The Fastbreak: Bulls depth, chemistry powers them to 3-0 start, Vuc’s dominance, LaVine returns

The Fastbreak: Bulls depth, chemistry powers them to 3-0 start, Vuc’s dominance, LaVine returns

What’s up everybody? It’s another edition of the fast break. We are presented by Dunkin Donuts. I am Casey Johnson and we are taping this after the Bulls victory over the Atlanta Hawks. Yes, the 3 and 0 start is in the books. And here are four storylines I’m going to be watching for in advance of the Sacramento Kings coming to town and a home and away series against the New York Knicks. Can the bench keep this up? Man, have they been lights out through the first three games. 35 points in the opener, 58 points in Orlando, 53 points against the Atlanta Hawks. And they just keep upping their number of double figure scorers. We had uh five, I’m sorry, six double figure scorers in the opener, seven in the second game, and eight against the Hawks. Yes, three reserves joined all five starters in double figures. This is really, really significant stuff. And here’s the thing. It doesn’t matter if they don’t always score in the 50s from a bench standpoint. Why is this performance important? Here’s why. The Bulls have a commitment to a style of play in which they are trying to play fast offensively, push the pace, take more threes, make uh a fast pace, whether it’s a made basket or miss basket. But there’s also more of an emphasis at the defensive end this year. Pick up guys full court, get into screens earlier, play with more physicality, more rim protection, take charges. In other words, the coaching staff is asking a lot of these players and how can they uh perform in this ask by having a long depth, long rotation, lots of depth, shorter stints, playing 10, 11 guys. So if whether or not the bench scores 50 points a game, it’s the commitment to style of play that’s important that you’re getting from the bench because they can wear teams out. In fact, that’s exactly what I would assume would that’s the quote. We can wear teams out with our depth. So this is pretty significant stuff we’re seeing through these first three games. And I want to see if the Bulls bench can keep it up. I think they can. I think depth is going to be a seasonl long theme for this team. And again, it doesn’t always come down to scoring. It comes down to just rotating guys in and out, keeping bodies fresh to this commitment of style of play and wearing the opponent down. I talked to Kevin Herder and Patrick Williams. They both brought up interesting points about their bench roles. Um, they said, “Look, we’ve all been starters in this league. Kevin Herder started a lot of games in this league. Jaylen Smith has even started games in this league. Patrick Williams, obviously as the fourth overall pick, was a starter at one point in this league. Iodumu has started more games than he’s come off the bench in his Bulls tenure. So, they bring that starters mentality to their reserve minutes. And look, Iodumu has been absolutely lights out in these first three games. He hit those huge three-pointers in Orlando, three of them, in fact, came back with two more in the victory over the Atlanta Hawks. And he told me his approach as a reserve player is no drop off from the starters to the reserves. And if the res uh if the starters are kind of lagging a little bit, it’s the reserves job to come in and pick up the tempo and fix those mistakes. So, that’s a great mentality as a unit to have from a bench. And uh I’ve had multiple people within the organization tell me in the scrimmages throughout the preseason, the second unit scored some victories over that first unit. So, you’ve got a proud second unit there. And obviously uh Billy Donovan and his staff have been staggering. One starter, it’s usually been Trey Jones who’s been staggering and coming back with the reserves. But man, this bench performance has been extremely notable through the first three games and let’s see if they can keep it up. Uh Patrick Williams is another guy who’s played very well in the first three games, most uh particularly in that Orlando game. He told me uh he’s feeling very good physically and the way he judges his performance is if the team wins or not and he’s not focused on his individual play at all. He’s focused on the team’s victory. Um and he’s also keeps bringing up last year and how trying of a season that was for him. And he told me um you learn from the bad sometimes even more so than the good and the game is slowing down for me. That’s what he told me. And you’re seeing that through the first three games. So, keep an eye on that bench. Like I said, I think it’s going to be a seasonl long theme. All right, second story line for this week. Nola Vuvich, can he keep up his hot start? And uh the switch has officially been flipped. I was beating the drum more than anybody uh about uh his uh let’s say sleepy preseason. He was definitely easing his way into his 15th NBA season. Just turned 35 years old. silly us. I mean, that switch has been flipped. Um, he’s had two massive games. Um, the opener against the Detroit Pistons and a near 2020 triple double against the Atlanta Hawks, 19 I’m sorry, 177 and N. He also had a huge deflection late defensively against the Atlanta Hawks. It started a fast break. So, don’t sleep on that responsible team defense from Nicole Lavuch. But look, uh, the way he has scored has been as notable as the number of points that he has scored against Detroit in that opener. He was really, really impactful in the sense that he scored inside early. Then he started kind of trailing the defense as that trail big and making some three-pointers cuz the defense was getting uh more crowded in the lane. And then what did he do late in that season opening victory? He went into a twoman game, read the pocket, started hitting that floater in the lane. So, he was showing his versatility scoring inside, outside, and one thing you hear consistently from teammates about Nicole Vuch is how high his IQ is on the court. He reads the game so well. That Pistons scoring uh versatility is an example of that. Um, and you know, that’s obviously something the Bulls are going to need throughout this season. Um, another thing you always hear consistently about about Nicole Vuvich is how well he takes care of his body. I talked to him about that. Again, we’re having a little bit of fun with this because he’s given us a hard time for how much we question him about being in year 15 and turning 35 and how sleepy his preseason was. Um, but Billy Donovan shared a really cool anecdote about how there are a lot of times where they’ll fly into a city for a road game and Billy Donovan will head down to the hotel gym and Dolvich will already be in there lifting weight. This is a guy who’s very devoted to his taking care of his body, knows his body very well, and he told me, “Look, I played a lot of minutes at Eurob Basket for Montenegro. I had a long training camp. I played upwards of 10 games. I was just using the preseason to get back into game shape in terms of running up and down the court, get used to the physicality again in terms of banging against some bodies because between Euro basket and the start of preseason, he had not done much five on five. That’s all he was focused on. So flushed the preeason. Dolvich certainly has. And um he’s obviously off to a very very hot start. Um, he also told me that his kids actually have helped him get younger and healthier because he just feels young at heart with three young kids and he the his kids have helped him change his diet and his uh recovery habits. So, uh again, this is a guy who’s very very prideful of being ready to play. He rarely takes games off. He doesn’t take any practices off. He knows his body. He takes care of his body. and you’re seeing some great results through the first three games. So, we’ll see if he can keep that hot start up. All right, third story line. You may be watching this after Zack Lavine, Demar De Rozan, and the Sacramento Kings roll into town, but we are taping it before the Kings game, and it is Zach’s first game back at the United Center since last season’s trade. The Bulls did actually play Zack and Demar once last season post trade in Sacramento, but this will be Zach’s first trip back to the United Center where in 416 career games with the Bull, he averaged 24.2 two points, shot 39% from three-point range, most notably made two all-star appearances, and uh really really represented the organization with lots of class and professionalism. Dynamic score. Bulls have a video tribute planned for Zack Lavine. And look, he’s doing what he’s doing for the Kings. That’s what he’s always done. He’s off to a very hot start through their first three games. for taping this before their fourth game in Oklahoma City. Uh averaging 31 points on 53% shooting. Um he did foul a three-point shooter in a tough season opening loss. That’ll be ammunition for Zach’s critics. It’s say he’s always kind of been an empty calories, could score, doesn’t impact winning. But I I’ve always maintained that Zack Lavine uh you put him in the right situation, he can impact winning. He’s got a gold medal from the Olympics to prove that. We saw it work. Old history, but we saw that work for h one half season with Lonzo Ball and Demar De Rozan and Alex Caruso here in Chicago. He’s a very very dynamic offensive player. One of the most efficient scorers in the league. And um it’s been a trade that’s really kind of worked out for both sides because Kevin Herder, uh Zack Collins, and Trey Jones have made a big impact here in Chicago. Um, from my seat, Zach again represented this organization professionally both on and off the court. Always in lean times. He was available to the media. He propped up his teammates. I maintain that he sometimes would talk up teammates that were not to his caliber in those trying years uh in the Jim Bolan era. And he always took all accountability and was always supportive of his teammates. But don’t take my word for it. Take Nolvich’s word for it. Listen to this quote. Uh when I asked Nicole Lavuchovic about what it’s going to be like for Zack Lavine to be at the United Center as an opponent, he said, “I hope the Bulls fans give him the welcome he deserves. I think he gave a lot to the Bulls organization throughout the years. I know people criticized him at times, but I think it wasn’t always fair. He’s a great guy. He always competed, played hard, always tried his best. He always cared and wanted to do what’s right by the organization and win. I don’t think he always had the pieces and when he did it didn’t really work out for all of us. So, I just hope fans give him a really warm welcome because that’s what he deserves. I wholeheartedly agree and as I mentioned the Bulls have a video tribute planned. All right, fourth story line for the week. Team chemistry. This like the bench to me will be a seasonl long thing. And this is going to be one of those esoteric esoteric topics that some people may roll their eyes at because look, there’s a great old sports quote that uh winning is the best chemistry builder. And look, the Bulls are three three and0. All the good vibes are happening right now, right? But I maintain that this team is going to stay close and connected even through adverse times, which surely will come. Every NBA season features uh adverse times. Every professional sports season features adverse times. It’s how you respond to those adverse times that ultimately usually define how your season finishes. And this team’s closeness is legitimate. Um it’s been a prevalent theme already all this season, all training camp. Uh you you’ll remember that the Bulls gathered for not one but two offseason uh meetings. One in Los Angeles, one in Miami. These were informal gatherings where players came to work out together, scrimmage five on five together, have team dinners together. These are team bonding things that are not mandatory and the fact they got as much buy in as they did uh is a testament to this team’s chemistry and closeness. Here’s what I sumu said about this very dynamic. He said, “This group is by far the closest I’ve been on in terms of being together, joking around. If you’re around some teams, it sometimes can be forced in terms of the way you click. I think this group, like we can go on a bus ride and we’re laughing, we’re talking about the NBA. It’s more of a brotherhood. And look, you can say that again, this is an esoteric like small thing, right? I think it’s actually very important for a couple reasons. Um, this team’s going to have to sacrifice throughout this season. There are guys in roles right now that they’re not going to keep. Trey Jones is starting games right now. If and when Kobe White gets fully healthy, Trey Jones will not be starting games. He will be coming off the bench. Trey Jones is playing very well as a starter. That’s a potential sacrifice coming down the road. Iodumu is finishing games right now and finishing them very well. As I mentioned before, he hit those big three-pointers in Orlando and again against the Atlanta Hawks. He’s not going to be closing games all season long. So, this is that sacrifice um that’s going to be happening throughout the season. This is a very deep team. Roles are going to change, minutes are going to fluctuate, and it’s that closeness and chemistry and team buyin that I think will help them in those sacrifice times, times of sacrifice. Um, in fact, I would assume we also spoke to this very dynamic when I asked him about it. He said, “We’re so tight-knit. We’re such a tight-knit group off the court. So, whoever coach chooses to close or start with, we respect that decision because we know that everybody on the roster puts the same amount of work in to try to help us win. So, again, maybe a small thing to some people, but to me, it’s a very big thing and it’s going to really help this team throughout this season. There’s two more examples of this sacrifice that I’m talking about. Late in the fourth quarter in Orlando, uh Billy Donovan asked Josh Giddy to check back into the game. Josh Giddy told Billy Donovan. IO’s got it rolling right now. Let’s see where this goes. That’s Josh Giddy bringing that to Billy Donovan. What did I do? He had three fourth quarter threes. There’s one. Uh here’s another one. Little peak behind the curtain here. Postgame locker room after the Atlanta Hawks victory. Dalon Terry DNPCD had played well in some short minutes in the first two games. Did not play in the third game. who was one of the most excited and uh complimentary players in that postgame locker room. I saw with my own eyes. Dalen Terry. He was pumping up his teammates. He was clapping. He was talking about the 3 and 0 start. Again, winning breeds chemistry. And there will be tough times. The Bulls are not going to go 82 and0. Here’s a news flash. But this team chemistry, this team closeness to me is going to carry this team through those adverse times. So like the bench, I think that’s going to be a seasonl long theme. All right, lucky viewers. We are starting a new segment on this week’s edition of the Fast Break. It’s called Banner Bull. How about that for some? It’s the bull that I think is going to have the most impact for this coming week. And next week we can see how I did. This is the first uh episode or first segment of this, so we don’t have everybody to look back on, but next week we can see how I did in terms of my prediction. and then we’ll spin it forward and pick another one for the following week. So, my banner bull for this week is spotlight on Trey Jones. He’s averaged 13 points per game, 8.3 assists, and 3.3 steals through the through the first three games. Obviously, has slid into that starting role uh created by Kobe White’s lingering calf injury. And in fact, he’s joined some pretty elite company with those 10 steals through f uh the first three games. Michael Jordan is the last player to record 10 or more steals in the season’s first three games for the Bulls organization. That happened in 1990991 season. So yes, we’re 35 years down the road and Trey Jones is joining MJ in that elite defensive company. And look, these steels are not an aberration. This is something that was happening in the preseason. He’s very, very crafty in terms of reading passing lanes, getting his hands on balls in terms of deflections, which was a major theme in the preeason. So, that’s why he’s my banner bull. That’s why I think Trey Jones is going to have the most impact over these next three games, Sacramento Kings, and that home and away series against the New York Knicks. We’ll see how I did next week uh at our next week’s uh taping. But that’s our new segment for uh this week’s episode of the fast break. All right, let’s get to your questions for this week. Our first one comes to us from Ronnie Miller. He asks, “With Kobe White and Zack Collins coming back at some point, how deep can Billy Donovan realistically keep this rotation? Who do you see as the odd man or men out?” This one’s actually pretty easy from my perspective, Ronnie. You’re going to see Zack Collins replace Jaylen Smith as the backup five. Jaylen Smith obviously had a big game in Orlando making threes, but you know, he’s basically more a of a stretch five, whereas Zack Collins to me really fits into the style of play in terms of physicality, rim protection. In fact, he was having an incredibly strong preeason. I think he would have played a lot of minutes uh from the jump if he hadn’t gotten hurt. I still think once he gets his feet under him and his wind back and is ramped up um assuming he recovers pretty well from this wrist fracture, he’s going to be playing a significant role. So, that is a pretty one e even e I’m sorry, that’s a pretty e easy one for one swap. Um, as far as Kobe White, he’s just going to join the guard rotation. Um, once he’s up to full strength and gets his game wind under him, obviously he projects to be the starting two alongside Josh Giddy. You’re going to see Trey Jones move into a reserve role. And then I would assume who’s going to be in a reserve role. So that’s going to be a four guard rotation. That’s typically how teams do it. Um, and you’re just going to see minutes redistributed amongst those four because obviously with four as opposed to three, there’s less minutes for everybody to play. Um, this is that sacrifice I was talking about earlier. I see them handling it very, very well. Um, and look, Kobe’s been the biggest cheerleader while he’s been in street clothes through these first three games. So, uh, whenever he gets back, that’s how I see the guard rotation shaken down. But, you know, Billy Donovan’s made it very clear that he’s going to be playing 10 or 11 pretty consistently throughout this season and that the roles are going to change. Like, he’s going to just sometimes ride the hot hand. Like, you might see a guy go from a DNP CD to like playing significant minutes at some point. That’s just how this team is. You’ve got a lot of interchangeable parts and pieces. The depth is the team’s main strength. All right, our next question. Um, does Trey Jones keep the starting spot when Kobe White returns? I know last season Trey, Kobe, and Giddy had good chemistry together before Trey was injured. That comes to us from representing myself. I already answered this obviously in terms of how I see this happening with Kobe eventually replacing Trey Jones. In no world do I see Trey Jones remaining a starter when Kobe White is healthy. Um, but Trey Jones is going to play a significant role for this team all season long. His trust factor with the coaching staff is very, very strong and obviously he’s a very good player. Um, he’s very, very crafty in terms of getting to the rim for his size. He’s, you know, the steals leader through three games. Defensively, he’s very, uh, active with his hands, which is exactly what the coaching staff wants in terms of deflections. So, you’re going to see him move to a bench role, assuming Kobe White is fully healthy at some point, but his role is not going to be any less impactful. They’re still going to be asking a lot of Trey Jones, as they should. They resigned him as a priority in free agency for a reason. They envisioned a big role for him, whether that’s starting or coming off the bench. And right now, he happens to be starting. At some point, I do expect him to be coming off the bench, but he’s still an important piece of this team. All right, our last question comes to us from Broto TL. With the NBA Cup starting Friday, how do you see the Bulls finishing in their group? The Bulls are with lots of teams off to good starts, the Knicks, the Heat, and the Hornets. Well, I’m glad you reminded me of the teams in the Bulls group because that’s how little I focus on the NBA Cup. I’m sorry. Maybe I’m wrong. Put me in the minority, maybe not. I don’t know. I can just tell you I like innovation. I think Adam Silver has done some very good things. I actually am surprisingly a playin proponent. I think it’s been very good for the league. NBA Cup, I’m not there, man. I just can’t do it. In fact, our trusted uh producer Kevin Lapka had to inform me uh who the victors of the first two NBA Cups were. And for those of you who don’t remember, the Lakers beat the Bucks in the inaugural NBA Cup. And last season, no I’m sorry, the Lakers beat the Pacers in the inaugural NBA Cup. That’s how much I follow this. And last season, the Bucks beat the Thunder uh in the second annual NBA Cup. Obviously, the Bulls have not advanced past the play uh the group stage, and maybe they will this year. And yes, Friday is the first NBA Cup game against Jaylen Brunson and the New York Knicks with their new coach, Mike Brown. Um they’re off to a very good start. So, I don’t know how the Bulls are going to fare in NBA Cup play. I do know that I’m not that interested, unless of course the Bulls go to Vegas and then I’ll have to fly to Vegas and cover it and then we’ll take it more seriously. But as far as this group play stage, I just again, call me wrong, call me in the minority, I I’m not into the NBA Cup. I find it confusing. I know there’s some cool fancy courts that are very cool and I know that the players pay lip service to it in terms of, you know, they say it’s good for the league and there’s extra prize money, all that stuff, but privately I’ve talked to some players who are probably about as uh flumxed by it as I am. So, that’s your uh NBA Cup take from yours truly. Um, and that’s going to do it for this week’s edition of the Fast Break. Thank you so much for checking us out. We really appreciate you doing that and we will be back with more content next week.

The Chicago Bulls are 3-0 for the first time since 2021-2022 and K.C. Johnson is here to break it all down.

From depth to chemistry, here’s why the Bulls have started so well and why it could be key themes for their entire season.

0:00-0:25 – Intro
0:26-4:43 – Bulls bench scoring powers them to 3-0 start
4:44-8:20 – Nikola Vucevic off to hot start
8:21-11:25 – Zach LaVine returns to Chicago
11:25-15:41 – How Bulls’ team chemistry is powering them
15:41-17:34 – K.C.’s ‘Banner Bull’ of the week
17:35-23:35 – K.C.’s Mailbag

#chicagobulls #nba #basketball

✅: 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 – https://www.youtube.com/@CHSN_Media

📱: 𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝗽𝗽
▪️ https://2ly.link/243X4

🖥️ : 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗲𝘀𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁
▪️ https://bit.ly/3D4PDaR

📱: 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀
▪️ Find us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/CHSN
▪️ Like on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CHSN
▪️ Follow on X: https://twitter.com/CHSN__
▪️ Follow on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@chsn