Dear DeMar DeRozan:
I am writing to thank you, and to apologize.
First, thank you for saving New Year’s Eve with that ridiculous, last-second, hop-off-one-foot floater from 25 feet that beat the Pacers. The college football semifinals turned out to be yawners. Alabama blows out Cincinnati; Georgia blows out Michigan. The SEC asserts its dominance again. Ho hum. Thankfully, the late-afternoon start to the Bulls’ game gave me an off-ramp from watching college football.
You kind of struggled most of the game, to be fair. But you had the ball in your hands, down by one point, at the end of the game. The obvious play was to drive to your favorite spot at the elbow and either take a 15-footer or kick to Coby White on the wing. But you dribbled near mid-court, seemingly oblivious that the last few seconds of the game were ticking away. But then — finally — you made your move. Dribble, dribble, crossover dribble, hop off your left leg, launch, swish. Winner. I just saw a headline that called your shot “The New Year’s Eve Heave.” I wish I’d come up with that line. On the TV broadcast, Bulls announcer Adam Amin had a wonderful call: “DeMAR! DeROZAN! DeLIVERS!” I only wish Stacey King had made the trip to Indy to call the game — or maybe not. I don’t know that his heart could have survived that finish. So thank you, again, DeMar, for sending out 2021 with a bang. Here’s the shot to beat the Pacers.
Second, thank you for that cool, alliterative name. It just rolls off the tongue. Kudos to your mom, or whomever put that thing of beauty together.
Third, thank you for doing something that has never been done before — hitting a game-winning buzzer-beater two days in a row. (I know, Larry Bird did it in back-to-back games, but he had a day off in between those games.) The pump-fake-first-launch-three pointer from the corner against the Wizards on New Year’s Day made me shout, to no one in particular: You have to be [expletive] kidding me! But you don’t kid, DeMar. You just do DeMar stuff. Here’s the shot to beat the Wizards. Adam Amin Act II: “DeMAR! DeLIVERS! AGAIN!” Good call. (What did announcers Amin and Robbie Hummel do to deserve those two finishes, by the way?) So thank you again, DeMar, for starting off 2022 with a bang.
Finally, thank you for the 26.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.6 assists you are averaging this year (before Saturday’s game). Somebody recently whispered that you might be a league MVP candidate. We’ll see, but it’s not crazy talk. Your team is 24-10, leads the Eastern Conference, and is — maybe above all else — really, really fun to watch. And don’t let the haters tell you that you and the guys are fattening up on COVID-depleted teams. You and every single one of your teammates has missed time due to COVID, and your win yesterday came without Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso, your team’s best defenders. Stack wins, that’s your job. And the stack is seven wins high, at the moment.
Now, for the apology.
I did not immediately believe. When the Bulls announced they had acquired you this past offseason, I did not quite know what to think. As more than a casual basketball fan, I knew who you were, of course. I mean, you have averaged more than 20 points over the course of a long career. Your record speaks for itself. But to be fair, you are 32 years old. And it wasn’t exactly clear to me how you fit with Zach Lavine, the incumbent alpha Bull. You are 6-feet-6, Zach is 6-5. And then the Bulls picked up Lonzo Ball, who is 6-6. And Alex Caruso, who is 6-5. And Javonte Green, who is 6-5. And Derrick Jones Jr., who is 6-6.
I should have believed, because your bosses seem like they know what they are doing. You weren’t around, but for most recent years the Bulls sort of wallowed in mediocrity under the leadership of John Paxson and Gar Forman — not-so-affectionately known as GarPax. Pax ascended from clutch shooter during the Bulls first three-peat in the early 1990s to the team’s basketball honcho. Gar ascended to GM from being a scout or assistant trainer or Luv-a-Bulls choreographer or something — he was always a little under the radar. Many years ago, GarPax assembled a legitimate championship-caliber team thanks to ping pong balls bouncing wildly in their favor in the NBA draft lottery, allowing the Bulls to draft hometown hero Derrick Rose with the first overall pick. And, to their credit, GarPax hired an actual competent NBA coach in Tom Thibodeau at one point, and he brought a certain identity to the team under which it thrived for a time. GarPax also had a knack for drafting guys who exceeded or at least met expectations to become very solid NBA players, or better — guys like Jimmy Butler, Taj Gibson, Joakim Noah, and Luol Deng.
But before handing over the reins to New Management in April 2020, GarPax had run its course, like a stubborn, too-long-lingering common cold. After injuries derailed the destiny of the Rose/Thibodeau Bulls, GarPax did weird stuff – maybe none weirder than paying an over-the-hill Dwyane Wade a gym full of money to play with Jimmy Butler and Rajon Rondo during the infamous, short-lived Three Alpha Era of Bulls history. That didn’t go so well. So GarPax blew things up, traded Butler for guys and draft picks, one of whom was Lavine. GarPax was really good at acquiring pieces, but not so good at fitting those pieces together. It seemed like the last five years of the GarPax Era was all about collecting pieces that formed teams that never approached being as good as the sum of those pieces. Otto Porter, Wendell Carter, Lauri Markkanen, Kris Dunn. Nice players, but collectively mostly a mess. And it didn’t help, of course, that Jim Boylan, Vinny Del Negro, Fred Hoiberg, and Jim Boylen were the coaches that preceded and followed Thibodeau. I mean — can you believe it, DeMar? A Jim Boylan and a Jim Boylen. And neither of them could coach a lick.
I should have believed in you, DeMar, because New Management – basketball operations chief Arturas Karnisovas and GM Marc Eversley – went out in September 2020 and hired an actual, bona fide NBA coach in Billy Donovan, a pretty good sign that they knew what the hell they were doing. The AK-Eversley-Donovan trio tinkered last year, when the games were played at local YMCAs without fans, if I recall correctly. They acquired big man Nikola Vucevic from Orlando in a mid-season trade. Hmmm. An actual All-Star center. I thought, this is interesting. But I wasn’t sure how Vucevic fit, exactly. He’s another good piece — but clearly he and Lavine were not enough. As a Bulls fan, the GarPax Era left me skeptical — call it PGPSD, Post-GarPax Stress Disorder. It certainly wasn’t obvious to me that Lavine-Vucevic could elevate the Bulls from also-ran to contender.
Well, it turned out I was right, Vucevic was just another piece. But New Management had a plan to build around the talents of Vucevic and Lavine, without pretending Vucevic and Lavine were some sort of Big Two that could carry the team over the top. This Big Two needed help; in fact, this Big Two needed to become part of a Big Three or Big Four. That’s where you came in, DeMar. New Management acquired you and Lonzo — guys who would not necessarily defer to Vucevic and Lavine, but might actually make them more effective by reducing the need for them to carry too much load. New Management seems to value guys who will guard the perimeter on defense and can score on all three offensive levels. The team reminds me a lot of my favorite college basketball team of all time – the 1988-89 Flying Illini squad that lost to Michigan in the Final Four. That team, like your team, was relentlessly athletic. Every guy was basically the same length – within an inch or two, from point guard to center. The Illini didn’t have anyone comparable to Vucevic, but it had a bunch of versatile, bouncy, athletic guys who loved to play basketball and did it really well together.
I’m sorry, DeMar, because I didn’t realize you were the key to this whole thing. The knock against you was that you took too many difficult, mid-range, two-point shots in an era when analytics say shoot layups, dunks, and threes, and nothing more. But you have that old school mid-range game, you distribute, you rebound, and you get to the free throw line.
What I love about your game is that I imagine it was forged not just in gyms at AAU tournaments, but on the blacktops of Compton, California, where you grew up. “Playground basketball” has a negative connotation, to some. But to me, playground basketball doesn’t mean needlessly fancy passes and one-on-one play. Playground basketball is about toughness; it’s about driving to the rim, absorbing contact, and still getting a shot off — with no ref nearby to blow a whistle. It means getting your shot blocked back in your face, getting the ball back, collecting yourself, and going right back at the guy who blocked it. You are a playground baller, DeMar. I am embarrassed I did not believe in you.
I’ll admit this: I cursed you when you took a crappy shot at the end of the game against the Knicks in the Bulls first loss, early in the season. I thought, “shouldn’t that have been Zach’s shot?” But I realize now you were marking your territory, and it didn’t really matter if that shot fell or not. You missed it, but left no doubt you’d keep taking that shot, if needed. That Zach was not alone any more. You’ve convinced me, DeMar. The Bulls have two guys capable of taking control of fourth quarters, and two guys capable of closing games. You are not afraid to take big shots, and not too proud to let Zach do it. Forgive me for doubting you, DeMar.
Let’s get on with the rest of the season, now that the whole damn Bulls roster — and Donovan — have taken their turns in quarantine. I am interested to see whether a team can contend for the NBA championship without two or three no-doubt Hall-of-Fame caliber guys. There is no Steph Curry here, no Lebron, no Kevin Durant, no Greek Freak. But color me intrigued by what your bosses have put together – a team that seems to be more than the sum of its parts. Very, very intrigued.
Let me finish by saying Happy New Year, DeMar. And, belatedly, welcome to Chicago. I don’t know how long this will last, but for the time being, Da Bulls have become De Bulls.
Your pal,
DePaul