While the Chicago Bulls were off on Saturday night, the NBA chaos was operating at full speed.
The Milwaukee Bucks lost on a last-second shot by Donovan Mitchell, moving them 1-5 on the season. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard combined for 75 points in the loss. Meanwhile, Joel Embiid reportedly shoved a local Philadelphia columnist during a heated altercation in the locker room. The NBA is now investigating the incident.
But that’s not at all! Former Bull DeMar DeRozan returned to Toronto for the first time as a member of the Kings. And for the first time since starring in the music video for Kendrick Lamar’s Drake diss track, Not Like Us. Let’s just say Drake wasn’t too happy to see his old friend.
- In attendance to celebrate Raptors legend Vince Carter, Drake joined the Toronto Raptors broadcast during the game and took a shot at DeRozan. The rapper said he would pull down a DeRozan banner himself if the organization decided to honor him.
- Asked about Drake’s comments after the game, DeRozan looked completely unphased: “He’s going to have a long way to climb to take it down, so tell him good luck.”
"If you ever put a DeRozan banner up, I'll go up there and pull it down myself." โ Drake
โHeโs going to have a long way to climb to take it down…Tell him good luck.โ โ DeMar DeRozen
🎥 of DeRozen shared on X by @FaizalKhamisa pic.twitter.com/dAFg79bSW9— Andrรฉs Tardio (@AndresWrites) November 3, 2024
- DeRozan also turned to Instagram later that night, sharing a famous clip from the movie Friday. If we’re being honest, I’m surprised it even took this long for DeRozan and Drake to butt heads. Even with DeRozan’s Compton roots, it was pretty shocking to see him make an appearance in the now-iconic music video considering his deep Toronto ties.
DeMar Derozan Responds to Drake on his Instagram Story👀 pic.twitter.com/HjDm5AbzHc
— BIGMEM12 (@BIGMEM12) November 3, 2024
- ICYMI: The Chicago Bulls sent No. 11 overall pick Matas Buzelis to the G-League on Saturday afternoon. Exactly how long he’ll stay there remains unclear, but the decision could suggest that the organization plans to move him up and down from the pros this season.
- For what it’s worth, I wouldn’t hate the idea of Matas Buzelis moving to the G-League if the decision came after more NBA playing time. I completely understand that I’m not at the Advocate Center daily and watching how Buzelis adapts. This obviously plays a part in the organization’s decision-making. But the forward has averaged only 5.6 minutes per game over his first five contests. In a season where the results should not matter, I’d like the coaching staff to get a greater sample size of Buzelis before they decide to send him down to Billy Donovan III. And I don’t think that’s too much to ask!
- The real problem here is what this kind of move represents. By not allowing Buzelis the room to make mistakes, the Bulls are indicating that winning is more important than player development. We all know that’s not what this season should be about. Now, can you make the case that winning is a valuable part of player development? Sure. But how is someone like Buzelis benefiting from that if he’s moving up and down from the G-League? At the end of the day, this is why you rarely see organizations successfully burn the candle at both ends. Either you’re favoring the win-loss column or player development. You can’t do both.
- The good news is that we are only six games into the regular season. There is a world where the Bulls use this first month to boost the trade value of Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic before uplifting their youth. And that’s something I can get behind. The only issue is we can’t trust this front office to not get intoxicated by the idea of the Play-In Tournament. They’ve done it the past few years, and I can easily see them talking themselves into it after a couple more double-digit comeback wins.
- At least Julian Phillips has a relatively long leash. The second-year forward has won over some of Billy Donovan’s trust, as he’s been a consistent part of the rotation to begin the season, averaging over 13.0 minutes per game. Still, we haven’t seen much from him over the first week and a half. He’s averaging less than 2.0 rebounds per game and is just 5-16 from downtown. In theory, his open-floor athleticism and around-the-rim explosiveness fit well with how this group wants to play, but we’re still waiting for him to make a more consistent impact.
- Torrey Craig saw his first taste of action against the Brooklyn Nets, which will be something to watch for moving forward. Especially if Matas Buzelis stays in the G-League or is out of the rotation, Donovan may start to lean more on the veteran.
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- FREE BEARS WATCH PARTY TODAY AT JEFFERSON TAP & GRILLE! COME DRINK OLD STYLE AND SWEAT OUT THE GAME WITH US. MORE INFO HERE.
- The Chicago Bears will not start Tyrique Stevenson later today against the Arizona Cardinals after last week’s mishap.
- The Blackhawks won in a shootout! More from Tab here.