This article is a translation of journalist Jamal Collier, does not represent the views of translators and platforms, and the relevant data statistics are due to March 15, 2022
On March 13, 2022, the Bulls played against the Cleveland Cavaliers at home at The United Center. In this game, the Chicago Bulls' surprising success story this season will once again be unfolded in front of fans.
After the game began, Cavaliers guard Darius Garland dribbled the ball from the left side of the court, the basketball passed between his legs, and he chose to attack from the right.
Waiting ahead to defend him is Ayo Dausum, the 22-year-old Bulls rookie clinging to Garland. In the process, Dawsom dodged Kevin Love's cover and then threw off a second cover from Evan Mobley, who was considered rookie of the year. After catching up with Garland, Dausum spread his 6-foot-8-inch (about 2.03-meter) arm and tightly enveloped Garland, once again confronting the Cavaliers' best player.
The 2022 All-Star aura still seemed to be in play, with Garland rising to the basket, but Dawsom flew high from behind and took the racket out of bounds with his left hand.
It was Garland's first shot of the game, and in this game, he would have made eight more shots while Dawsum was defending him, but only 1 hit. At the end of the game, the Bulls defeated the Cavaliers 101-91.
Of course, giving Dausum, the best player to defend the Cavaliers in the 2021 second-round show, wasn't the Bulls' plan.
A member of the Bulls' office said: "Whoever told you that he had anticipated this was lying to you. ”
During the offseason, the Bulls signed defenders Ball and Caruso to balance Zack Lavin and DeRozan's backcourt attacks. Unfortunately, Bauer (knee) and Caruso (wrist) have been sidelined with injuries since January, and Caruso did not return until last week. During their absence, the Bulls' defense plummeted and their ranking in the East kept falling.
In this case, Dawsum, who averaged just 19.8 minutes of playing time in the first three months of the season, quickly entered the starting line-up.
According to statistics, in the past 25 years, only 5 of the rookies who have played an average of at least 25 minutes (their team can enter this playoff) are second-round shows.
Now, Dausum is about to become the 6th.
Caruso said: "It is really a very important thing to arrange Dawsum in this way. The team lost Ball and me, who were considered the team's main point guard and possession player. Now the team has put him [Dawsum] in this key position, to play this position that is probably the hardest in the league, and it's really impressive. ”
Eight months ago, the Bulls used their only 38th overall pick to select a little-known hometown defender. That's a good story because for Dausum he can stay in the NBA. However, under normal circumstances, it is difficult for a second-round show to develop in the NBA.
Now it seems that Dawsum has done far more than a second-round show can do, and the 1.93m defender has become one of the team's main defensive players, playing a key role in helping Chicago quickly rise to become the powerhouse in the East.
Since becoming the starter on Jan. 15 (U.S. time), Dawsum has nearly doubled his playing time, averaging 11.4 points per game for 36.4 minutes per game and shooting 53 percent overall (38 percent from three-point range). Averaging 6.0 assists per game, he ranks second among rookies behind Thunder rookie Josh Kieddie. Dawsum, like Garland, often takes on the team's toughest defensive tasks. Since joining the starting lineup, Dawsum has defended the 2022 All-Star 613 times, the only player to have more than 500 rounds.
Of those defenses, Dawsum conceded 23.7 points per 100 possessions, ranking seventh out of 31 players (at least 200 similar matches recorded). That's a statistic similar to Phoenix Suns forward Bridges, who is the dream 3D player for many teams in the league.
Bulls head coach Donovan said: "We've asked him to do a lot in the absence of Ball and Caruso. As a coach, I don't take it for granted. Dawsum was supposed to be a second-round show — if in general, would he be a player in the development league? So what will he be like? ”
"Everything he's done, how he's influenced our team and how he's helped us to win, it's all unbelievable. In very, very difficult circumstances, he gave us too much too much. ”
When Dawsum announced his appearance in the NBA draft last April, he was ranked 22nd in the top 100 rookies given by ESPN. He is also the first-round rookie in esplanade reporters Jonathan Kivony and Mike Schmitz's mock drafts.
Dawsum's accolades during his time at the University of Illinois have been great: He was a recognized All-American First Team player, won the Bob Cusi Award (awarded to the nation's top point guard), and led the University of Illinois to the number one seed team in the NCAA Championship, the first time the school has achieved such a good result in 16 years.
But with poor performances in the Big Ten League Championship, and the University of Illinois' early exit from the NCAA Tournament, the team began to resent him. In this case, Dausum still believes his position as a first-round pick is safe. Before the draft and for most of the NBA League, Dawsum didn't play. But unlike Dawsum, other promising players played actively and eventually got ahead of Dawsom, such as No. 12 Joshua Primo, No. 25 Quentin Grimes and No. 26 Nashon Hylander.
The Chicago Bulls auditioned Fordson before the draft, and because they didn't have the first-round picks, they didn't have much hope of getting Dowsum. At the start of the trial, The Bulls vice president of basketball operations, Atullas Canisovas, admitted: "Dawsom is a first-round talent, but we only have the 38th overall pick."
Still, the two sides agreed to the trial because they knew that draft nights always brought surprises. According to another source, the Bulls were impressed by Dawsum's personality. The team loves his grace off the field and the pride he feels about coming from Chicago. The Bulls believe he can contribute to the team in a pinch.
One Eastern Conference scout said: "As I analyze the number of Games Dow Soum plays, I don't think his shots can be pierced. He has some good conditions: a long, strong body, he can break forward and then kill under the basket. Especially walking from the right side, although he needs to spend more effort on the left hand. ”
The Bulls don't have much draft capital in the coming years — first-round picks for 2023 and 2025, as well as second-round picks for 2023, 2024 and 2025, have all been traded off, and for the first time since the 2016-17 season, the Bulls have given up so much to get into the playoffs. At such a high price, the Bulls must be able to find young players to use when the opportunity comes.
As Dausum's pick on draft night kept sliding backwards and eventually fell out of the first round, then No. 31, No. 32 in the second round... The Bulls' draft room began to spread a cautious optimism. A source for the team said: "We've had some simple discussions about young players and maybe they'll have a higher starting point. But the Bulls want to assemble a roster that can win this season's title, and Dausum is the number one player on the Bulls board. "As far as it comes to forming this team, the Bulls' roster is not so complete and they have to keep working. It's really unbelievable that a second-round show player like Dawsum, who has been able to play so many games in the face of frequent injuries and COVID-19 this season, is so reliable.
Dawsum also answered the most salient question related to his game, which largely led to a sharp decline in his form in July, and that was his shooting problem.
Although Dawsum doesn't shoot often, he tries his best to shoot every shot. According to ESPN's statistics and information research, Dawsum has shot 44 percent from the jump shot this season, ranking 10th among players with at least 200 jump shots. He averaged 2.3 three-pointers per game and shot 39 percent from the field.
Dawsum was also surprised by his pass, as the Bulls shot 52.8 percent from the field after his pass. Of the 98 players who have had more than 300 assists this season, that statistic puts Daussom in fourth place.
Donovan said: "This guy sometimes has to face a lot of things. When he doesn't perform well, people will say that this is to be expected, because he is still a young man and needs time to hone. However, he responded to all this. ”
Dausum often records information on his phone that runs like a running diary throughout his every season.
Dausum liked to remind himself in this way, and this habit was there since he was a child. At his home in Chicago, where he grew up, his family placed a whiteboard near the storage room on which Dossom's goals were clearly written, such as Player of the Year, National Championships, and so on.
After deciding to run in the draft, Dawsum looked back on what he remembered during his junior year in Illinois, and he used it every day to remind himself of the direction of his efforts.
The first show, the first show, he often wrote to himself.
Dawsum said: "I work out every day just to be able to make my first show. Every time I see the first round, I know that's my goal. On draft night last July, Dawsom rented a bar in Chicago, inviting about 200 family and friends.
Dawsum had six children, the youngest. That night, his family sat in black and white in the VIP section of the bar. Others, some from high schools, some from colleges, and even Local Chicago rapper Chance the Rapper joined in as a sign of support. With Dawsum's name still on the league's draft board, the atmosphere inside the bar became increasingly tense.
At one point, when the radio alerted the best players who had not yet been selected, a picture of Dawsum's baby flashed on the big screen, which plunged the whole bar into a frenzy. However, it was only later that they realized that the person they cheered for had not been chosen.
Throughout the process, Dausum waited for the call. However, the results of the lotto prediction did not appear, the first round of being selected did not appear, nothing. When Dawsum sat, there was a clear sense of tension in the air, but there was no change in Dawsum's expression.
About three hours after midnight, Dawsum received a call from his agent: "Stay home." ”
After a few minutes, the awkward atmosphere in the air was replaced by the joy of announcing the results on the draft scene. Dawsum's mother, Jamala, burst into tears of joy, and his family and friends soaked up the joy and took out their phones to record the moment, and the party once spread to the street outside the bar. After that, Dausum stepped onto the stage for a simple speech, but his voice was muffled by the cheers of the crowd, and it was almost impossible to hear what he said.
Recalling that night, Dawsum said: "Of course, I was lucky to be here and come to the NBA, and my gratitude is beyond words. ”
After a brief moment of excitement, Dausum picked up his phone and recorded things as before.
Dausum said: "I wrote on the note-taking software how eager I was to win, and the draft will always inspire me. I think no matter how hard you try, you'll always be able to try a little harder. From that moment on, this sentence became my eternal motivation. ”
He said on draft night: "There's never been a better 37 than me. ”
"Every day, it inspires me — there are 37 people who come ahead of me and are selected ahead of me, and that's what motivates me every day, and I want to surpass them," Dausum said.
In order to keep himself motivated in the offseason, Daussom decided to tattoo the number "38" on himself, which was also his first tattoo.
Written by Jamal Collier
Compiler: Ah Shuai