The Bulls and Raptors met for the 2nd time in two nights on Monday at the UC; this time, there was a big difference. Zach Lavine was playing. Yeah, it’s kind of a big deal when he’s on the court, which you would expect from our newly maxed player. Yet, he is recovering from off season knee work/surgery (?)… should I be more patient with the whole left knee management thing?
Talked to a guy who told me exactly that. He said we should be happy he’s playing at all right now. We’re expecting him to come back too quickly. I hear that, but… I was just going off what was being communicated. Zach said he felt fine; he was good to go, ready to rock, let’s get this party started, etc, etc. He played in the preseason without issue. Then, all of a sudden, we were blindsided with the whole left knee management thing in the season opener in Miami. If this was the route he was going to take… if this was the smartest thing to do after further consideration… then maybe that’s how it should have been framed, preparing us for this early season (?) on and off stuff. Why does he have to tell us anything I guess? Well, because we are the people out there supporting him and the team; we’re kind of a big deal… haha. As the newly maxed guy, the face of the franchise, we want to be in your corner; we were just confused… and having flashbacks. How long will I talk about this? Haha…
Zach dropped 30, as the Raptors continued to double team DD. I’ll tell you what… I heard what DeRozan said after the first game when they were doubling him, but from what I see, he’s plenty frustrated. He’s saying the right things, but unfortunately, the other 4 guys on the court couldn’t get it done against the other 3 defenders on a consistent basis. Add Zach back in the mix, and yeah… he made them pay. That 2nd punch in the 1-2 combo helped lead the Bulls to a relatively easy victory against the scrappy Raptors. Still, if I’m a Bulls opponent, I’m doubling DD… if not as much as Toronto, certainly part of my strategy. If Zach is out, easy call. If he’s in, make him beat you. If he’s in and NOT healthy, like in the playoffs, well, you saw what happened there.
On another note, the guy that continues to be the most frustrating Bull, besides Zach when he doesn’t play, is Vooch. He continues to take the 3rd most treys on the team behind Zach and Coby. Thankfully, his percentage hasn’t been nearly as bad as last year, but still… this should NOT be a primary source of our offense… Vooch treys that is. Vooch mid range, Vooch in the paint, yeah, give it all to me. I feel like I’ve typed this before. I don’t know… then he kind of sleepwalks out there half the time; nobody on the opposing team fears him in the lane on defense, as they continue to take it right to the hole. There’s another tip for all Bulls’ opponents: double team DD and take it to the rack against Vooch. My 10 year old son has already said it; he thinks they should start Drummond… wow. Not sure if I’m there yet, unless we’re talking starting Vooch at the 4, but yeah, when Drummond was playing this year, he’s looked good. He’s not the defensive player of the year by any means, but much more of a defender than Vooch…. and he doesn’t shoot three pointers; he lives in the paint. I like that.
Next up is the Pelicans at the UC on Wednesday; we’ll be in the house for that one… our first game of the year. Normally wouldn’t go to a weekday game during the school year, but we won some free tickets, so yeah, gotta go. Will Zach play? Not worried about it. Will Vooch shoot a bunch of treys? Please don’t. Whatever transpires, let’s just get that W. Go Bulls!!!
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