I write these bullets as I – an Illini alum – prepare for possibly a devastating afternoon of college football. The No. 7 ranked Penn State Nittany Lions are at Memorial Stadium and expected to win by at least two touchdowns.
To make myself feel better, I might as well start these bullets with a feel-good Illinois story …
Ayo Dosunmu deserves more credit. To be clear, I’m sure he couldn’t care less if any of it came his way, but that’s also what makes what he’s doing so special. The Chicago native re-signed with the organization this offseason on a fresh three-year, $21 million deal. He’s wasted no time celebrating putting pen to paper on his second-ever NBA deal, consistently getting out into the community that raised him.
His most recent initiative came at his old grade school the Beasley Academic Center. He announced free Chicago Bulls tickets to all students who make the honor roll, and you can read more about that here. This event came shortly after Dosunmu also held his second-annual Block Party in the city’s Little Village. Kids were able to hang out and shoot hoops for hours with Dosunmu. Now, in his latest work, Dosunmu shared that his latest partnership with Nordstrom handed 350 kids at a local elementary school a free pair of Nike shoes. Again, I know he isn’t doing this for any recognition, but I do hope he continues to get some. The 24-year-old understands the platform he now has, and he hasn’t hesitated to use it for good.
The amount of work Ayo Dosunmu has done in the community this offseason is outstanding.
Just major props to him. Latest partnership saw 350 local kids get free Nike shoes.
I saw somebody on the Twitterverse (or Xvers?) ask whether Alex Caruso or Jarred Vanderbilt was the better defender. With all due respect to Vanderbilt, who I genuinely like and briefly wrote about yesterday, WHAT!? Vanderbilt may be a very solid perimeter defender, but Alex Caruso quite literally just finished with the highest defensive honors possible. The guard was awarded All-Defensive First Team and ranked near the top of the league in an overwhelming amount of defensive metrics last season.
Dunks & Threes gave Caruso the single-highest defensive plus-minus in the NBA during the 2022-23 campaign at +4.1. BBall Index founder Tim Cranjis also shared some absurd stats from last season, including a 1st-place finish in defensive playmaking and a 7th-place finish in ball screen navigation. BBall Index also gave Caruso the 6th-highest matchup difficulty last season, only speaking further to how elite his performance truly was. When you begin to list the NBA’s top defenders, Caruso’s name should come up pretty darn quickly.
Alex Caruso is still phenomenal defensively. His 2022-23 ranks:
Elite rotating & rim protection for a guard. Elite box out guy.— Cranjis McBasketball (@Tim_NBA) September 15, 2023
Speaking of fun advanced stats, NBA University shared some of Zach LaVine’s shooting numbers! While I don’t think their point about people calling him inefficient is necessarily valid (I think the bigger issue is just the win percentage), I’ll always love to see stats like these shared with the masses. Few players in the league can score as effortlessly and in as many ways as LaVine can.
Zach LaVine’s reputation as an inefficient shot chucker is…incorrect. Highly efficient in nearly every aspect of scoring
47.4 Corner 3P% 41.6 C&S 3P% 67.2% Rim FG%—4.9 Unassisted FGA 1.38 Points Per Shot (85th percentile) Etc…
Keith Smith of Spotrac recently posted a column touting the best deals of the offseason. Fortunately, the Chicago Bulls did receive some recognition, with Jevon Carter filling the final spot. Smith called the three-year, $19.5 million deal a “steal” and “one of the best on-ball pests in the NBA.” The fact the Bulls can slide his defense next to Caruso AND get above 40 percent 3-point shooters feels like a massive win. An already solid perimeter defense should improve, while a somewhat one-dimensional offense should get a boost. Read Smith’s full thoughts here.
As expected, the Damian Lillard trade talks seem to be heating up as training camp looms, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. I still find it hard to believe that something gets done before the season starts, but you never know what offers could come at the last minute. It’s going to be crazy when the Lillard is wearing a Bulls jersey on opening night!
"My sense is that the Blazers have done a lot more talking with teams in the last 10-14 days than they did probably in at least a month plus prior."@wojespn with the latest on Damian Lillard trade talks.pic.twitter.com/0EcO1kVE1G— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) September 15, 2023
Shoutout to Matt and Drew over at the Rebuild-A-Bull Podcast. The two used one of my latest posts about the Chicago Bulls’ first 25 games to jumpstart their discussion. You can read that here and listen to their podcast through the link below:
ICYMI: Drew & Matt chat about @Schuster_Elias article on the Bulls first 25 games. Can they weather the storm? They also rank the Central Division & discuss two potential targets.
At this rate, I'll be writing a new post about Zach LaVine every hour! After an initial report connected the Chicago Bulls to the Damian Lillard sweepstakes on Thursday, the trade rumor floodgates have opened. Jake Fischer is the latest...
A recent report from Kyle Neubeck (PHLY Sixers) named Chicago as the "wildcard" team in the Damian Lillard sweepstakes. More specifically, Neubeck mentioned that the Bulls could look to construct a three-team trade that includes moving Zach LaVine. Yep, that's...
With under two weeks to go before training camp begins across the NBA, trade talk is heating up. Matt Rooney and I started this week's episode by discussing the revamped Damian Lillard trade rumors, which now include the Chicago Bulls...
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While gearing up to type these bullets, I caught myself petting my dog while wearing a hoodie with her name on it and drinking out of a mug with her face on it. I may have a problem. Training camp...
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At this rate, I'll be writing a new post about Zach LaVine every hour! After an initial report connected the Chicago Bulls to the Damian Lillard sweepstakes on Thursday, the trade rumor floodgates have opened. Jake Fischer is the latest...
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Well there it is. Another surprising turn in the ever-mysterious, ever-twisting saga of Marcus Stroman's injury and return. It's very good news: https://twitter.com/jon_greenberg/status/1705330802802757828 https://twitter.com/WatchMarquee/status/1705333054691070457 The Cubs obviously kept that one very much close to the vest, with Stroman pitching twice...
A recent report from Kyle Neubeck (PHLY Sixers) named Chicago as the "wildcard" team in the Damian Lillard sweepstakes. More specifically, Neubeck mentioned that the Bulls could look to construct a three-team trade that includes moving Zach LaVine. Yep, that's...
After the week we've endured as fans, we're ready to focus on football. Game Info Chicago Bears (0-2) vs Kansas City Chiefs (1-1) FOX -TV (Kevin Burhardt, Greg Olsen, Erin Andrews, Tom Rinaldi) ESPN 1000 AM (Jeff Joniak, Tom Thayer), Sports...
FINALLY. The Cubs really took care of business in a game where they were supposed to take care of business. The final regular season Friday at Wrigley Field ends in a W. Jameson Taillon was not super efficient today, but...
With under two weeks to go before training camp begins across the NBA, trade talk is heating up. Matt Rooney and I started this week's episode by discussing the revamped Damian Lillard trade rumors, which now include the Chicago Bulls...
It's hard to dispute the success that Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch have had together in San Francisco. Ownership seems to agree and has rewarded Shanahan and Lynch with new contract extensions that will keep them in San Francisco for...
What a year this week has been. So, why not add on to the pile while we still can? Soldier Field, home of the Chicago Bears, is looking at more than $100,000 worth of damages and stolen equipment after an...
You really couldn't ask for a better second-half from Seiya Suzuki, who just hit his 20th home run of the season, as part of a 3-3 effort so far. https://twitter.com/Cubs/status/1705304145962455136?s=20 He's now slashing .281/.352/.485 (124 wRC+) and has been the...
