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Nikola Vucevic #9 of the Chicago Bulls.
THE Chicago Bulls let their frustrations take over during their 113-97 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on March 2.
So much that Alex Caruso committed a technical foul. Ayo Dosunmu pushed the old Bull Patrick Beverlywho played his typical defense against DeMar DeRozan.
And then there was Bobby Portis Jr.., with whom DeRozan argued because he had “watched” him.
The frustration game of the evening, however, was Nikola Vucevic inflicting a serious foul on the Bucks guard AJ Greensending the latter crashing to the ground.
It also earned the eviction of Vucevic, who finished the night with 17 points, nine rebounds and three assists. He struggled from the floor, shooting 44.4% from the floor and going 1-of-3 from beyond the arc.
“It was just frustration, not just a non-call but a build-up,” Vučević said, according to Sam Smith of NBA.com on March 2. “I had a bit of a difficult match, I didn’t play as well. At the time, I just lost my cool a little too much. I don’t know if (flagrant-2) was deserved or not, but it’s certainly not a mistake I should have made.
“It could have been a dangerous play,” Vucevic said. “Thankfully nothing happened to AJ Green. I will stop by (the Bucks locker room) to apologize. Obviously, I just needed to keep my composure better.
If the Bulls’ problems were like that, that would have been enough.
DeMar DeRozan matched Nikola Vucevic’s frustration in Bulls loss
Portis spent the better part of four seasons with the Bulls, and his tenure was marked by many high-intensity moments, including spat with a teammate Nikola Mirotic which preceded the trade of the first with the Wizards of Washington in 2019.
He let the fans hear it as he got under the skin of Bulls players, including eliciting an emotional reaction from DeRozan, who officials marked with a flagrant foul.
“I’m big on respect,” DeRozan told reporters after play.
“I don’t play every game – looking down on anyone, trying to disrespect anyone. I’m all for competition, and doing your thing. All that. But if I feel disrespected in any way, I don’t accept it. Because I wouldn’t do it to anyone else, or stand over someone, or look at someone. It’s just my respect for the game. So when I feel like it’s being done to me, that’s when I take it in a certain way.
DeRozan said Portis — who said he imagined his opponents slapped his mother to get angry, by Jay King for MassLive.com in 2015 – I did it once.
It was enough.
“That’s all I need,” DeRozan said, according to Smith. “It doesn’t matter who it is; It could be the janitor in the hallway. Look at me a certain way…just play basketball, get the rebound and play. I’ve never been a player with extra drama.
Ayo Dosunmu had DeMar DeRozan’s back
At one point in the match, DeRozan confronted Beverley. Dosunmu watched his teammate investigate unsuccessfully in the face of Beverley’s skillful defense.
Third-year guard Dosunmu had seen enough tough things happen to him. his mentorDeRozan.
The head coach Billy Donovan called on Vucevic and the rest of the Bulls to find better and more productive ways to channel their frustration. Donovan also said he alerted the officials early in the contest that the game was headed in the direction it was heading.
Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times noted that Beverley also rubbed several of his Bulls teammates — including Vucevic — the wrong way last season.
This played a role in the Bulls let him walk this past offseason.
Josh Buckhalter covers the NBA and NFL for Heavy.com with a focus on the Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Vikings. He has covered the NBA and NFL since 2016, including on FanSided, Last Word on Sports and Clocker Sports. He is based in Villa Park, Illinois. Follow Josh on Twitter and Instagram: @JoshGBuck Learn more about Josh Buckhalter
