Ja Morant News Coming, Bulls vs. Nuggets, Ayo Dosunmu’s Workout, and Other Bulls Bullets

We might as well start with some pretty big and concerning news. Before last night’s NBA Finals tip-off, Adam Silver spoke with the media. When addressing the Ja Morant situation, he pushed everybody to the edge of their seat.

According to the league’s commissioner, the NBA did uncover “a fair amount of additional information” on Morant’s behavior. He is most recently in hot water for, once again, flashing a weapon on Instagram Live.

  • Silver also went on to say that they haven’t wanted to announce their findings and course of action during the Finals. With the Nuggets in their first championship series in franchise history, and Miami becoming the first Play-In Tournament team to make the Finals, that’s undoubtedly a decision I can respect. All eyes should be on these two hard-working teams as they duke it out. With that said, Silver’s words make it seem as if a significant penalty could be coming Morant’s why. If it was something relatively minor, then why worry about it distracting from the Finals?
  • Game 1 went almost exactly as I expected. And I have a winning Jamal Murray first-basket bet to prove it! Denver looked like a team with nine days of rest and arguably the best player in the NBA. Miami looked like a team that finished an emotional seven-game series three games prior and … well … didn’t have arguably the best player in the NBA! The Nuggets held the Heat to just 40.6 percent shooting from the field, while they shot over 50 percent against one of the NBA’s top 10 defenses.
  • Nikola Jokic finished with 27 points, 14 assists, and 10 rebounds to become just the second player in league history to record a triple-double in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. We’ve truly never seen a player quite like this guy before.
  • I originally picked this series to go six games. I’m still leaning in that direction simply because I want to give Jimmy Butler some respect after his epic playoff run. Having said that, I will not be surprised in the slightest if this is a sweep or a gentleman’s sweep. Remove the tired legs and the altitude adjustment, and Denver is just an awful matchup for Miami. Not only do they have an electric bucket-getter in Jamal Murray to attack guys like Gabe Vincent and Max Strus off the dribble, but they have the best zone-buster in the NBA in Jokic.
  • Miami has thrived while using the zone thus far in the postseason, but Jokic’s passing ability combined with the number of shooters on the floor is going to shut that down. Not to mention, Denver knows to keep their guys in motion. Unlike both the Knicks and the Celtics, this is a team that is never going to stop cutting/moving. All you need is the slightest opening for Jokic to make something work. Steve Jones Jr. shared a perfect example of that here:
  • Honestly, looking back at it, I’m shocked at how well the Bulls have played this Nuggets team the past two seasons. They beat them twice last season and split their two games this year. The last time they met in March proved to be particularly surprising. Jokic, Murray, and Porter Jr. were all on the floor, but the Bulls held them to just 42.0 percent shooting.
  • Even crazier, Nikola Vucevic straight-up outplayed Jokic! He finished with a team-high 25 points and 15 rebounds on 9-17 shooting from the field. Rewatching a bit of that game this morning, I got to give both Vucevic and Andre Drummond props. Vucevic did a nice job staying up on Jokic at the perimeter and contesting his deep ball. Meanwhile, Drummond consistently made Jokic go through his body to get anything at the rim. I also loved what I saw from White during his minutes guarding Murray. He was moving his feet really well and getting a hand in his face for his shot.
  • Whenever I go back and revisit games like these, I begin to twitch a little. It’s so freakin’ frustrating that this group consistently played well against the Denver and Milwaukees of the world but couldn’t handle the Orlandos and Charlottes at times. At the end of the day, that inconsistency speaks to the lack of locker room leadership and roster cohesion.
  • Skills trainer Jorge Milo posted a video of Ayo Dosunmu on Instagram. The Chicago Bulls’ restricted free agent could be draining some quick shots.
  • It’s Team A. I’m sorry, but we all know any team with MJ is winning. Heck, you could give that man Cristiano Felicio and Antonio Blakeney and he’d still win.
  • Speaking of MJ, this is a good question by Kevin Kaduk and the CHGO crew. It’s really hard to say what Chicago’s relationship would be with Jordan if he took over the Bulls AND they performed as poorly as the Hornets have. I wouldn’t go as far as saying that Chicagoans would hate him, but things would feel a bit tainted.
  • Any of these names tickle your fancy?
  • I believe in Herbert!
  • Just get me the good guys.
  • written by

    Elias Schuster is the Lead Chicago Bulls writer at Bleacher Nation. He started with BN full-time in 2019 immediately after graduating from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign with a degree in Journalism (yes, he started with the Jim Boylen Era). Since joining, Elias has been the driving force behind Bulls and NBA content for both the site and social accounts. You can follow him on Twitter/X @Schuster_Elias.

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