Chicago Sun-Times: All posts by Joe Cowley

Bulls beat Heat but lose guard Alex Caruso again

2023-12-14T21:58:47.149-06:00

The Bulls’ Alex Caruso last just under five minutes before reinjuring the left ankle in Thursday’s win, and while the Bulls held on for the win, the hope is Caruso will be back quickly to continue pushing the turnaround.

Lynne Sladky/AP

MIAMI — For just under five glorious minutes Thursday night, it felt like old times. Or, at least it felt like last week, when the Bulls were on a four-game winning streak, playing with an identity in large part because of guard Alex Caruso.

Then it happened. Caruso, who had missed the previous two games with an injury to his left ankle, again felt it go when center Nikola Vucevic accidentally stepped on it. Caruso went to the bench with the Bulls leading the Heat 16-5, then headed to the locker room, never to return in an eventual 124-116 win.

Although the injury didn’t cost the Bulls (10-16) the first game of their two-game series in Miami, it’s a serious concern for Caruso and the team as they continue to try to turn the season around.

Asked about the defensive-minded Caruso’s role in the team culture, coach Billy Donovan responded, “Critical.”

“I’ve talked a lot about things that impact winning, go into winning,” Donovan said. “And I’ve talked a lot about [guard] Coby [White] and kind of his evolution of the things that have become important to him — how can he impact the game besides shooting and scoring the ball? Alex does that. He is really, really smart, really tough. He’s really competitive. He’s a great team guy in the locker room. I would just put the word ‘winner’ around him — just a winner. He impacts winning at an incredibly high level. I love guys like that because those guys, you know what you’re getting every single night, and those guys have an ability to impact the game.”

Caruso wasted no time showing that against the Heat, hitting two three-pointers and notching an assist at the start of the game as the Bulls built a lead that would increase to 25 points in the first half, even with Caruso in the training room.

However, the Bulls refused to make the night easy on themselves, and the Heat had answer after answer as they eventually narrowed the gap to four in the final minutes.

A three-pointer by Ayo Dosunmu (24 points on 10-for-12 shooting) with 2:27 left ended up being huge, as was White’s overall performance: a game-high 26 points to go with 11 assists and seven rebounds. Vucevic finished with 24 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, and DeMar DeRozan scored 23.

But the Caruso setback was on everyone’s mind afterward.

“It was a bummer losing A.C. because you just feel bad for him and the work he’s put in to get back,” Dosunmu said. “I was actually very sad. He checked in [at the start], hit two threes, he was feeling good, and then to see him have to go out, it was a bummer. But I just try and stay ready. Stay ready and try and grow.”

It wasn’t immediately clear how long this latest injury will sideline Caruso. In their last four games without him, the Bulls are 0-4.

There’s a reason why he’s their most sought-after asset on the trade market.

“He’s one of those guys that you’re not going to look down at the box score and see 25 points every night,” Donovan said. “There’s going to be a lot of things that don’t show up in a stat sheet about him fighting a guy off of a post-up and being in a help position. There’s a lot you cannot measure on the things he does. For me, those are the kind of guys I feel that I have great respect and admiration for.”

Bulls guard Coby White in full control of balancing act

2023-12-14T20:08:19.384-06:00

A key in the evolution of Coby White is the Bulls point guard understanding the balance of scoring and play-making, according to coach Billy Donovan.

Charles Rex Arbogast/AP

MIAMI — Coby White went back to being a play-making point guard Thursday, already racking up seven of his game-high 11 assists just a few minutes into the second quarter against the Heat.

In the Bulls’ three previous games, he’d scored 24 points in a win against the Spurs, 33 in a loss to the Bucks and 27 in a loss to the Nuggets.

Coach Billy Donovan said the biggest improvement in White’s game is his ability to now balance when to be a facilitator and when to be a scorer — not an easy wire to walk, and a big factor in why he had so many issues as a point guard in his first few NBA seasons.

“He knows, ‘OK, the way for me to impact getting guys shots and playing the point guard is through penetration and playing downhill, but when I get the ball on the perimeter and I’ve got a shot, I’ve got to take the ones that are there,’ ” Donovan said. “I think he’s done a really good job lately of balancing the responsibility of being a point guard, the responsibility of being true to himself and being the player that he is.”

The scary thing, according to teammate DeMar DeRozan, is that White isn’t close to being a finished product. DeRozan would know. He spends more time working out with the younger players in-season and during the offseason than any other Bull.

“This dude is amazing,” DeRozan said. “I’m just glad people are starting to see how talented he is, how much of a competitor he is. I’ve said it before — I worked out with him all summer, and just to see how much he wants it, how he asks questions, how humble he is about the approach, it’s amazing to see his growth and see the things that he does.”

Another good point

White isn’t the only one picking up in the ball-movement department lately. DeRozan was averaging 7.8 assists over his previous five games entering this two-game series in Miami. He finished with four Thursday.

Of course, DeRozan, who was a strong distributor during his days with the Spurs, downplayed the recent uptick.

“[I’m] just trying to find the guys, get them in a rhythm,” he said. “They do a hell of a job just trusting me when I have the ball, and I just try and find them, manipulate the offense as best I can when we’re playing how we should be playing.”

Donovan said it’s more than just that.

“DeMar, through my eyes, always plays the right way,” Donovan said. “His IQ is so high. With the way he is an elite scorer and can get fouls, he brings help to him to generate shots for others.

“DeMar’s mentality is, ‘I’m going to give those guys confidence by throwing the ball to them. When they’re open, I’m going to tell them to shoot it. I’m going to show them that I believe in them.’ ”

A long December

The Bulls won’t be getting a break in the schedule any time soon. After a rematch with the Heat on Saturday, they have two games with the 76ers coming up within 12 days of each other (Dec. 18 in Philadelphia and Dec. 30 at the United Center) and also face the Lakers, Cavaliers and Pacers before the end of the year.

Friday opens trading pool, but there’s still no market for Bulls’ Zach LaVine

2023-12-13T15:54:38.258-06:00

It’s no secret that Bulls guard Zach LaVine and Klutch Sports would like to see him in Los Angeles, but the market is still not cooperating.

Charles Rex Arbogast/AP

There’s a fine line between patience and concern, and the Bulls’ front office is doing its best to straddle that line.

According to a source Wednesday, with many of the players who signed contracts during the summer eligible to be traded starting Friday, executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas is finding no real market interest in Zach LaVine.

Karnisovas isn’t believed to be concerned just yet, especially with so much time till the Feb. 8 trade deadline, but if moving LaVine drags on longer than he hopes, his plans would be altered significantly.

With the rest of the players who signed offseason deals eligible to be dealt after Jan. 15, Karnisovas ideally will have moved LaVine by or around that date, giving him at least 10 to 15 games to see what the post-LaVine Bulls look like and allowing him to make decisions on DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso.

Karnisovas has no interest in trading Caruso and is still keeping the possibility of reopening contract-extension talks with DeRozan and his camp on the table. He wants to watch how the assets he gets back for LaVine work with that group.

The Bulls have been linked to the Lakers and Raptors in the rumor mill, but multiple sources said LaVine and his representation obviously want Los Angeles because of the Klutch Sports connection.

Lakers who would be eligible to be moved Friday include Jaxson Hayes, Taurean Prince, Cam Reddish, D’Angelo Russell, Gabe Vincent and Christian Wood.

Of that group, a package featuring Russell has been thrown around the most in the rumor mill because of the money that has to come back. With LaVine making $40 million this season, Russell meets $17.3 million of it.

The other names being mentioned as possibilities in that package include Rui Hachimura, Austin Reaves and Vincent. Hachimura and Reaves, however, won’t be eligible to be moved until Jan. 15, and it didn’t sound like Reaves was even being mentioned by the Lakers.

A scenario in which the Bulls and LaVine stay together the rest of the season, then re-explore a new home for him next summer is unlikely.

Another source said that the relationship between LaVine and coach Billy Donovan, while still amicable, is broken from a professional standpoint, mostly on LaVine’s end. He would rather make ripples than waves but no longer wants to play for Donovan and really hasn’t wanted to since last season.

But what if the market starts to get serious in the next month, and Karnisovas is able to move LaVine and get back the ready-made players he desires to try to make a playoff push? That will be difficult to pull off and the Bulls still might remain a mediocre product, but it would allow the Bulls and DeRozan to make some decisions on his financial future.

DeRozan would be in favor of an extension with the Bulls if the money and situation are right for him, and Karnisovas can’t afford to have DeRozan leave this summer and get nothing in return.

Morrissey: The Bulls would like you to pay attention to everything but the basketball

Even after Nikola Jokic’s ejection, the Bulls still can’t overcome champion Nuggets

2023-12-12T22:11:25.684-06:00

Even with two-time league MVP Nikola Jokic sent to the showers with a one-technical foul ejection on Tuesday, the Bulls still couldn’t take advantage of the opportunity, losing 114-106.

Michael Reaves/Getty Images

The runway was cleared for a smooth landing.

With the 6-11 obstacle removed — who just so happens to be one of the best basketball players in the world in Nikola Jokic — all that stood between the Bulls and a fourth victory in the last five games was a “Joker-less” Nuggets squad.

The defending NBA champions, though, still showed they had more than enough to win.

With Reggie Jackson’s 25 points and Denver’s bench outscoring the Bulls 50-23, it was the Nuggets strolling out of the United Center on Tuesday night with a 114-106 win.

Not a good showing for the Bulls, who slipped to 9-16 on the season. But the real sting was the missed opportunity when Jokic was ejected in the second quarter.

“It’s really about the guys that are on the court at that time,” coach Billy Donovan said of the missed opportunity. “We didn’t do enough to win the game. They did, and you give them credit.”

With 1:08 left in the first half, Jokic thought he was fouled and let the officials know about it as he was running up the court. A technical was eventually given, and then all of a sudden he was ejected as the boos from the crowd rang out with many in attendance to watch the two-time MVP.

Nikola Jokic ejected 😯 pic.twitter.com/FqAX9JB4Bg
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 13, 2023

Jokic finished with four points, nine rebounds and six assists before being ejected.

But a one-technical ejection?

“The official that tossed him, he asked me, ‘Did you hear what was said?’ ” Nuggets coach Mike Malone said of the situation. “I said, ‘I did not.’ He said the language that was used warranted an ejection. A one-tech ejection, which I was very shocked at. And when I heard what he said, I said, ‘I don’t understand the problem because when I grew up that was a term of endearment.’

“Unfortunate for Nikola. He was frustrated, and thought he got fouled there.”

Rather than wilt with their leader gone, however, the Nuggets made it business as usual.

“A character win,” Malone added.

The Bulls did come out for the second half looking like they were going to take advantage of the ejection, with Nikola Vucevic scoring with the baby hook in the paint and then Coby White cutting the lead to just four with his step-back jumper, but a three-pointer and then two free throws from Julian Strawther ended the threat.

That was as close as the Bulls would get in the second half.

Still a no go

Alex Caruso remained sidelined with a sprained left ankle but is progressing toward a return at some point this week.

“I think he has some discomfort with his cutting,” Donovan said. “It’s certainly better as days have gone by. Talking to the medical staff, they didn’t think it was going to stretch into weeks.”

The Bulls now have lost four consecutive games without Caruso.

The other layer to Caruso getting healthy is the ongoing trade speculation about the elite defender. The Sun-Times has reported since last season that Caruso was considered an untouchable piece. That remains true for now. There can always be an offer that the Bulls can’t refuse, but the front office currently has no desire to move Caruso.

Bulls legend Michael Jordan headlines the team’s inaugural Ring of Honor

2023-12-12T14:07:42.097-06:00

Michael Jordan and Phil Jackson will headline the inaugural class of 13 for the Bulls’ new Ring of Honor.

Jack Smith/AP

The Bulls will have an interesting next six weeks or so to make sure the newly announced Ring of Honor doesn’t quickly become a Ring of the Disgruntled.

Let the bridge repairs begin.

On Tuesday, the Bulls unveiled the inaugural class, and of course the headliner of that group was six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan.

Jordan, who was also a six-time Finals MVP and five-time league MVP, will be joined by 12 other members, as well as the 1995-96 championship team. The franchise plans to add to its Ring of Honor every two years, which means the next class will be inducted in 2026.

But first things first, besides an icy relationship with Jordan, the Bulls haven’t been on the best of terms with Scottie Pippen, whom they fired from his title as team ambassador/advisor back in 2020.

Then there’s coach Phil Jackson, who is always a wild card in all of this.

“The Chicago Bulls Ring of Honor will be a first-of-its-kind celebration honoring many of the legends who have helped shape our organization over the past 57 years,” team president and chief executive officer Michael Reinsdorf said in a statement. “They have deep connections to our fans and community and represent a spirit of competition, hard work and toughness. This January, we look forward to cementing their legacy in Bulls history and inspiring the future of our organization.”

The inaugural class also includes Artis Gilmore, Johnny “Red” Kerr, Dick Klein, Jerry Krause, Toni Kukoc, Bob Love, Dennis Rodman, Jerry Sloan, Chet Walker and Tex Winter.

As far as the 1995-96 team, which went 72-10 on its way to holding up the Larry O’Brien, the group to be honored includes Randy Brown, Jud Buechler, Jason Caffey, James Edwards, Jack Haley, Ron Harper, Jordan, Steve Kerr, Kukoc, Luc Longley, Pippen, Rodman, John Salley, Dickey Simpkins and Bill Wennington.

Coaches: Jim Cleamons, Jackson, Erik Helland, John Paxson, Jimmy Rodgers and Winter. Front-office members: Ivica Dukan, Clarence Gaines Jr., Krause, John Ligmanowski, Chip Schaefer, Jim Stack and Al Vermeil.

Thanks to the work put in by vice president of community engagement and charity director Adrienne Scherenzel and director of alumni relations Matt Yob, most of the relationships with the members of this inaugural class are in a good place.

That was evident last month when Rodman made his long-awaited return to the United Center.

What still wasn’t fully discussed was the timing of this announcement. While the on-the-court product has been better as of late, it’s still a team that is seven games under .500.

Maybe it brings false relevance back to a franchise that hasn’t won a title in almost a quarter of a century or maybe it’s as innocent as coach Billy Donovan described it.

In Donovan’s estimation, all organizations should remember their past successes. Donovan would know, considering he is in both the Providence and Florida Hall of Fame, as well as having the court named after him at Florida.

“There’s a lot of people that throughout the course of their careers have invested a lot,” Donovan said. “Obviously, the organization is the one that provides the opportunities, but I think when you look at the history of the organization, the success, the different players, coaches that have come through, I think honoring people is a good thing. Everybody puts their heart and soul into this.”

Bulls take Bucks to overtime, but Giannis’ bully ball prevails in the end

2023-12-11T22:36:50.903-06:00

The Bulls got a lot of DeMar DeRozan on Monday, as the veteran scored 41 points and handed out 11 assists. What they didn’t have, however, was a Giannis.

Morry Gash/AP

MILWAUKEE — The Bulls have shown a lot of positive signs the last few weeks.

Even more impressive, they’ve done it without Zach LaVine (right foot) in the lineup.

The pace had picked up on offense, the intensity was back on defense and the ball was hopping around rather than getting stuck in isolation.

But the Bulls don’t have a Giannis.

Thanks to former league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo scoring 20 of his team-high 32 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, the Bucks snapped the Bulls’ four-game winning streak with a 133-129 victory Monday.

An Antetokounmpo takeover is never out of the norm when the Bulls play their division rivals. There are just some forces in the NBA that are difficult to stop, and no one does bully ball late in games better than Antetokounmpo.

“He forced his way downhill, got to the free-throw line, got layups,” Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan said. “It’s tough. When he’s doing that, you got shooters out there, so you kind of have to pick your poison.”

DeRozan had some hefty numbers of his own, becoming the first Bull since Michael Jordan to have at least 40 points and 10 assists in a game. DeRozan finished with 41 and 11.

“Oh, I mean anything with Michael Jordan in it is a hell of an accomplishment,” DeRozan said. “I never take any of that for granted.”

But this was a painful loss for the Bulls (9-15), who were down by 14 in the second quarter.

Rewind to the start of the season and most of November, and double-digit deficits were a regular occurrence. The Bulls would usually put up a fourth-quarter last-stand run, but urgency wasn’t in the script on most nights.

It was on Monday.

Malik Beasley made a three-pointer with 3:38 left in the first half to put the Bucks up by 14, but by the time the third quarter started, that lead was cut in half just seconds in on a jumper by Patrick Williams.

Whenever it felt like the Bucks were about to get on a run and pull away, the Bulls refused to fold.

With 9:02 left in the fourth quarter, Milwaukee was caught.

The score was tied on a three-pointer by Coby White. The Bucks (16-7) tried to pull away again, but a jumper by Williams knotted the game up again with 5:25 left in regulation.

The glaring issue, however, was slowing down Antetokounmpo.

Up by two with three minutes left, Antetokounmpo attacked the rim for an easy layup plus the foul. White tried to keep the boat afloat with another clutch three-pointer, but Antetokounmpo answered with a slam.

White missed a three with 1:36 left, and Antetokounmpo split two free throws.

The Bulls, however, wouldn’t go away.

DeRozan hit two free throws with 29.1 seconds left and sent the game into overtime with a floater with 3.1 seconds left in regulation.

But that only set the stage for Antetokounmpo and the Bucks, who controlled the overtime.

Coach Billy Donovan has never been a moral-victories type of coach, but there were definite positives.

“You think about this, there’s going to be, like, 100 shots on offense, 100 shots on defense,” Donovan said. “Those shots take about a second. So in a 48-minute game, there is a lot of stuff going on that you have total control over. Those are the things we have control over and what we have to focus on.”

Chicken parmesan and the development of the Bulls’ Patrick Williams

2023-12-11T20:30:32.476-06:00

Bulls forward Patrick Williams felt like he was thrown into a situation where it was winning as a priority over development, but coach Billy Donovan doesn’t think Williams was necessarily looking at the big picture.

Michael Reaves/Getty Images

MILWAUKEE — It wasn’t forward Patrick Williams pointing a finger as much as just trying to make a point.

In discussing his consistent play recently, Williams told the Sun-Times, “What I know is you can never compare your journey to someone else’s. I mean, I came to the Bulls, and we were trying to win right off the bat, so development was never a priority.”

That statement could be taken a couple of different ways.

It helped that Williams went on to say, “We were trying to win, and that’s 100% of what I wanted to do.”

Coach Billy Donovan wasn’t about to hold it against Williams either way, but that doesn’t mean he was going to just let the comment go unchecked, either.

“I think part of the development is teaching guys what goes into winning and how to win, and I think for a guy that came in as maybe one of the youngest players in the league … it goes all the way back [to Williams’ rookie year], and this is not to embarrass Patrick, but when it’s an hour and 15 minutes or an hour before the game, and I’m writing stuff on the board, and this guy has two huge pieces of chicken cutlet parmesan sitting on his plate, it’s probably not a good thing to eat,” Donovan said.

“But there are things he’s got to understand that’s going into it, that’s what you want to do, be a winning player. I actually think it was good for him that he got thrusted into that situation.”

But that also led to some serious growing pains for Williams, especially offensively. It hasn’t been Williams’ inability to score as much as his unwillingness to overcome a veteran presence and be aggressive enough to take shots.

Donovan didn’t hide from that point, but in his estimation, Williams might not have learned as much if he was thrown onto a roster with a bunch of young players and allowed to develop that way.

“There are situations where it can be, ‘Hey, we’re just going to give you a bunch of minutes and you just grow, take your shots and figure out your game,’ ” Donovan said. “I think guys lose the perspective of, ‘What are the things I’ve got to do as a player to impact winning?’

“He probably as a rookie didn’t get the opportunity offensively to do that as much, but I do think that what he was thrusted into can help him going forward.’’

No Caruso

Alex Caruso (left ankle) gave it a go in warmups before the game Monday night against the Bucks, but the ankle did not respond well enough for him to play.

It wasn’t all bad news, however. The fact that he did go through warmups to test it was a small victory for the team.

“We didn’t feel like it was going to be anything significantly long for him, but he’s obviously still dealing with it,” Donovan said. “The fact that he was trying to go [through warmups] is a positive sign.”

The Bulls host Denver on Tuesday, and Caruso will test it again.

Common cause

There are numerous thoughts as to why the Bulls have played better with Zach LaVine (right foot) sidelined, but Coby White had his own take.

“We’re all just in it together,” said White, who has scored at least 23 points in four of the last five games. “Obviously, Zach is a hell of a player, and you can’t replace him, so we’re just trying to do it by committee. Everybody is locked in right now.”

Bulls take Bucks to overtime, but Giannis’ bully ball prevails in the end

The evolution of the Bulls’ Patrick Williams

2023-12-10T13:53:03.418-06:00

Bulls forward Patrick Williams is currently putting together his best stretch of games since he came into the league, but just stay away from asking him about it.

Charles Rex Arbogast/AP

Despite his solid play of late, forward Patrick Williams remains an enigma.

But the hope throughout the locker room is that Williams has got it . . . finally.

“Pat’s been really good the last couple of games,” center Nikola Vucevic said. “You can tell he’s more confident, more aggressive. He’s not overthinking. He’s just using his instincts and playing well for us on both ends of the floor.

“We’re a different team when he’s doing that.”

They’ve won four in a row and are playing a style that coach Billy Donovan was hoping to see since training camp. And Williams is a big reason why.

The first 16 games, he averaged 6.1 points and 3.7 rebounds and shot 33% from the field and 27.7% from three-point range. The Bulls went 5-11.

Since then, Williams is averaging 14.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.1 blocks and shooting 58% from the field, including 45.8% from three-point range.

But put the numbers aside and just watch Williams play. He seems like a different player who’s starting to understand what he can do and what he can be.

“I think he’s started to realize just how good and how talented he really is, and when he plays with force, he’s so strong, so athletic, so physical that he’s hard to guard, especially when he’s getting downhill, when he’s crashing the glass,” guard Coby White said. “And he’s only scratching the surface.”

It’s tough to say what exactly has clicked for Williams. He has had flashes like this before — but never in as many consecutive games — and been asked about the fleeting flourishes each time. At times he has been accurate with his self-assessment, but other times he has offered up head-scratching replies.

His latest explanation stressed a “next-play mentality.”

“I don’t really hear the outside noise . . . none of it really,” Williams said. “Not that I even try to tune it out or anything, but most of it is on social media. I don’t really like social media, never been a real big social-media guy, so I don’t really see much of it. What I know is you can never compare your journey to someone else’s. I mean, I came to the Bulls, and we were trying to win right off the bat, so development was never a priority. We were trying to win, and that’s 100% of what I wanted to do. It was just a matter of coming around. It always comes around.”

Donovan is hoping it stays. He wants Williams to keep playing aggressively. Donovan should keep showing him what it looks like on film.

“I don’t think he feels anyone has to direct him or talk to him about it,” Donovan said. “The energy in the motor has to come from him. He always says it’s there. Sometimes he’s mentioned that he can overthink things, which at times takes away his aggressiveness, but it’s good to see how consistently he’s playing. Never mind the scoring, but just the way he’s been playing and attacking.”

A long-overdue conversation with Bulls point guard Coby White

2023-12-09T10:13:42.384-06:00

Starting point guard Coby White has not only been changing the fortunes of the Bulls lately, but he’s been changing opinions of him along the way.

Charles Rex Arbogast/AP

SAN ANTONIO — It was time for some real talk with Bulls guard Coby White.

It was a chat that was months overdue.

That’s how a planned off-day story suddenly turned first-person.

I have been as critical of White and his development as any of the writers covering the Bulls. And he didn’t need me to tell him that because he already knew.

I didn’t see him as a point guard on draft night in 2019, I didn’t see him as a starter when the 2022-23 season started and I didn’t see him in the team’s plans when he was a restricted free agent last summer.

But there he was after the team’s victory Friday against the Spurs, knees wrapped in ice, a smile on his face, still with the Bulls. Maybe he’s not a pure point guard and maybe he’s not a typical shooting guard, but he’s a basketball player and is proving me wrong.

‘‘That’s what you have to do, just go through it,’’ White said when I asked him about the scrutiny — mine included. ‘‘Put your head down and work, control what you can control and try and get through it.

‘‘Yeah, it’s very hard, but I’m a big believer in my faith. I feel there’s a plan for everybody. That’s what I leaned on when I was going through it.’’

Then he threw a bit of a wrinkle into the conversation.

Many pro athletes love reminding the media that our opinions matter very little to them. The media take the stance that our opinions shouldn’t matter to them. It’s a song-and-dance both sides go through.

White kicked down that wall, however.

‘‘Oh, I pay attention to it,’’ White said. ‘‘I know what you said, others have said. I feel like I’ve got thick skin, but the main thing for me is I wanted to pay attention to it just so I can feel it. Feel it for me, then get through it.

‘‘I’m the type of dude that’s like: ‘OK, he said this about me. Oh, that guy said that about me.’ . . . But you know what? Sometimes people on the internet or the media, you guys, you speak the truth. There were times I would look at it and say: ‘I’ve got to get better at this. He’s right; I’ve got to fix this.’

‘‘I never tried to shy away from any of it because that’s not my personality. You have to look at it all head-on, take it for what it is, not let it define you but use it.’’

He is using it.

White will enter the Bulls’ game Monday against the Bucks holding the franchise record for the most three-pointers in a 10-game span with 47. He’s fifth in the NBA in three-pointers made with 68, and he’s shooting a career-high 41.7% from long range.

Even more impressive, he has emerged as a leader with a voice that even the veteran players hear and respect — a voice White admitted makes him come across like a “(bleep)head’’ at times.

So how did the jump happen?

‘‘He’s one of the hardest workers on the team,’’ veteran center Nikola Vucevic said. ‘‘When you work as much as he does, it’s going to pay off.’’

And White isn’t even close to being a finished product in his estimation because he isn’t going to slow down anytime soon. His journey will be interesting to watch.

The media are in the business of casting opinions. Social-media loves pointing out the ‘‘gotcha’’ moments when those opinions are wrong, but those opinions often are made based on the information being provided at the time.

To White’s credit, he is changing what’s being provided and has been doing that on a nightly basis for the last month.

‘‘We’re all on a different journey,’’ White said. ‘‘It’s kind of crazy, but that’s what it is — just our own journey.’’

Bulls continue winning in Zach LaVine’s absence, beating Spurs

2023-12-08T22:53:02.742-06:00

Even with Spurs rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama scoring 21 points and grabbing 20 rebounds, the Bulls continued finding ways to win with Zach LaVine sidelined.

Eric Gay/AP

SAN ANTONIO — The almost-daily talks that coach Billy Donovan engages in with his front office still take place in a world in which Zach LaVine is a Bull.

Until executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas makes that call to Donovan and tells him otherwise, that’s the space he will continue to operate in.

That’s why what happened on Friday continued complicating things.

Donovan is also a “your record is your record” guy, and thanks to a 121-112 victory over the Spurs and standout rookie Victor Wembanyama, their fourth in a row, the Bulls’ record since the 2021-22 season when LaVine is out is 15-10.

But good luck getting anyone in the locker room or coach’s office to admit that life without LaVine just might produce a better product on the court.

“When there’s anything of substance or anything Arturas feels like he wants to talk to me about, he’s talked to me about it,” Donovan said. “This is the one point so far this season where we’ve had a high-minute volume guy out for an extended period of time, but I just don’t look at it that way. I look at it as, ‘Here’s the group we have, who we’re going out to play with.’ And it’s kind of like the next guy has to step up and fill in for the guy that’s missing.’’

He’ll have to look at it that way for at least another three to four weeks, with the team announcing Wednesday that LaVine’s sore right foot would need more time to heal than first expected.

Considering LaVine and his camp added some early-season drama to the equation by letting it be known that they were in favor of the Bulls (9-14) trading him, it has been a high-wire act the organization has been walking.

To their credit, with LaVine out of sight, out of mind, there have been a number of Bulls who continue to step up, specifically the younger guys. Coby White was lethal again from three-point range, making five more and setting a franchise record for the most threes over a 10-game span with 47.

Bulls get their first regular-season taste of ‘Wemby-mania’

Patrick Williams had one of his better games and continued picking up the scoring slack left by LaVine with 20 points. Then sprinkle in what Ayo Dosunmu has been doing, as well as reserves Torrey Craig and Jevon Carter, and it’s almost like, “Zach who?”

“Not really thinking about anything, really,” Williams said of his recent turnaround. “Just going out and playing hard. You make shots, miss shots, just get back on defense, next-shot mentality. It’s been working for me.’’

Donovan wouldn’t touch the idea that the younger players are playing with more freedom with LaVine’s high-volume shooting gone.

“I’ve never heard Coby, Patrick, Ayo, Dalen [Terry] or Julian [Phillips] say, ‘I’m always looking for [LaVine, DeMar DeRozan or Nikola Vucevic]. I feel like I have to throw them the ball,’ ’’ Donovan said. “Maybe when one of those [three] guys is out they feel like, ‘I’ve got to step up more; I’ve got to be more aggressive.’ ’’

With just under four minutes left, White and Williams scored on back-to-back possessions to give the Bulls some breathing room, and they did so with guard Alex Caruso in the locker room with a rolled ankle.

So are they better without LaVine?

“It’s hard to replace the talent that Zach has on the court with one person,” Caruso said. “We’ve done a good job of playing by committee. It’s also a different look when [LaVine’s] not out there compared to when he is, but I’ve played in plenty of games with him now, nearly 2½ years, and when he’s locked in and playing good, we’re a really good basketball team.”