The Chicago Bulls have played in a ton of close games this year. They’ve played in their fair share of blowouts, too. But no matter what type of game they’re playing in, Chicago needs all of their top players in every game just to have a chance, as they aren’t one of the top teams in terms of talent.
They aren’t the Boston Celtics, they aren’t the Denver Nuggets, they aren’t even the New Orleans Pelicans or New York Knicks. The Bulls are fighting and scrapping for a spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs, and they’ll have to get there by way of making it through the Play-In Tournament.
Luckily for the Bulls, they have stars who want to play in every game, headlined by DeMar DeRozan. Head coach Billy Donovan recently praised DeRozan for this mentality. (H/t Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune)
“He’s got an old-school mentality,” Donovan said. “It’s: ‘Line up and play. I did it my whole life. I love the game. I want to be out there as much as I can.’ And I don’t take it for granted.”
DeRozan has appeared in 60 games this season, playing a league-leading 37.8 minutes per contest.
