The Chicago Bulls are off to a 3-2 start to the 2022-23 regular season after falling in the first-round to the Milwaukee Bucks last season.
DeMar DeRozan and the Bulls know that they have an uphill battle to climb in the Eastern Conference, which improved from top to bottom during the offseason.
DeRozan recently spoke with The Athletic’s David Aldridge regarding his career and this year’s Bulls team and their hunger to succeed past their first-round loss in the playoffs last season.
“I see a lot of guys going with a chip on their shoulders, especially guys that was here last year and the second half we had, understanding how hard it really is to compete and be successful and have consistency in the NBA, and most of the guys having their first taste of the playoffs. I think guys understand how hard it really is and how much you have to come together,” DeRozan said.
The Bulls started the 2021-22 season off strong, sitting atop the Eastern Conference into January until Lonzo Ball’s season ended due to a meniscus tear, which sent the team into a downward spiral, eventually landing at the No. 6 seed before losing in the first-round of the playoffs.
“So with that, I just feel like we have a determined group that’s willing to go out there and do whatever it takes to win. We’re definitely building the habits. You see it every single day in practice. Every single day, we’re getting better and better. And even when guys make mistakes, or something ain’t right, we’re on it — do it again, let’s get it right, talk it out,” DeRozan said. “You kind of have that conflict of a conversation to try and figure it out. Instead of last year, when it was like, letting it go by the wayside, and when you hit the wall, it’s like, what do we do now? Having that element this time around is definitely going to go a long way.”
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