The Bulls could hardly buy a basket in the first quarter: They missed their first eight shots and scored 22 first-quarter points, and the offense looked out of sorts as they struggled through a rugged 33% shooting in the first quarter. The Pistons’ length and athleticism clearly affected the team.
But something changed for the Bulls in the second quarter. Chicago went on a 22-4 run over a 7:18 stretch to take control of the game in Sunday’s 119-108 win. The Bulls forced the youthful Pistons into mistakes (16 turnovers) and capitalized off them (25 points off turnovers). The Bulls outscored Detroit 33-19 in the second quarter.
The catalyst for that second-quarter run was third-year guard Ayo Dosunmu, who had three steals in the first half and finished the game a plus-19 in 26 minutes.
“First thing I told him coming out was ‘That quarter was because of you,’” Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan said. “The energy he brought, getting out in transition, the layups and getting those steals. I let him know without him, that quarter would have happened.”
Creating easy points in transition is essential for a Bulls team that is 22nd in the NBA in half-court efficiency, per basketball website Cleaning the Glass.
The Bulls entered the game second in the entire NBA in points off turnovers while also turning the ball over the least. Taking care of the ball and forcing the Pistons into turnovers — particularly live-ball turnovers that turn into fastbreaks — are necessary because the Bulls routinely get outscored from the three-point line and out-rebounded.
“That’s pretty much what I try to do, just play my game when I get out there,” Dosunmu said. “Push the pace, bump up the energy and the joy.”
Bulls coach Billy Donovan subbed Dosunmu out for 1:12 of game time before inserting him back in the game to close with the starting unit. This was arguably Dosunmu’s best game of the season: He finished with 13 points, three assists, three steals and a rebound. He also played a vital role in Pistons guard Cade Cunningham shooting 4-for-15 from the field and 0-for-5 from the three-point line
“I closed with him today,” Donovan said. “You could have closed with Torrey [Craig], you could have closed with Patrick [Williams]. I just elected to go with him [Dosunmu] because I thought he was playing really well on both ends of the floor. He’s playing well defensively, in particular guarding [Cade] Cunningham.
Though DeRozan — who had an efficient 29 points on 11-for-19 shooting — was the leading scorer, it was a balanced scoring night for the Bulls. Nikola Vucevic came up huge in the fourth quarter with two three-pointers (20 points), Zach LaVine had a cold night from the three-point line (1-for-6) but still chipped in 19 points.
Coby White attacked the basket aggressively and decisively, finishing with 16 points and a team-leading seven assists.
But the second unit provided the spark the Bulls needed to win this game. Donovan said he prefers to play ten guys in his rotation, but finding minutes for everybody is difficult. Somebody like Dosunmu has to stay prepared throughout the season, wondering when his role may expand. Dosunmu has used his role coming off the bench to his advantage.
“I have a unique way of viewing the game because I can see what the game needs,” Dosunmu said. That’s something that I have taken away from coming off the bench, being able to read the game and understand what needs to be done and what’s lacking.”
With another game on Monday in Milwaukee, Donovan said Caruso’s injury is more day-to-day than him potentially missing weeks. Despite the uncertainty, Dosunmu tries to keep his same routine and approach. He knows this is a deep team; he tries to contribute what he can.
“We have a pretty deep team,” Dosunmu said. “The better I get, the more I can just push the team and I think it’s going to make us an even better team down the line when the season continues to grow.”