Bulls’ DeMar DeRozan drives to the basket during Monday’s win over Portland.
Associated Press
Fan support isn’t usually a problem for the Bulls, but they had an unexpected guest during Monday’s game when Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard sat courtside across from the home bench.
Lillard was checking in with his old team, the Portland Trail Blazers, but was also a guest of DeMar DeRozan.
“It was cool,” DeRozan said. “I woke up from my nap today and he texted me, and I was like, ‘Alright, I got you, man.’ He’s one of my good friends outside of basketball, so to see him come here to support me and watch his old team play was cool.
Lillard is also a guest on the latest episode of DeRozan’s podcast, released Tuesday. Was there any encouragement? Portland was his home for 11 years.
“I saw him cheer a few times when we scored, so…” DeRozan said, not finishing his thought.
On a related note, DeRozan dedicated 40 minutes to Monday’s victory. At 34 years old, he continues to lead the NBA in minutes per game and total minutes played.
“I really, really try to take care of myself the best I can,” he said. “I’m trying to rest. I don’t have any other hobbies that cause me to exert energy. And I love hooping. I love playing the game, no matter how many minutes, I love being out there.
Caruso makes a save
Alex Caruso twisted his ankle early in Monday’s game, returned to the locker room to get checked in and returned to the field. He finally made, what else, a defensive play that saved the game.
With the Bulls leading by 3, Caruso knocked the ball out of Anfernee Simons’ hands and out of bounds, before the Portland guard was able to make a game-tying shot. The ball ended up about six seats away from Damian Lillard.
“Top 3, that much time left, you look like a foul,” Caruso said. “He fell on the half, I didn’t like the look of the foul because he was square to the basket, it looked like he was getting ready to shoot. Then it’s just the instinct kicked in. Once I saw he was shooting, it’s a pretty routine game for me to be able to strip a guy as long as I’m at the right distance.
After the restart, Simons launched one last shot which was passed, but it came after the buzzer, according to official statistics.
Dosunmu stays at home
Ayo Dosunmu clearly had a productive summer of improvement. He finished with 23 points and 10 assists on Monday, the first double-double since his rookie season, and also had back-to-back 20-point games for the first time.
But while most of his Bulls teammates headed west for the summer, to Los Angeles or Arizona, Dosunmu stayed mostly in Chicago.
“I think you can work anywhere,” Dosunmu said. “There are so many great people who understand training and are getting better. I just thought about my development, what I needed to work on the most before this season, I thought I could easily stay home and do it. I traveled a little, but mostly I was at home.
Chicago was once a popular summer base for NBA players. There were high-caliber professional leagues, not to mention the comeback games of LeBron James and Michael Jordan before the NBA. This is no longer the case.
Twitter: @McGrawDHSports
