5 observations: Bulls reserves star in victory over Wizards

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5 observations: Bulls reserves star in victory over Wizards originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

Presented by Nationwide Insurance Agent Jeff Vukovich

WASHINGTON — The Chicago Bulls rested DeMar DeRozan, Nikola Vucevic and Alex Caruso Friday night in a 129-127 victory over the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena.

In honor of load management as the Bulls have clinched the ninth seed and a home play-in game against the Atlanta Hawks, here are five observations, not 10:

—If you’re looking for any meaning from this one, Javonte Green started at center in a small-ball lineup. Why is this significant? Coach Billy Donovan said the Bulls have been able to dabble in the double-big lineup of Nikola Vucevic and Andre Drummond. But with injuries to Patrick Williams and Torrey Craig, the Bulls have very little experience playing the small-ball lineups that Donovan has historically preferred.

Alas, the experiment lasted one half. Adama Sanogo started the second half for Torrey Craig, pushing Green to power forward.

But Green, who set a career-high for scoring in a half with 20 first-half points, continued to make his undeniable impact since signing from the G League. He scored 24 points in 23 minutes despite not playing down the stretch.

“I really felt like the transition would be a relatively smooth one because he has played with these guys and he knows these guys,” Donovan said. “Being comfortable coming into the building and knowing everybody is big. The biggest thing was the limited amount of time that he had the opportunity to play as he rehabbed and recovered from his knee (injury).

“To me, he doesn’t look like he has lost any athleticism. And the one thing I’ve always loved about him is he’s high motor and high energy and you know what you’re going to get every single night from him. He’s not always going to be perfect. But he’s going to make something happen, whether it’s on the glass, getting out in transition, cutting. I didn’t know what to expect because I hadn’t seen him in awhile. I didn’t know where he was at physically. He’s been a huge bright spot for us and made a big,…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/5-observations-bulls-reserves-star-013433606.html

Author : NBC Sports Chicago

Publish date : 2024-04-13 01:34:50

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