In the regular season, the Bulls are known as "bullying soft and afraid of hard". When facing the top 3 teams in the East and West, they lose more and win less, which is the standard "pseudo-strong team" in the eyes of fans. In the first round of the playoffs, DeRozan faced the Bucks' defense, hitting just 6 of 25 shots and scoring only 18 points in a single game. After the match, DeRozan said at a press conference: "I will never shoot 6 of 25 again. ”
Azan's bold words were not reduced to empty talk. In G2, DeRozan played 44 minutes and 22 seconds in the whole game, shooting 16-of-31, without a three-point shot in the whole game, scoring a game-high 41 points plus 7 boards and 4 assists. With DeRozan's strong outburst, the Bulls won a victory at home to the Bucks, pulling the score to 1-1 and the two teams were back on the same running line.
DeRozan did what he said, and this time he improved his shooting percentage to more than 50 percent. In order to limit DeRozan, the Bucks thought of many ways. The Big Three, Middleton, Holliday, and Alphabet Brother have all been involved in defending DeRozan, but the effect is very average. In particular, brother Alphabet, DeRozan scored 16 points on 8-of-9 shooting when facing him defensively, which can be described as a bulletless shot.
In the final 21 seconds of the game, the Bulls led the Bucks 112-109. After the Bulls missed a shot, Vucevic gave DeRozan a rebound in front of him, who turned past Connaughton and broke inside to meet the long-arm puller of The Alphabet. After DeRozan hit the ball, the Bulls extended their lead to five points, which was considered to be a win. With this layup, DeRozan scored 41 points, setting a new personal playoff scoring record.
DeRozan used a god-like performance to help the Bulls win a key round on the road. And in the case of Middleton's injury, the Bulls also saw the possibility of overturning the Bucks in the series. In the next game, deRozan, who broke his heart, will lead the Bulls forward.