With Paris in the rearview mirror, time for Bulls first-half awards

The Bulls needed something, anything, in the aftermath of the embarrassment in Minnesota back on Dec. 18.

Leave it to Goran Dragic to provide the Heat check.

Spending seven seasons in Miami, Dragic learned that tough love not only needs to happen in the locker room behind closed doors, but sometimes needs to be made public.

That’s why the veteran guard had no problem coming out after the Bulls gave up 150 points to the Timberwolves and insisted, “We’re not playing for each other … simple as that.”

The Bulls have gone 10-6 since then, and Billy Donovan didn’t think it was just a coincidence that there has been an effort to play for each other more consistently over that span.

“I say you confront it, you call it out and you try to expose it,” the coach said, when asked about Dragic’s comments. “And I appreciated Goran saying what he said because at the time, I think there was a lot of accuracy to what he was saying.”

That’s why go ahead and give Dragic the award for the “Most Pivotal Moment of the First Half.”

With the Bulls just past the halfway mark, here’s the rest of the first-half awards being handed out:

MVP: DeMar DeRozan – While the “maestro of the midrange” has watched his scoring dip slightly from last season, he’s also adjusted to how teams are now playing him. Like DeRozan saw most of the second half of the 2021-22 campaign, the double teams and blitzes are coming more frequently. It didn’t take the veteran long to flex that high basketball IQ and come up with the counter. That means showing opposing defenses just how dangerous he can be as a play-maker.

In the 20 wins DeRozan has played in, his scoring average was just 24.9, but his assists numbers were way up at 5.6. And as far as the fourth quarter goes, he’s still the closer, shooting 47.4% from the field in that final stanza.

Most Improved: Patrick Williams – The former No. 4 overall pick was expected to make a jump as a scorer this season, but just not the way he’s done it. Williams has become the best three-point shooter on the roster, sitting at 42.1% from long range.

More importantly, his scoring numbers have gone up in three of the last four months, as Williams looks much more comfortable in the framework of the offense.

The one complaint of his game so far? At 6-foot-7 and a solid 215 pounds, Williams should be a much more dominant rebounder than a guy grabbing just 4.1 boards per game.

Most Underappreciated: Nikola Vucevic – Bulls fans love to pile on the big man when things are going poorly, despite the fact that he’s sacrificed more than anyone on the roster. He’s shooting five points higher from the field than he was last season, and his three-point percentage has gone up from 31.4% last year to 37.4% 45 games in.

He’s durable, and a perfect fit for DeRozan and Zach LaVine’s games, willing to abandon the paint and be a threat from outside, so both of his teammates have room to operate at the rim.

The Biggest Mystery of the Second Half: Lonzo Ball and the Feb. 9 Trade Deadline (tie) – Ball solves many of the team’s biggest weaknesses, but the reality of his left knee issue leans more toward the Bulls not having the point guard available this season.

What the Bulls do at the deadline could be a reflection of that reality, with a true point guard really needed. As far as the idea of any of the “Big Three” being dealt or a major blow-up of the roster happening? As of 45 games in the books, very unlikely on both fronts. If anything, there could be a minor tweak made.

Stay tuned, however, as the next few weeks could change some minds in the front office.

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