INDIANAPOLIS – Monday wasn’t a fix for the Bulls offense by any means.
It was progress, however. A small band-aid on a wound that was still an issue through the early part of this regular season.
The concern remained how long would it take this group to consistently figure out exactly what coach Billy Donovan was asking of them, and more importantly, would there be collateral damage before they reached it?
Nikola Vucevic was hoping the “team meetings” and meltdowns were behind everyone.
“There’s definitely some positives,’’ Vucevic said after the 112-105 win over the Pacers. “We know what works and now it’s on us to do it.’’
On a spread-the-wealth night in which Vucevic scored 24, Zach LaVine had 23, and DeMar DeRozan chipped in with 20, the Bulls (2-2) handed the Pacers their first loss of the season, and did so in impressive fashion.
They never trailed by more than eight, and when it came down to winning time in the final five minutes, they weren’t perfect, but they didn’t blink.
By far the best all-around performance on both ends of the floor by the group, especially for a group that only put up 17 threes.
But were lessons learned?
After an embarrassing loss in Detroit on Saturday – a game which LaVine just so happened to score a career-high 51 points – LaVine was very open about his frustration with Donovan’s offense, as well as admitting that the group was still trying to make it work.
“We’re trying this new thing out to have a complete cohesive offense, equal opportunity, and it’s going to take some figuring out,’’ LaVine said in Detroit. “Through the first couple games, me and DeMar were in the corner a lot. Now we’re trying to figure out how to get involved with more touches.’’
Donovan said he hadn’t heard or read what LaVine said, but the fact that DeRozan had 33 against Toronto, and then LaVine dropped a 51-burger the next night, it was hard for the coach to imagine that either player was stuck in a corner.
That’s why Donovan had no problem defending what he was asking of his offense since training camp started.
“I know when it’s just those guys (LaVine and DeRozan), and Vooch (Nikola Vucevic), last year they all had elite offensive performances individually, and we still had the 24th rated offense,’’ Donovan said. “Are there times those guys are in the corner? Yeah, we’ve got to space the floor. There’s a universal sacrifice that everyone has to make to have a good offense. It can’t be, ‘Hey, let’s throw the ball to DeMar, let him iso (go isolation). Hey, let’s throw the ball to Zach and put him in the middle of the floor and go high-pick-and-roll.’
“We have a body of work we can look at, and if we keep doing the same things we’re going to keep getting the same results.’’
That’s why the Pacers performance was so important.
“Are we going to get there now?’’ Vucevic said. “We as players have to do what it takes to get there.’’
And Donovan will continue trying to help.
The coach admitted that he actually simplified some actions out of training camp to help with the adjustment, so was asked if it was the offense that was confusing or the players just not having an understanding of what was being asked.
“There’s nothing that we’re running that these guys have not run before,’’ Donovan said. “It’s not so much a democratic universal style of play,’’ Donovan said. “Those guys got to be who they got to be. But I would bet you, even if it was a democratic style of play all the way through, I would guarantee you that at the end of the year Zach, Vooch and DeMar will be our three-leading shot-takers on our team.’’
Point made.