Matas Buzelis & Josh Giddey Combine For 47 Points To Keep Bulls Winning Streak Alive

Matas Buzelis & Josh Giddey Combine For 47 Points To Keep Bulls Winning Streak Alive

The Chicago Bulls get their fourth straight win in a row to start off the 202526 season. We going to talk about it all and more, but you know what we got to do first. Let’s go ahead and play that intro. [Music] What’s going on, Bulls fans? Welcome to another episode of Chicago Bulls Central, your number one spot for everything Chicago Bulls related. I’m the host Hayes, but more importantly, you guys can follow the channel at Bull Central Pod on every social media platform we happen to be on. With that said, let’s go ahead and get into this content today. The Chicago Bulls get their fourth straight win in a row to start off the 202526 season. And this was a game in which the Bulls, you know, they did not lead the whole way through. They actually did and were down by double digit points at one point in time. And we just continue to see the fight from the Chicago Bulls team. And I think that that’s the thing that really makes this field the most sustainable that we’ve ever felt with this team before is the fact that they are fighting and competing and playing as a team. It doesn’t mean that everything’s perfect because it’s not. But the Bulls in this game, they they they allow the Sacramento Kings to go on a 19-8 run. When the Kings ended that run, they were up 60- 48. The Bulls didn’t go on a 5 to4 run to get that lead down a little bit. They were still down 64 to 53, but then they responded with a 9-0 run to end the first half to be to be only down by two. The Bulls then come out in the third quarter and they go on a 19-8 run in that third quarter to take the lead 81-72. The Bulls never give up the lead again at that point in time. They never give up the lead again at that point in time. And it’s just important to see this team continue to find ways to win at the most important times. That what this team is doing. Four wins to start off this season. A season where there have been so many people that have doubted the Chicago Bulls that have had questions about exactly who and what they were going to be this season. The Bulls have come out here and performed admirably well so far this season. Doing it as a team. It’s not all been perfect. I want to be clear. It’s not all been perfect, but when you look at the way that this team performed today, right? uh you know they did get outsc scored on the fast break 27 uh to 14. We did give up 60 points in the paint yet again, but we scored 70 points in the paint ourselves. We had 10 second chance points in this game against against the uh Sacramento Kings. It was really good to see that we once again had six players in double figures as well for the Bulls to end up winning this game. And and you got contributions from everybody again. Isaac Aoro had nine points again, you know, playing really solid defense at times. Had nine points from Myo Dumu. You had 10 points from Jaylen uh Smith, 18 points from Kevin Herder coming off the bench, nine points from Patrick Williams. But then you got to talk about Modis Bzelis and Josh Giddy leading the way for the Chicago Bulls team today. Modis had 27 points on 18 baskets. He was 11 of 18 from the field, four of six from three-point range, five assists, two steals, uh I’m sorry, five rebounds, two assists, two steals, and one block in this game for Modis Melis on his way to 27 points. I was hopeful that Modis Mousellis was going to get his career high again. His careerhigh was 31 points. It it it didn’t end up happening, but we got the win. That’s way more important. Um the Josh Giddy two rebounds shy of a triple double. He get he keeps getting very close to that triple double. That triple double’s coming for Josh Giddy sooner rather than later and hopefully he comes in one of these games against the New York Knicks. But Josh Giddy had 20 points on only 14 baskets. He was seven to 14 from the field. One and two from the three-point line. He did get to the free throw line seven times today. Just Josh Giddy. Eight rebounds, 12 assists. He did have five turnovers in this game, but he was a plus 24. Not that plus minus really matters, but the Bulls just they continue to attack it as a team. And that’s what feels the most sustainable about this. It’s not just one guy. It’s not Demar Rose and bailing them out. It’s what they’re doing as a team both offensively and defensively night in and night out that has allowed this team to win basketball games at this rate. I don’t know about y’all, right? But I I love the fight of this team. I I so often talked about this team not really having that edge over the last couple of years. that edge that we had of course during the MJ era, the edge that we had during the Baby Bulls era, the edge that we had during the Derrick Rose era and the team over the last couple years, despite how many wins or losses they didn’t have, they didn’t really have that edge. I’m not ready to say that this team has it for sure yet, but it does look like they are developing it. And that it does look like it’s going to be part of the new culture that we’re building here. If you’re able to do that, man, that’s gonna be something special. That’s gonna be something real special. and that I’m glad that this team is building and developing and that’s just what that’s all it’s about. It’s about getting to the right places. It’s not all going to be sunshine and rainbows. It’s not all going to be easy for the Chicago Bulls. It’s just not. But when you do lock in that that’s that’s what it comes down to and that’s all the Bulls have to do in this is continue to lock in. And if you lock in, good things are going to happen. Billy Donovan’s coaching well. The Bulls are playing connected as a team and they’re doing what needs to be done to win basketball games and we haven’t always been able to say that about this Bulls team. And this has been fun. This has been exciting. This has been exhilarating to watch this team start off the season this way. Now, I want to be clear here. Some losses are going to come eventually. It’s going to happen eventually. And I can’t wait to see how this Bulls team responds to those losses. But it’s, you know, you know what feels different about this version of the team is that it almost feels like when that adversity comes, they’re going to look at themselves as a team and figure it out because they’re giving the effort on both sides of the ball. And so this feels like the one of the most sustainable Bulls teams that we’ve had in quite a while. And I can read off all the stats at you. I can read off advanced analytics at you on advanced stuff, but ultimately what I just want to focus on here right now is the fact that this team is fighting and competing. And we in Chicago have always appreciated teams that show fight, teams that play with heart, teams that show grit. Does this not feel good? Does this not feel good? Like real talk, say what you will about the team. Say what you will about people who don’t like Josh Giddy. They don’t like Kobe White. Whatever it is, this team is playing with the identity of the city of Chicago. That’s what this team is playing with. It’s not it’s not the finesse. This team is going out there when they need to get tough, when they need to dig in and play defense, when they need to get dirty. They’re doing those type of things. And I love that because we haven’t had that here for so long. That’s why the Bulls fans that are excited about this run, don’t try to take that away from them. Don’t try to [ __ ] on fans that are excited about where this team is standing right now because it’s been so long that we haven’t had that as Bulls fans. That we haven’t had a team that competes and has an identity. We have that now. We are developing that now. And that’s what makes Bulls fans proud. That’s what makes people look at this team and say, I feel it’s something about this team, right? It’s something about it. We don’t have a a star. We don’t have a superstar, but there is something about this team that feels like Chicago. And that’s what I love about this team. That’s what I feel about it. Right? I’ve said it many times before. All it takes in Chicago is for you to fight, for you to compete. Wins are going to come, win, losses are going to come, whatever. But if you have a t a team that has that grit, what is it? Like that’s what you want. So, listen, I’m not here here ready to say that the Bulls are back or anything like that, but I tell you what, I have a team that’s on the court that takes the court every single night so far to start the season that I’m proud of. That I am proud to wear that Chicago Bulls uniform. And it’s been a long time since I felt that way. A long time since I felt that way. That’s what I feel about this team. That’s what feels different about this team. This team is fighting with the heart of the city of Chicago. And if you don’t understand that, you ain’t one for this city. If you don’t understand that, I don’t know what to tell you. Shout out to Davin with the $20 super chat. We appreciate you for supporting the channel, brother. He says, “Give me a like if you want five and 0 versus the Knicks.” We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. But again, I am happy to have a team that is fighting and competing with the heart of this city. That’s what I’m That’s what I’m happy for. That’s what I’m happy about. That’s the thing that matters the most to me more than anything else is that this team is competing. That’s what makes it all worth it, man. So, hey, let’s keep it going. Let’s keep it going. We not done. We not going to stop. Let’s keep this going. And and and and there were some of y’all that were saying that Josh Giddy wasn’t worth the contract, that Josh Giddy should have signed for the mid-level exception. What are y’all talking about? But let’s let’s get into the details. Let’s actually get some basketball analysis. I’m sorry. I’m fired up. I love seeing my team compete. I love watching this team fight with the heart of that. It gets me It gets me caught up, man. I be I tell people all the time, I’m a fan first. I didn’t become a Bulls fan because I cover the team. I cover the team because I’m a lifelong Bulls fan. So, when things like this happen, I be having to separate the fan from the from the podcaster. So, give me a second. I’m sorry. Let’s get to the analysis, but I just feel I’m really proud of this team. I’m really proud of the team that we have on the court. Really proud of it, man. And uh I’m so happy that we have the team that that’s here now. That’s it. Van says, “Get effing excited. We lit Shy Town, baby. F tonight.” Hey, listen. I feel you, bro. I feel you. But all right, let’s get into the analysis. So, the thing with the Bulls today that really helped this team is they shot above 50% from the floor as a team. 53% uh from the field. We were 43% from three-pointers today, which is really good basketball when you look at it. The Bulls did take over 30 three-pointers today. They hit 14 of those. Solid percentage on that as well. The Bulls shot the ball 63% true shooting percentage today, which is really good. A 61% effective field goal shooting percentage. That means that the quality of shots they that they were getting is really good and that’s really good to see. Jay from the 219 says, “I love what I’m seeing. Billy ain’t chewing bubble gum as much.” Billy’s coaching, bro. Say what you will about Billy. Billy out there coaching his ass off, bro. He’s coaching his ass off. But what this team did today, man, and in in the way that they went out went about their business, it was just really good to see. Zack Lavine had 16 points in the first half. He ends up finishing with 31 points. Um, he has a plus minus of negative 23. Plus, minus isn’t the end all be all, but it’s a stat that I read. Uh, Demard Rosen with 19 points. He’s averaging 19 on the season. Uh, we did give up 18 to Deminus a bonus, which, you know, it is what it is. Um, Russell Westbrook was killing us for a period of time in this game, specifically towards the end of the first quarter, beginning of the second quarter, and then if I’m not mistaken, I don’t know if Russ scored in the second half at all. Let me check that. Yeah, Russ was 0 for three in the second half of this game. 0 for three in the second half of this game. The Bulls are making adjustments for for for years. I’ve talked about Billy Donovan and the lack of adjustments he makes. the fact that Billy Donovan is very slow to make adjustments. Y’all correct me if I’m wrong and how you feel about this in in the in the comments, but it feels like Billy Donovan has also been reinvigorated by the state of this team because when other teams go on runs, we see Billy either call a timeout or make a substitution. And that may come down to Billy has a lot more trust in the depth that’s on this roster because he he knows these guys for so long. Um, but there’s there’s trust here and that’s not always been the case of Billy Donovan. I’m not gonna, you know, I’ve criticized Billy Donovan over the years and I’m not going to dodge talking about things that he does positive just because I’ve criticized him over the years. Rotations seem pretty good. Going to the hot hand is something as well that he’s doing pretty good so far this this year, which he hasn’t done before. And going consistently into the bench. There were times when we had Demar, when we had Zack, you knew exactly where the Bulls were going to go with a lot of things because Demar, I mean, uh, uh, Billy trust his veterans. And so now that you have a team with the Chicago Bulls team that that does spread it out a little bit more, that does get everybody involved a little bit more. You are seeing really a lot of creativity from Billy Donovan, I think more than what he had in his Chicago Bulls tenure as a whole. And I think also the way that the Bulls share the rock today, just overall, we had 34 assists today. and on 49 made baskets. The Bulls continue to play with with almost 60 over 60% of their overall shots are assisted. And that’s really good. Now, it does contribute to the turnovers. The Bulls did have 15 turnovers today, it contributes to that. But I’ll say this, as much as they did and they lost the turnover battle, for what that’s worth, um the turnovers were down and I think that overall you got you got it done. Now, unfortunately, we gave up 22 points off turnovers. I mean, that’s kind of the nature when you face off against a team like the Sacramento Kings. They’re going to understand how to get out in that and take advantage of those things. But the Bulls played, you know, a a game in which they made the adjustments. And then when you look at the turnovers from first half to second half, um, I just lost my train of thought. Nine of the Bulls turnovers came in the first half of this game and then you had only six in the second half of this game. So, as you see, and as I’ I’ve been trying to point out, and hopefully I’ve been doing a good job at it, is that the Chicago Bulls are doing a really good job at adjusting in the from the first to the second half. They don’t come out and make the same mistakes that they did in the first or the second half. They just didn’t. Um, and that’s smart when you when you do. That’s what you want. You’re going to make mistakes. The question is is how when do you learn from those mistakes? And when the Sacramento Kings went on that run uh that we talked about uh in in in the second quarter, the Bulls made a lot of mistakes over that run, but they came back, they fought hard, right? We’re talking about by by they were down by 12 at one point and they came back and and put it down by only two by the end of the first half. Then they came out and matched a run, right? So, you know, that that 19 and8 run that the Kings went on, we’ve seen times in the second quarter that that dooms the Bulls the rest of the way and it didn’t in this case. And then in that run that the Bulls went on, the Bulls went on a 9 to8 run to start off the uh the third quarter. When you look at it, five different Bulls scored over that time period. Five different Bulls, six Bulls checked in. And so, you’re you’re it’s hard to guard a team when a team is spreading the ball out the way that the Chicago Bulls do. in that in that run that we talked about to open the third quarter. Vu had six, Bzelis had six, Aoro had five, Trey Jones had two, Jas Giddy uh made a bucket and he assisted on a bunch of them. When you spread it out like that, it makes it so difficult for opposing teams to really guard and to stop a run because it’s coming from all directions. And that’s where the Bulls really benefit at is the fact that they they trust each other and they’re able to get on these runs. And when they do get on these runs, it’s not just Josh, it’s not just Modis, it’s not just Vu, it’s Kevin Herder, it’s Jaylen Smith making a couple buckets, right? It’s it’s it’s Iodumu making a few buckets. So when you get into that rhythm as a team, that that’s what you do, man. That’s how you win win basketball games. And this team is finding a way to do it. And you got to give them credit. Shout out to Alex for the super chat. We appreciate you. Allan. Allan, I’m sorry for the super chat. We appreciate you, brother. But yeah, really really good, really good to see the start for the uh for the team, man. And I think we we really doing some [ __ ] right now, man. Uh that’s why it’s always better to be in the middle. Not too far one way or the other because when things play out, your takes don’t end up biting you in the ass as much as right. Well, like I said, bro, like to me, it’s not about being negative or positive. I always try to just say what I really feel about the team and evaluate it. And I think as a podcaster, you know, I’ve I’ve learned to be better. And I and I did have to learn to do this. I learned to always, even if I have a take, I always try to present the opposite view of that take and why it could weigh out the other way. And that gives you a more open and fair analysis. The Bulls podcasters, the Bulls content creators, I ain’t got to call their names out. You know who they are, that have spent the entirety of the off season saying that, “Oh, Josh Giddy’s bad. we shouldn’t resign Josh Giddy. This team is going to be terrible. There’s no way that this team improved. Now you got to eat crow because all you had to do is say, “Hey, I don’t know how much we improved. I don’t believe we improved, but hey, this is what they’re trying to do to improve. People spend so much time just just wanting.” We live in take culture. People want to be right, but they don’t want to be right because of actually having See, here’s the thing. I don’t want to be right or wrong. I want to find the right answer. Right. So, my take may be may be wrong, but in that I want to find the right answer. And that’s where where it separates people in in content creation that just can’t find a way to to to separate themselves from takes. And that’s just what it comes down to. And I know it’s fun to [ __ ] on my pack, but he’s actually accepted the fact that we aren’t tanking. He stated two days ago he’s rooting for wins. How can you not at this point? This team is fun. Very fun team. Very fun team. Davin says, “Jaylen Smith showed some grit uh after bad start in the third.” Yeah, listen. And and that’s why players are going to have bad stretches. It’s going to happen, right? And because Jaylen Smith is our only backup big right now, it means that he’s going to be afforded a time to work out of his slow starts. And today, he did that pretty well. He worked out of that slow start pretty well because it was bad for Jaylen. And I think the thing for Jaylen, it just has to come down to Jaylen has to stop shooting so many jump shots. And that’s just my personal opinion. Do what Vu does in the sense that get yourself in rhythm in the paint first and then start taking jump shots. Jaylen Smith is 0 for four from three-point range in this game, but he finished the game five for nine, right? So that means that he made every two-point shot that he that he took today. His only four misses were three-pointers. Get your big ass in the paint and body some people up. That’s what it comes down to. Jamar Owens says, “The Bulls are wearing the Kings out with their speed.” Yeah. I mean, not just wearing them out with their speed, it was also the relentlessness of their attack. They didn’t back down from their attack, right? They never the Bulls never allowed themselves to get they I mean there there were there was a little stretch in there where the Bulls couldn’t buy a bucket, but after that stretch was over with, the Bulls just went right back into their offense. They went right back to trusting each other. They went right back to doing what needed to be done. And that’s how you that’s how you tough out games. That’s how you get comeback victories. And to the people crying, learn to take things for what they are or don’t watch. There you go. There you go. Alvin in the building says, “Congrats for 4-0 start. Next game will be brutal with highc caliber teams. Start of losing streaks, believe me. No. See, here’s the thing. Highc caliber teams, we faced off against every team that we faced off except the Kings have been teams that were are slated to be in the playoffs or in the playoffs last year. Listen, yes, the Bulls are going to lose some games. Make no mistake about that. But to just say, oh, highc caliber teams, let’s not act like the Bulls didn’t beat highc caliber teams last year and they didn’t have this depth. They didn’t have this defense. Come on, man. Everybody again, Alvin is highlighting the people that just want to be right more than they want to find the right answer. That’s it. Coaching a group that are team first, not just filled with black holes, ball, doesn’t move, player is so much more fun for coaches. Maybe that’s why BD is doing better. Cassandra, you’re not I I I feel I completely agree with you. Completely agree with you. Maybe Acme was telling the truth when he said, “I want to rebuild and compete.” Hey, I mean, listen, through through four games so far, it looks like that’s happening. So, we’ll see. You took the words right out of my mouth. The sustainability is what most impressive by far. We’re not relying on a 50piece or going to the line absurd amount of times. It’s so sick. C Red. Yeah, it it’s it’s it’s this feels sustainable. Now, we’ll see how sustainable it ends up being as the season goes on, but this definitely feels sustainable so far, and you haven’t had a lot of times of that over the last few years where the Bulls, even when they go through some of their best times, it really felt like hugely sustainable. This does feel sustainable. CH uh Chino says, um, “This team is like last season’s Pacers. No real superstar, just a bunch of good starters and elite role players. Hey, good point, man. You gotta relax on CGO. That’s still Hey. Yeah. Yeah. So, I want to be clear here. Matt Pek and Big Dave are my Those are my guys. Like, you will never hear me say anything bad about them as people. Now, do I always agree with Matt Pek’s takes? No. But me and Matt Pek have had it out on Twitter before like like we we will have our debates publicly. But that’s my like I want everybody to be aware. It ain’t going to be no Matt Peek and Big Dave slandering by me or Will Gotle. I those are my guys. Those are my boys. But you know it is it is what it is man. FYI Coral is shooting better than Zo for the season now and still getting settled in. Let him cook. Hey, we’ll see. We’ll see. Last year Joe Calli said that the Bulls should have drafted Dalton Connect over Modis. Haha. There are these are the so-called Joe Calli doesn’t have the basketball IQ of a fish. I’m just going to be like now that is one person that I will slander. Joe Calli does not know basketball to save his [ __ ] life. He’s not that good of a writer. He’s a hack and an idiot. So that’s my take on Joe Calli. I don’t mince words. That’s my take on Joe Calli. If he feels a way about it, tell him come see me. he can pull up. The Bulls team does not have any superstars, just team players. That’s why we winning. Well, I mean, you still need stars to to to achieve the the highest level of things, right? The way me and Pat actually talked about this on Locked on Bulls today. The way that I see this team is that I and here’s my methodology, right? To get to to attract superstars, you you can do it one of two ways. You can develop, you can sign them, or you can draft them. Right now, considering that the Bulls that a lot of the roster set, we’ll see what happens with Kobe and I those type of guys. The other way that you can build a championship contending team is that you have a base and you look like you’re a team that’s on the upward swing. At that point, people are going to want to come play with you. You got to have the money to get that done. The Bulls have the money. That’s not a problem. The question now becomes in the season is how good do the Bulls actually play the entirety of this year? And does that play make a Walker Kesler or Jaylen Duran or whoever want to come play with the Chicago Bulls? And if it does, hey, you never know what the future may hold at that point in time, right? So, it’s just a steady stream of development and that’s what you have to do. And we’ll see. AK really flipped two bench players for two starters. Not bad. There you go. Here you go. Uh Raiken says, “Dude, Adam said the Kings are good team. just missing something to get them over the hump. Freaking deja vu. Just the Kings now. Hopefully the Bulls starting to listen. You know what’s funny? At the end of this game, there was a sequence that us on the live stream, we all said, “Hey, this felt so much like the Bulls of the last three years where it was like uh uh Zack Lavine had the ball to Demar. Demar dribbled to air out the ball. Last minute pass out to Deanna Sabonis. Demanis Sabonis missed the three.” If that didn’t happen about 20 times every season when Demar, Zach, and Vu were here. And then let’s talk about this as well. When are we going to start talking about the fact that Nicolus actually looks reinvigorated? Like we got V jumping. He dunked today. We got him playing defense at times. Like what what again? This is why having a young and upcoming team can be very very infectious. And that’s what it seems like. Like Vu on the season. Let’s let’s talk about Vu’s numbers this season. Vu is averaging 20 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, and a steal per game. He’s doing that on 63% shooting from the field. And get this, he’s averaging 20 points on 12 shots. 12. Do you know how efficient that is as a big man to average 20 points per game off 12 shots? That’s ridiculous. Ridiculous. Now he’s shooting 54% from three. Is that going to be sustainable? Probably not. But let’s talk about Vu, man. Vu is 35 years old in year 15 and he looks like he’s playing younger than when we signed his ass or traded for his ass. I’m just saying. I’m just saying. Joe says, “Thank you, Hayes. That find the right answer monologue was appreciated and appropriate for ball and life. The team does feel different. C Re said, “You don’t have to want to be right. You don’t have to want to be wrong.” Official Garc 35 is not young in basketball. We’re talking about basketball. Like uh stay in context in life. No, 35 is not not old in basketball. That shit’s ancient. Um but yeah, just just find the right find the right answer. I don’t have to be right. I don’t have to be wrong. the everything that I talk about is is supposed to be on the journey to find the right answer. And that and that’s hopefully what you guys are um are hopefully appreciating here. Man, I never hated AK as much as others. I’ve always kind of saw his visions. I do hate how slow he is to move off of players and how he misses the little things in trades, but once he has a vision, he locks in. I agree with you. 100% agree with you. Once he has a vision, he definitely locks in. Wayne uh hold says, “Hey, smart business that is what it is.” It is what it is, bro. That’s my motto in life. That’s one of my biggest sayings. It is what it is. Billy Sisuh thrives off good playmaking, point guard, and deep roster. Reminds me of the 2020 bubble OKC with CP3. You We’ve I have always said that Billy Donovan, his system looks best when he has a point guard to run it at a high level. We got two of them. We got Trey Jones. We got Josh Kitty. And while they’re even starting out there together, Billy Donovan has had a good job at understanding. All right, Trey Jones is usually one of the first guys to check out. And that’s because he knows he’s going to need him to run the point guard once Josh Giddy sets down. Again, intentionality from Billy Donovan and how he has been coaching this team. Very big intentionality from him. Gotta love it. Gotta love it. Jeremy says, “Hay, do you think other NBA teams uh talking about Chicago Bulls now?” I mean, they’re going to talk about us when we when we play them either way. Hold on, y’all. I think my baby girl just texted me. A And of course, she wants some money. Uh, that’s my daughter. Uh, but yeah. Uh, let’s see. Big Diesel says, “Uh, do you get the Baby Bulls vibe with this team?” I’m talking about the old I actually was just talking about I was ranting about that at the beginning of it. It does feel like that. that’s that tough, scrappy team that just plays hard, that competes, that want that wants to be that just wants to play, that enjoys each other as a team and wants to really scrap. That’s what really feels good about this team. So, absolutely, I do agree with that 100%, brother. 100%. Modest ball handles are nasty for year two gym rat results, man. The shot, right? If if I’m not mistaken, Modis is shooting above 38% from three this season if I’m not mistaken. Give me one second. I like to make I like to double uh fact check myself uh because sometimes I look at so many numbers I can get caught up right around 37%. He’s shooting from three. So there you go on that one. Um V look great today. Vu looked amazing today. It’s It’s really It’s really good to see Nicolus appreciating. Well, not appreciating, but just playing with some fight, man. Vu is playing really and I already know they’re going to be some Bulls fans that are like, “Oh my god, he’s playing good, so we can trade him.” I I know that narrative is going to start sooner rather than later. It is what it is. There’s nothing we can do about it. Uh like Wimby, I think, and this is from Josh. Like Wimi, I think Billy Donovan hung out with some monks in Chinatown during the offseason. Maybe a monk gave him some wisdom to coach. That’s crazy. That’s wild. Uh Brody says, “Do you think Vu might want to stay now because he’s uh subly expressed interest moving to a contender?” I think Vu just wants to know that he’s playing for something. Right. That’s what most uh players want to do. Most players just want to know a what the direction is and then does that direction align with wherever they are at that point in their career. I think Vu is at the point where he’s he wants to win basketball games and I can’t blame Vu for that. he wants to win games and um you know let’s hope that we’re getting Vuch to that spot. I I do think there’s a there’s a high probability that Nicolus does stay a Chicago Bull. I’ve been saying that for a while now. I kind of feel even more strongly about it. Um but we shall see. Pat Gavis as usual nine points tonight, but I’ve been impressed with this play as of late. Well, I I think um I think the difference is when you give nine points and you’re the starter, that stands out a little bit more, right? Especially when you’re a starter that’s expected to take shots. When you’re coming off the bench as the third or fourth guy coming off the bench and you’re playing solid defense, you’re giving some strong minutes and you’re scoring nine or 10 points. I think that that’s that’s a lot different of a stance to be in. And so I think that now that P will is is firmly just a role bench player on this team that his contributions stand out a little bit more. He played 20 minutes today for nine points, three rebounds, but I don’t really think that even really does a good job at what he did well today. There are some times where Pee Will was playing with some good energy today that he was getting out attacking closeouts, those type of things. And that’s what you want from a player like Pee Will. So I think Pee Will in this in this role that he’s currently in, this is the perfect role for Pee Will. And I don’t mean that to be derogatory. I just think that this is the perfect role for him as it stands right now. Artcraft Immaculate says, “Hayes, I think people are really seeing AK’s vision for this team now. With no uh true center, we balling.” I mean, we have Oh, you mean like center of of like the team? We have a center. V is a center. But um yeah, I I see where I definitely get where you’re getting from with that one. Andrew says, “Joshky being the starting point guard for teams has only produced wins. Shouldn’t surprise people that the Bulls are starting far better than last season with him dishing the rock. Well, let’s be clear here and see this is this is where I’m not trying to trigger any Josh Giddy fans. Josh Giddy’s great. You guys know I’m I’m a Josh Giddy guy. I like Josh Giddy. I wanted him to stay on this team. But I think that if you’re trying to put that just on Josh Giddy, it’s it’s missing the point. It’s Josh Giddy and Trey Jones. They are equally doing the point guard duties. They are equally distributing the rock. They are equally adding to the unselfishness of this team. It’s not just Josh Giddy that’s bringing that. Josh and Trey are very much so bringing that and and the the the creativity part of it they’re both contributing to, but then they do opposite things. Trey Jones’s defense is immaculate. And I apologize, young fella. I clearly wasn’t familiar with your game. I Trey Jones defensively is a dog, but now you’re also seeing Josh Giddy be more aggressive offense. How many spins into the rim did we see into the paint did we see today? How many times did we see Josh Giddy knock back down from a player taking them off the dribble? Josh Giddy doesn’t even have the quickest first step, but taking him off the dribble, getting to the rim, understanding how to use his size and strength advantage against smaller guards. That’s major. That’s major. Talking Chicago sports says Bulls do uh doing good. Can’t wait for co Kobe cheese Kobe uh to get back and see what what that looks like. Man, I’m excited for Kobe and Zach to get back, bro. Really excited for those guys to get back. Less expectations for Pete Will. He plays better. Ignoring the contract. Exact. At this point, you’re not going to live up to the draft selection. At this point, your contract’s always going to be an overpay. Just go out there and play your game. Go out there and play your game. Leave it all out there on the basketball court. The contract, the draft selection, it is what it is at this point. But when you’re on that court, go out there and give quality minutes for your team. go out there and help contribute to your team winning. That’s it. That’s it. Josh Giddy is the engine that’s driving this Bulls team. It’s not just Josh Giddy. It’s not just Josh Giddy. And And again, I don’t say that to knock. He’s a huge part of it, but it’s not just Josh. It’s Josh and Trey. It really is Josh and Trey Jones equally doing it. Man, Trey Jo Trey has become my favorite Bulls player this season. underrated three-point shot, too. I think it’s I think when it comes to Trey, it’s that Trey is just a baller. He’s going to go out there and do whatever it takes to help his team win. If you need him to try to lock somebody up, he’s going to do that. If you need him just trying like it’s going to do it’s going to be all of that. So, um Trey’s a Trey’s a dog, man. I love Trey on this team. Stands have no middle ground with their takes. Just straight to riding. Absolutely, bro. Absolutely. Giddy is a beast, though. I’m happy he’s playing good. I’m h I love the way that Josh Giddy’s playing. Love how he’s playing, man. Josh Giddy is playing excellently well so far this season. Rob says, “Same AK haters. Need to give AK love if Billy gets his from the uh haters.” Uh they both in are hand in hand. Yeah, I agree with you there. I agree with you. Uh Andrew says, “Honestly, it meant that by having him play the position he’s naturally play.” Oh, yeah. Well, I agree with that. Uh but let me finish reading your comment. whole life. He’s thriving and shouldn’t surprise anyone. Taking a shot at the haters when he was on Oh, I agree with you. Like, and and people still try to do that now in the comment section every time I’m like, “Josh Giddy’s not a three. Stop trying to put Josh Giddy at the at at the small fort. Josh Giddy is a point guard. That’s what he is. That’s what his role is. That’s where he’s best at. He is a point guard. Let that man be a point guard. So, yeah. Absolutely. Trey gets sub first because he’s all using all his No, he gets sub first so that you can stagger. That that’s not about energy. Trey Jones isn’t running out of energy. They’re subbing him first because they that you want to bring in your other player and then you usually have about a two, two and a half, three minute run with Josh getting to know Trey and then Trey comes back in. I don’t think it’s about energy. I think it’s just about staggering their minutes so that you always have one of your best distributors out there on the court. I don’t think it’s about it’s about fatigue at all. Brody says, “We’re uh we were getting destroyed in the paint.” Jeez, it refreshed uh in the first half. Does slotting Zack Collins in help with protecting the rim? I’m not sure how good of a defender he is. Zack Collins is a functional defender, but his big body, he’s a smart defender, so it will help some, but if you’re looking at it like solving all the points in the paint problem, it’s not going to do that, but it’s going to help some for sure. And it’s going to help this Bulls team take that next step in those areas for sure. I think the key to their success is that it seems like everyone knows. Absolutely. There’s something to be said about when players understand exactly what’s asked of them. And this Bulls team, these players understand exactly what’s being asked of them, what this what they need to do to contribute to winning for this team. Everybody knows their role. And I think that that’s that’s a good thing. That’s a good that’s a good place to be in as a team. If Dean Booker becomes available this offseason, he would Oh, no. No. No, no, no. Probably the biggest Giddy fan on earth. But uh too, but Jesus Christ chat be refreshing like fast. But his only huge flaw takeaway so far is that his justice turnovers. He got to figure out those. I agree with you. That’s that that is is one of his biggest flaws for sure. Ant-Man Melo says, “Uh, keep building internally. I don’t think we need to go sign some marquee free agent unless it’s a dominant power for that’s well not power forward or power forward’s modest. I do think that we do like Jaylen Duran, Walker Kesler, Mark Williams, Mark Williams only just as a stop gap until you find your next starting center permanently. But to get that style of center in here and I keep Vu. If we sign Mark Williams in the offseason, I keep Nick Levous. I think they’ll have a nice dynamic there. Um, but yeah, I mean, I I agree with you. I think that they definitely need to figure that out. Subbing out Trey early keeps his pace and rotation in chat. Great benefit with having a deep ass deep team. Very deep team. But all right y’all. Oh wait, hold on. Question here. Correct me if I’m wrong, but fourth game, fourth different leading scoreer. That’s balance. Um, didn’t modest lead us in scoring in another game or am I tripping? So it’s been Giddy. No, you’re right. fourth game, four four different leading scoreer because it’s been Giddy, IO, Vu, and now Bzelis. So, yeah, four four games, four different leading scorers. That’s crazy. That’s That’s wild. That’s wild. Kobe’s going to lose his place on the team. No, he’s not. Kobe’s going to be the starting two. He’s always going to be the starting two. That’s He’s not going to lose his place on this team at all. But all right, y’all. I got to get ready to go do Locked on Bulls, man. I appreciate you guys for sticking it out with me, man, throughout this. You guys are the best in the world. If you’re in here and you’re not subscribed, hit that subscribe button. We’re trying to get to 30,000 subscribers as quick as possible. That’s the goal for the season. And if the Bulls keep winning, we’re probably definitely going to get there. So, appreciate you guys so much. Make sure I didn’t even use the banner today. I got so caught up I didn’t even use the banner. Um, make sure you guys are following us at Bull Central Pod. You can send us any feedback, questions, comments, concerns. Bull [email protected]. Lastly, if you want to leave a text message and our voicemail for the mailbag, the number to do so, 773-270-2799. We are the number one spot for everything Chicago Bulls related, but that is thanks to you lovely and beautiful people. And like I like to end every episode on, go Bulls. Love you guys. See red if you can y’all. Peace. This has been a presentation of the Break Break Media. [Music]

The Chicago Bulls are 4-0 to start the 2025-26 season, and this isn’t your typical hot streak—it’s a complete culture shift. After trailing by double digits against the Sacramento Kings, the Bulls clawed back with relentless defense and balanced scoring, led by Matas Buzelis’s 27 points and Josh Giddey’s near triple-double. This team is winning without a superstar, spreading the ball across six players in double figures and playing with the grit that defines Chicago basketball.

Haize breaks down how Billy Donovan’s coaching adjustments, Nikola Vucevic’s rejuvenation, and the dynamic point guard duo of Giddey and Trey Jones are creating sustainable success. From defensive intensity to clutch third-quarter runs, the Bulls are building an identity that feels authentic to the city. Tune in for passionate analysis on what makes this team different and why Bulls fans finally have something to believe in.
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