up. We’re ready, we’re locked in.’’
What that means is not only will Beverley have to be a threat from outside, but Nikola Vucevic and Alex Caruso had better be ready to launch from outside.
In that Feb. 28 loss, Vucevic did go 4-of-6 from three-point range, but Beverley and Caruso were a combined 2-for-8, while LaVine went 1-for-5.
Shots will be there for the visiting team, but can they make them?
“This is the time of the year where you’re trying to generate good shots,’’ coach Billy Donovan said. “[Toronto] is really good at forcing a lot of turnovers, and really good at offensive rebounding, so the ball has got to move and we’ve got to make good decisions with the ball.
“There’s going to be opportunities for a lot of different guys, and if they [double-team DeRozan, and LaVine at times] they’ve got to be able to step up and shoot the ball with confidence. That’s where we’ve tried to get to where it’s not so one-person-centric.’’
What the Bulls have to feel good about was while they finished the regular season ranked 16th in three-point percentage (36.1%), since acquiring Beverley and adding him to the starting mix, that percentage is up a tick, but so are the number of threes made and taken.
Beverley has a knack of getting players in the right spots offensively, especially late in games.
Then again, Wednesday isn’t the regular season. It’s a win-or-go-home single elimination pressure cooker. What needed to be asked was could the Bulls deliver under that type of circumstance?
“What you can control is your effort, especially on the defensive end,’’ Beverley replied, when asked that question. “From that standpoint, I think that everyone is ready and locked in.’’