Featured image of post Bulls' DeMar DeRozan Leads East Guards in Final All-Star Fan Vote

Bulls' DeMar DeRozan Leads East Guards in Final All-Star Fan Vote

Bulls’ DeMar DeRozan Leads East Guards in Final All-Star Fan Vote

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DeRozan leads East guards in final All-Star fan vote originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

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The third round of fan voting returns from the 2022 NBA All-Star game are out, and not much has changed for the Chicago Bulls.

DeMar DeRozan remains the top vote-getter among Eastern Conference guards, where he’s resided since the first round of returns. Averaging 25.7 points (eighth in the league), five rebounds and 4.9 assists, his 4,121,034 votes ranks sixth overall, trailing only LeBron James, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokić.

Zach LaVine, meanwhile, is still third in the East guard bracket, trailing Trae Young by roughly 160,000 votes. He leapfrogged James Harden for third in the second returns.

LeBron James now leads the NBA in the latest fan returns for NBA All-Star Voting presented by Tissot, which concludes this Saturday, Jan. 22.

Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, DeMar DeRozan and James continue to be the top vote-getters at their respective position groups. pic.twitter.com/LBIU5BamC6 — NBA Communications (@NBAPR) January 20, 2022

The fan vote makes up 50 percent of the formula for deciding two guards and three frontcourt players to start the All-Star game from each conference. The other 50 percent is divided between media (25 percent) and player (voting). Coaches vote on the reserves.

So DeRozan is well on his way to not only his fifth career All-Star appearance, but also his third career start.

LaVine, who will miss at least the Bulls’ next three games with knee soreness, has some ground to cover to catch Young. LaVine is averaging 24.9 points (11th in the NBA), 4.9 rebounds and 4.2 assists with characteristically efficient 49.1/41.2/87.2 percent shooting splits for the Eastern Conference-leading Bulls. Young’s Hawks currently sit outside the play-in, but his 27.9 points per game ranks fifth in the league, and his 9.5 assists per game third.

Regardless of whether he starts or comes off the bench, though, LaVine is on pace for his second career All-Star nod. He appeared as a reserve last season.

The last time the Bulls had multiple All-Stars was in 2015-16, when Jimmy Butler and Pau Gasol both received nods. The last time they had two starters was Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen in 1997.

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DeMar DeRozan, Nikola Vucevic lead way as Bulls hold off Cavs

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DeMar DeRozan understood the Chicago Bulls needed a win in a big way. A huge run to end the game made it happen.

DeRozan scored 30 points, Nikola Vucevic added 24 points and 12 rebounds, and the struggling Bulls finished with a 14-2 charge to hold off the surging Cleveland Cavaliers 117-104 on Wednesday night.

The Bulls steadied themselves after losing a season-high four straight and falling into a first-place tie with Miami in the Eastern Conference. It was a welcome reprieve from a rough stretch.

They got pounded twice at home, losing by 26 to Brooklyn and by 42 to Golden State in their worst defeat of the year, then lost by two at Boston on a late rally by the Celtics. The red-hot Grizzlies beat them 119-106 in Memphis on Monday afternoon.

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“Getting our butt whooped, giving up a tough one in Boston, we knew coming back on our home floor we had to make up for it,” DeRozan said.

Chicago answered in a big way when Cleveland pulled within 103-102 on a 3-pointer by former Bulls player Lauri Markkanen and free throw by Isaac Okoro.

Ayo Dosunmu nailed a 3-pointer with just over 4 minutes remaining to start the decisive rally. Vucevic hit two 3s and a layup during that stretch, helping Chicago stop Cleveland’s season-high, five-game win streak.

“It’s an example of what it takes to win in this league,” Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “They’re a really good team, and they have really good players. To go on the road against a team that had lost four games in a row, they were gonna come out with that sense of purpose. Now, it’s our opportunity to understand it and see if we can figure out our way through it. We’ll keep getting tested, but I trust in our guys that every time we’ve been tested, we’ve responded.”

Dosunmu scored 18, hitting three of Chicago’s 10 3s. Coby White added 16 points and four steals.

Alex Caruso scored nine points over 22:55 in his first appearance in a month. And the Bulls turned 15 turnovers by the Cavaliers into 24 points on the way to a win they sorely needed.

“We lost four in a row, and even though I didn’t play, I feel those,” said Caruso, who missed 13 games in a row because of a sprained left foot and then COVID-19. “My attitude was find a way to win no matter what.”

MARKKANEN LEADS CAVS

Markkanen led Cleveland with 28 points. The 7-footer from Finland made five 3s in his first game in Chicago and second against the Bulls since a sign-and-trade deal in August.

Darius Garland had 20 points and 12 assists. Evan Mobley added 18 points.

DeRozan had 16 in the second quarter. Chicago ended the half on a 10-0 run to go up 58-49, and the Bulls withstood several pushes the rest of the way.

TIP-INS

Cavaliers: G Rajon Rondo (sore right hamstring) worked out with the G League’s Cleveland Charge on Wednesday, and the feedback was positive, Bickerstaff said. The four-time All-Star missed his fifth consecutive game.

Bulls: Zach LaVine (sore left knee) and Lonzo Ball (bruised left knee) missed their third game in a row and will not travel to Milwaukee, Orlando and Oklahoma City, coach Billy Donovan said. LaVine has been shooting free throws and doing strength training, though not running or jumping. Ball changed treatment regimens, and his timeline to return depends on how he responds. … The Bulls signed F Malcolm Hill to a two-way contract. The Illinois native agreed to a 10-day contract with Chicago last week. … The Bulls held a moment of silence for longtime Chicago sports radio reporter and talk show host Les Grobstein, who long ago recorded Lee Elia’s famous profane postgame rant about Cubs fans. Grobstein, who was 69, died Sunday at his home.

UP NEXT

Cavaliers: Host Oklahoma City on Saturday.

Bulls: Visit Milwaukee on Friday.

Alex Caruso returns, DeMar DeRozan delivers late, Bulls new backcourt beats Cavs

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It had been 30 days since Alex Caruso put on his Bulls uniform and played a game.A sprained foot and COVID-19 health and safety protocols cost him 13 consecutive contests. But he was back Wednesday, and he helped the Bulls (28-15) get back in the win column with a 117-104 home victory over Cleveland.“I was so giddy pregame putting my jersey on, trying to focus, trying not to smile the whole time,” he told NBC Sports Chicago in his postgame television interview The win snapped Chicago’s four-game losing streak and ended Cleveland’s five-game winning streak.Here are three thoughts on the win and what the Bulls’ performance Wednesday could mean.Caruso comes back crankyCaruso was cranky with reporters following the team’s Wednesday morning shootaround.The typically gregarious and insightful guard started slowly in his responses and grew agitated when asked how the Bulls “weather the storm.” But there was something else in play. As he explained the day after dominating in a road win at New York to start December, Caruso doesn’t handle losing well.“I get pretty frustrated,” he said then. “But I always get over it. You’re only as good as your last game.”Caruso’s last game was Dec. 20, only a six-minute shift against Houston before he was lifted.

Here’s What DeMar DeRozan Said After The Bulls Got Blown Out By The Warriors

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The Chicago Bulls got blown out for the second straight game when the Golden State Warriors beat them 136-98 in Chicago on Friday night.

The Nets had beat them in Chicago on Wednesday 138-112.

Even with the two tough losses, the Bulls are still 27-13 on the season, and remain the first seed in the Eastern Conference.

After the game on Friday, DeMar DeRozan, who scored 17 points, spoke to the media and the clip of him speaking can be seen in the tweet that is embedded below from the Bulls.

“We just got our butt kicked two nights in a row,” DeRozan said postgame. “Now it’s about how we respond.”

The Bulls will play their next game on Saturday night against the Boston Celtics in Massachusetts, and then will play the Memphis Grizzlies (the hottest team in the NBA) on Monday in Tennessee.

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Must C’s: Jayson Tatum locks up DeMar DeRozan in key defensive stop against Bulls

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DeMar DeRozan was on fire.

After the Celtics went up six early in the fourth quarter, a flurry of DeRozan mid-range jumpers coupled with timely threes from his supporting cast flipped the lead in favor of Chicago. Josh Richardson and Jaylen Brown, two of Boston’s better perimeter defenders, took turns covering the charging Bull, but the savvy veteran was able to draw fouls and get to the line late in the game.

He’d score 14 points in the final frame — enter Jayson Tatum — but none when it really mattered most.

“Size. Size mostly,” head coach Ime Udoka said of switching defensive coverages to put the 6’8” (or 6’10”, if you ask Brad Stevens) Tatum on DeRozan. “When we decided to switch or blitz him, we liked the size on him, switching the size on Vucevic and then bringing more size to him. That was mostly it. Josh is a good defender, but he was using his body to get to his spots on him, so we liked the size there. And then we trust him just to deny him without getting back cut or scored on easily. Jayson did a helluva job denying him and face guarding him and making them play 4-on-4.”

Here’s that size in action. Tatum starts out on DeRozan and the Celtics gladly make the switch on the pick with Robert Williams challenging DeRozan at the basket.

Another switch from lengthy wingspan to lengthy wingspan. Bulls head coach Billy Donovan hopes to get Richardson involved in the action, but Timelord lays in wait. DeRozan hits a tough fall away baseline jumper that the Celtics will live with, especially with Williams contesting.

Here’s the pièce de résistance of Tatum’s defense of DeRozan. With the game tied after a pair of clutch free throws from Williams, Chicago flattens the floor. DeRozan rejects a Coby White screen that could have potentially switched Richardson onto him. Tatum cuts off the drive with textbook footwork and gets a strong challenge 20 feet away from the rim.

Tatum, the deadly ISO killer, turned into the clamp down ISO defender. You love to see it.

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