For certain stretches of the 2023-24 season, it seemed like the Chicago Bulls were sitting out of the 2024 NBA playoffs. While they had talented players on the roster, something prevented the team from winning as many games as they should have.
However, they managed to sneak into the play-in tournament despite finishing the season with a 39-43 record. Winning against the Atlanta Hawks and whichever squad loses between the Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat will be tough. However, DeMar DeRozan and his fellow Bulls wouldn’t have it any other way.
DeRozan in particular is happy with how things have turned out. While there was talk about where he will end up in the summer, he’s zeroing in on making as deep of a playoff run as possible. He credits his personal success and chemistry with the team to a certain incident involving a teammate.
DeMar DeRozan talks about the low point that helped strengthen the Chicago Bulls
During the stretches when the Bulls were losing consecutive games, the team would understandably be high-strung as they looked for ways to improve their record.
According to Heavy’s Josh Buckhalter, it was during an argument DeRozan had with a teammate that things eventually improved for the Bulls:
“To be honest, we had some lows that, for me, means the most,” DeRozan said,” per NBC Sports’ Chicago’s K.C. Johnson on April 14. “I ain’t gonna give it away of when, but there was a time it got extremely rough for my part. The bond and the closeness we had after that meant a lot. So even though it was an extremely bad moment, it meant a lot for us to change over the season.
“I don’t look at whatever negatives happen as a bad thing because we bonded back from it in a whole different way if we didn’t have that moment.”
According to Johnson, the low point was a “heated exchange” with teammate Jevon Carter during a film session. Johnson noted that DeRozan went over to Carter’s locker for a laughter-filled moment after his comments.
DeRozan has been doing all of the carrying by himself ever since Zach LaVine and Lonzo Ball went down for the season due to foot and knee injuries, respectively. He’s averaging 24.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.1 steals over 79 games.
It will be a challenge for the Chicago Bulls to make a deep playoff run. However, many would consider it a success for DeMar DeRozan and the Bulls if they manage to force a seven-game series in the first round of the playoffs.
More must-reads: