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DeMar DeRozan says he understood where Nikola Vucevic was coming from
Chicago Bulls All-Star DeMar DeRozan says he understood where his teammate Nikola Vucevic’s frustrations were coming from during their last match against the Oklahoma City Thunder and vowed not to let it happen again.
Recognize the mismatches
Vucevic had a solid game against OKC, compiling 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting to go with nine rebounds, four assists, three steals, and two blocks. However, Vooch felt like he could have done a lot more had he gained more opportunities against the undersized Thunder frontline.
His frustrations boiled over when he and Bulls coach Billy Donovan got into a heated discussion on the sidelines. DeRozan says he and the rest of the team have to be better at recognizing mismatches on the floor and getting Vucevic more involved in the offense.
“That’s on us to understand and recognize that when we’re playing against teams, there’s going to be games where we can exploit certain matchups," DeRozan said. “That’s on us to be able to recognize that in real time. Going to Vooch, feeding the big man. Make them make a decision on him, and we’ll get a lot of easy things off that.”
Not selfish
DeRozan continued that Vucevic was not at all selfish in wanting the ball more. With rookie big man Chet Holmgren defending the shaded lane, Vucevic was having a lot of success scoring and making plays. However, the Bulls strayed away from their big man, in the process, letting the game slip away from their grasp.
“That was an opportunity where we could have punished (the Thunder) with Vooch. I definitely get it. None of it is taken as a negative. One thing about it is none of it is from a selfish standpoint at all. (Vucevic was) right, I agree with him and we all agree with him."
