Down players and a head coach, Bulls culture keeps pushing forward

Billy Donovan went into the league’s health and safety protocols on Friday, but thanks to the culture he’s established the machine kept rolling in Sunday’s win over the Pacers.

It’s been easy to lose sight of Billy Donovan’s influence in the Bulls’ 20-10 start.

Thanks to a 113-105 workmanlike win over a slumping Pacers team on Sunday, that’s exactly where the coach’s team sat in the standings – 10 games over .500 for the first time since Jan. 7, 2016, and in second place in the Eastern Conference.

Donovan’s secret sauce in all of this?

“Billy has done a great job of making it a player-driven team, and including those guys in all the decisions,’’ acting head coach Chris Fleming said. “Any conversations we have about basketball moving forward, our team is included in that. And I think that has enabled that group to compensate for losses of personnel and continue to play the right way. In addition to that you have guys that are high character. They don’t dwell on it too much.’’

That culture Donovan has established was on full display against Indiana, even with the coach not there, as well as still missing key players like Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso. The Bulls announced on Friday that Donovan became the fourth NBA head coach to go into the league’s health and safety protocols, with Fleming being handed the controls.

As Fleming pointed out, however, when the culture has been established from the head coach, that culture can coach itself at times.

“I’m really proud of how these guys have handled themselves,’’ Fleming said of the win. “They’ve dealt with a lot of adversity and earned that place in the standings.’’

What was very obvious early into Sunday’s division showdown with the Pacers was the visiting team was going to have a Vucevic problem.

That wasn’t the case in the meeting last month.

Vucevic was still in the midst of serving his time in the health and safety protocol in that Nov. 22 game at the United Center, and Indiana’s bigs felt very comfortable to do what they wanted, especially in the physicality department.

In that eventual 109-77 Pacers win, Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis combined to finish with a plus-47 in the plus/minus category, as well as a combined 33 points, 21 rebounds, and four blocked shots.

Vucevic’s presence in the rematch was much different, especially early on.

The Bulls are usually going to have a good night when the center gets going early, and while that’s been inconsistent this season, it wasn’t against Indiana.

Vucevic came out in that opening quarter and went 4-for-5 from the field, as well as out-rebounding Sabonis and Turner by himself five to four.

It also showed on the scoreboard, as the Bulls led after one 33-27. Much different than the 31-16 hole they dug for themselves five weeks earlier.

Vucevic didn’t let up very much in the second, either, as the former All-Star helped the Bulls build a 63-48 halftime lead, going into the locker room with 13 points, seven rebounds and two blocks.

What’s left of Pacers pride – which considering all the talk of a roster blow-up coming wouldn’t seem like much – did show up for the third, along with the Bulls helping the visiting team as much as possible. It’s the season for giving, but not what Fleming wanted to see from his crew.

Thanks to six Bulls turnovers that led to eight Pacers points, that comfortable 18-point lead the Bulls once held was down to just eight.

No worries – Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan made sure of that.

Thanks to the Bulls’ two alphas, Indiana’s hopes of a comeback were crushed in that final stanza, as LaVine scored 12 in that quarter, and Mr. Fourth Quarter, himself, DeRozan added six.

LaVine finished with 32 in his first game back out of the protocols.

“I’m tired of getting Covid,’’ LaVine said. “We’ve been good with guys out and that’s saying a lot.’’

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