On April 18, the Bucks played the first game of the playoffs at home against the Bulls, and the Bucks ended up 93-86 bulls, leading 1-0 in the series. The Bulls' three core players in this game all performed poorly, 6 of 19 of LaVine, 6 of 25 of DeRozan and 9 of 27 of Vucevic, which was significantly less than their regular season average. DeRozan, in particular, was inefficient, shooting just 24 percent from the field.
Against the Bucks, DeRozan's offensive end of the defender is the top outside gate Holliday, he played 43 minutes, 6 of 25, 2 of 3 points, 18 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals and 3 turnovers, shooting 24%, while he was 1 of 6 in the final quarter, 1 of 3 points, 0 of 3 points, did not stand up in the critical stages of the game, but was targeted on the defensive end.
In an interview after the game, DeRozan said: "I don't know what's wrong, I'm definitely not going to lose so many goals in the next game, and I have to play harder in key moments, sometimes when you come to the playoffs you care about not losing every ball, which makes your mentality out of balance, I think there will always be demons in the playoffs, it's hard." ”
This is the cruelty of competitive competition, and the competitive level of athletes is closely related to their mental state. DeRozan was in the Raptors while James was dominating the East and hadn't won the Playoffs against the Cavaliers. He was even suffering from depression at the time. DeRozan is still strong, averaging 27.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 0.88 steals, 0.32 blocks per game in the regular season, shooting 50.4% from the field and 35.2% from three-point range, and he once scored 35+ in several consecutive games to match Jordan. But once in the playoffs, facing the opponent's key defense and the rhythm of the game, DeRozan seems to be shrouded in demons and unable to exert his own strength.
But even if the Bulls Big Three don't play well, with their fierce defense, the Bulls only lost to the Bucks by 7 points. If the Bulls want to go one step further in the playoffs, DeRozan will have to beat the demons, challenge himself, and throw those damn balls in.