On April 28, Beijing time, the first round of the NBA playoffs continued. The Bucks beat the Bulls 116-100 at home, eliminating their opponents 1-4 on aggregate in the series and successfully advancing to the Eastern Conference semifinals to meet the Celtics. In this game, Alphabet Brother slashed 33 points and 9 rebounds, and Portis had 14 points and 17 rebounds. The Bulls' highest scorer was Patrick Williams, who scored 23 points.
In this game, the Bulls' star DeRozan played 42 minutes and 57 seconds, and with Lavin and Caruso both absent, he needs to take on more responsibilities as the leader of the team. However, he did not show a strong offensive desire on the offensive end of the game, and he scored only 4 points in the first half, in stark contrast to the alphabet brother's 23 points. He made only 11 shots in the game, ranking fifth on the team, without any three-point shots, only 2 free throws, and contributed 11 points, 7 assists and 3 steals.
The Bucks took a 23-point lead at the end of the third quarter and went into garbage time early in the fourth quarter. But DeRozan didn't give up the game, and he still played nine minutes in the fourth quarter. But deRozan, who did not attack, helped the Bulls very little. Obviously, DeRozan's performance is unable to lead the team to victory in the game, which is also a big reason why the Bulls lost to the Bucks. No one knows what happened to DeRozan today, and seems completely out of shape. Playing such a performance in the life-and-death battle, DeRozan somewhat disappointed the fans.
DeRozan's performance is reminiscent of Durant in another group's first-round showdown, Celtics vs. Nets G3. Durant played 45 minutes and 54 seconds in that game, but only made 11 shots in the game, and only 2 free throws, and had 16 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists. We rarely see a Durant who can't lift his spirits on the offensive end and has no morale on the court. In the end, the Celtics reversed that game and successfully won the match point 3-0. It also set the stage for the Nets to be swept out in the first round.
In a post-match interview, DeRozan talked about his own situation in this game. 'I'm proud of everyone, I don't care how much my teammates throw, I believe them and as long as my teammates are in the open space, I'll keep passing to them. DeRozan said. Obviously, DeRozan wants to be the organizer of the team today and create opportunities for his teammates. He hopes to use his team efforts to win the game.
Although eliminated from the tournament, DeRozan seemed very satisfied with the team's performance. He said his first season with the Bulls was a perfect result for the team, to say the least, a really good season. He was with the management, his teammates and the city, and everything was beyond his imagination. It can be seen that DeRozan really enjoys life in Chicago.
Finally, DeRozan also talked about the team's offseason, saying that there are no future plans with management at this time. But he will try to communicate with other players in the offseason, do everything he can to recruit them, and do his best to bring in reinforcements for the team.
Although the Bulls have gone high and low this season, they are inseparable from the impact of injuries. By the time next year is fully assembled, we may have more expectations for them.
(Text/Yuwen Basketball)