DeMar DeRozan truly believes there is a “sunny island” awaiting him this season.
And not the vacation kind that most players fly off to when the playoff run comes to an unexpected screeching halt.
No, DeRozan’s island is much different.
Alex Caruso is playing defense like his usual wolverine self, his wrist surgery a distant memory. Lonzo Ball is pushing the action in transition, knee feeling 100%. Patrick Williams is back to guarding the opposition’s best scoring wing, fully recovered from his wrist surgery. And the mystery surrounding Zach LaVine’s knee is solved, leaving the fellow All-Star to doing what he does best – defying gravity and scoring.
That’s the “island” DeRozan can see over the horizon.
Some days it’s just feeling more distant.
The short-handed Bulls continued doing all they could to carry the load, this time outlasting San Antonio 120-109 Monday night at the United Center.
It was the 11th game they’ve had to play without LaVine, now improving to 6-5 in those games, and DeRozan remained a big reason why, now scoring 35-plus in a career-best six-straight games, finishing with 40 against his former team. His third 40-point game of the season.
DeRozan’s mind, however, was on the news that LaVine was in Los Angeles to meet with a specialist, trying to get some clarity on why his left knee keeps swelling up and hurting.
“It’s tough not playing with Zach,” DeRozan told reporters. “It’s something we’ve got to weather. His health is the most important thing, him just figuring out what’s what for the long run. As bad as I know he wants to play now, he’s got to take care of himself first and foremost.
“We’re going to get to that point where we’re all healthy and we have everybody full strength, but the important thing is getting everyone healthy.”
That’s the “sunny island” DeRozan was talking about.
Obviously there were still a lot of clouds to get through.
Coach Billy Donovan did offer up more details on what was going on with LaVine, and while the team’s medical staff was convinced that there was no major structural damage in the latest imaging, the All-Star guard wants his mind eased.
“Zach obviously had an ACL [repaired in 2017], so there’s a doctor there [in Los Angeles] that he obviously trusts and wants to go see that knows his knee pretty intimately because he actually did surgery on him before he ever came to Chicago, so I think the more collaboration with people – our people here and Zach, the people he trusts – is a good place to start,” Donovan said. “I think it probably makes the player feel very, very comfortable when there’s a lot of really smart people in a room talking.”
What Donovan needed against the Spurs, however, was smart people on the floor playing for him.
None have been smarter than DeRozan, who once again put on a clinic when it mattered most, scoring 19 of his 40 points in that final quarter. A fourth quarter in which the Bulls (37-21) entered down 89-83, looking slow on their on-the-ball defense and inconsistent offensively.
DeRozan’s scoring and leadership solved a lot of that.
“It’s amazing because it’s not only to score at the level he does, it’s the IQ,” Donovan said of DeRozan’s latest masterpiece. “He generated a lot of offense. Him basically making basketball plays.
“There were struggles for our team really on both ends, but he’s just biding his time, and knows what he has to do.”
And it’s not just his scoring in this streak, it’s DeRozan’s efficiency. He tied Wilt Chamberlain in having six-straight games of at least 35 points and 50% shooting.
“I can’t believe how efficient he is night in and night out,” Donovan said. “It’s mind boggling to me.”
DeRozan of course downplayed all the individual numbers he’s been putting up, prioritizing the winning.
“I just got to my spot and treated it like I was in the gym by myself,” DeRozan said. “Every shot that I take is a shot that I work on.”