NEWSLETTER
The No. 38th pick in the draft is not supposed to be appearing in 48 of 52 games.
The No. 38th pick in the draft is not supposed to be averaging 24.2 minutes per game for the first-place team in the East.
The No. 38th pick in the draft is not supposed to be able to take over starting point guard duties and average 12.8 points with 7.8 assists on a 55.0 percent clip from the field.
The No. 38th pick in the draft is not supposed to be icing games with a poster dunk while two All-Stars are on the floor.
Ayo Dosunmu should have never been the No. 38th pick in the draft.
Ayo Dosunmu’s Incredible Poster Dunk Seals Win Over Pacershttps://t.co/R2BhHasmZV
— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) February 5, 2022
• If the Ayo Dosunmu dagger dunk put a smile on your face last night, just wait until you watch the rookie see his highlight for the first time:
https://twitter.com/chicagobulls/status/1489806540051828743?s=20&t=fay5PgO-tbqbw66c-XyYfw
• What we’re seeing from Dosunmu simply isn’t normal. I don’t care where a player is picked in the draft, it’s incredibly rare to see a rookie come in and play the kind of winning basketball we’ve seen from this guy. Not only has his on-ball defense been good enough to shut down some of the NBA’s best scorers on several possessions, but his playmaking prowess has become stunningly consistent. His career-high 14 assists last night marked the third time this season he has recorded double-digit dimes. Dosunmu has stacked at least 6 assists in nine of his 12-consecutive starts. He has hit at least 8 assists in seven of those games. However, what’s arguably even more impressive is the fact that he’s done all of this while averaging just 1.9 turnovers a night. If we look at the players who have averaged at least 30 minutes since January 15th (minimum 10 games played), Dosunmu has the 8th-highest assist-to-turnover ratio in the NBA.
• Dosunmu scored 9 points in the 4th quarter to go along with 4 assists, validating every ounce of trust head coach Billy Donovan has put into him since the season tipped-off. Dosunmu spoke about what this trust meant to him after the game, particularly speaking to a conversation he and his head coach had Friday morning after the rookie had two costly turnovers in an OT loss to the Raptors.
“I was talking to coach Donovan this morning, and it was actually pretty cool because after we lost, I had not talked to him until this morning. And it’s one of those times where if you get in trouble in school, you don’t know how your parents are going to react,” Dosunmu told reporters after the game. “So he called me this morning like, ‘Ayo, I got to talk to you,’ and I’m thinking he’s going to be upset of course. He came to me, and he asked the same question you asked, ‘Ayo, what did you learn from yesterday?’
“I told him I picked up my dribble on the baseline, and just having better court awareness in the game. And, he was like, ‘cool, you got it.’ I’m like, ‘that’s it?’ And he said yeah. That exchange right there just makes me want to go through a wall for him, and compete for him because I know he believes in me.”
• I think Dosunmu’s quote above serves as a great example of why Donovan fits this Bulls team so well. There may be a handful of young pieces on this roster, but there is no lack of motivation. I’m sure unlike last year, Donovan recognizes that he doesn’t have to pick this team apart. He expects so highly of them that they expect so highly of themselves. When that’s the case, there isn’t much talking that needs to be done about a mistake like the one Dosunmu made. He’s seemingly built an environment founded on accountability.
• Something I absolutely love about this video is that you can see Dosunmu look at Donovan like, “I have the green light!?”
Friday night plans settled: just gonna watch this on a loop for the rest of the night pic.twitter.com/E8kYfQ6dtT
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) February 5, 2022
• Excellent point by ESPN’s Mike Schmitz. While I also didn’t expect Dosunmu to be this impactful this fast, I always thought it was clear that he belonged at least in the top-30. Dosunmu may have been an “older” player who lacked one particularly elite skillset, but he was still one of the best players in college basketball who averaged 20.1 points, 5.3 assists, 6.3 rebounds per game in the Big Ten. He projected to be a serviceable NBA talent, and sometimes it’s best to just take the more proven commodity, especially if you’re a team ready to win now.
Ayo Dosunmu is yet another example of how we all (myself included) often overthink the draft. All the indicators were there to suggest he would be an impactful NBA player. College star who averaged 20-6-5, shot 39% from 3, 6-10 wingspan, basketball junkie. https://t.co/J6H4M8vlEs pic.twitter.com/IPgG8tYFDS
— Mike Schmitz (@Mike_Schmitz) February 5, 2022
• Watch the baby GOAT speak:
LIVE: Ayo Dosunmu media availability after tonight’s win against the Pacers https://t.co/uK1B8jQMBc
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) February 5, 2022
• Ok, last tidbit on Dosunmu for the day: The Rising Star was drafted to Gary Payton’s squad for All-Star Weekend! If you forgot how this year’s event will operate, I’ll link to our post about the new rules here. In short, it’s a four-team tournament, and Dosunmu will play alongside LaMelo Ball, Scottie Barnes, Chris Durate, and many more recognizable youngins.
The 2022 Clorox Rising Stars team rosters ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/d8d4jjpQ9s
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) February 4, 2022
• We got some milestones! DeMar DeRozan reached new heights last night by surpassing the 19,000 point threshold. He is now the 10th active player with at least 19,000 career points, per ESPN Stats & Info. DeRozan has also moved into the 61st spot in the all-time leaderboards, and he is now 648 points away from cracking the NBA’s top-50 scorers of all-time.
• As for Nikola Vucevic, the big man became the first Bulls player in 26 years to record at least 35 points, 15 rebounds, and 3 blocks in a game (all three of Vucevic’s blocks came in the 4th quarter, by the way). I think you can guess who did it in 1996.
Nikola Vucevic is the first Bulls player since Michael Jordan in 1996 with 35 points, 15 rebounds & 3 blocks in a single game pic.twitter.com/lgUaDiY6Kp
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) February 5, 2022
• Has something clicked with Marko Simonovic? The 2020 second-rounder dropped 24 points with 22 rebounds in just 29 minutes of action in last night’s Windy City Bulls game. This performance comes one game after he recorded 24 points with 14 rebounds on 8-10 shooting against the Raptors G-League squad. Time to let him test the NBA waters? We know the Bulls need size.
💪💪💪 @msimonovic99 https://t.co/mKsIQ4L6xQ
— Nikola Vucevic (@NikolaVucevic) February 5, 2022
• Still disgraceful.
Gary Bettman: Rocky Wirtz Will Not Face Discipline For Comments at Town Hall Eventhttps://t.co/3dXTDuuQyY
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) February 4, 2022
• GET. HIM. BACK.
What Will It Take to Sign Anthony Rizzo and Should the Cubs Get Back in the Mix? – https://t.co/DZh6I51m6w pic.twitter.com/nkVIzUMn7v
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) February 4, 2022
