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<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
And so we begin.<\/p>\n
\u201cBulls Nation. Bulls Nation. You know what time it is. You know.\u201d<\/p>\n
We do. Is this finally the \u201cwait until next year\u201d we\u2019ve been waiting on? Only time will tell.<\/p>\n
A 5-0 start. Undefeated as an L.A. boutique brand and an old ESPN subsite. Teams that were supposed to be their slayers \u2014 the Pistons, Magic, Hawks, Kings and Knicks \u2014 all left for defeat. Dead to us. Taking the NBA by surprise like V.J. Edgecombe and Austin Reaves. No superstar, but a sun on the squad in the horizon (a\u2009k\u2009a: Matas Buzelis). They find themselves sitting atop the Eastern Conference.<\/p>\n
The early returns on the Bulls two weeks in: They just might be the most balanced team in the NBA. Seriously. Shockingly. If only Caleb Williams had the same start to his Year 2 that Buzelis already has had, this city would be on fire. Sorry, no O\u2019Leary intended.<\/p>\n
The full perspective on them as you read this: The Bulls are six-seven (meaningless) no more.<\/p>\n
But a closer look will reveal that what\u2019s going on with them is more informative and enlightening than their record shows. It\u2019s the demons they\u2019ve exorcised, the hate they\u2019ve erased. This seems to be the Bulls\u2019 edition of a \u201clong time coming.\u201d Their \u201cI know you all have been waiting for a while, but here we are\u201d unit. Their \u201cthis was never a rebuild because we never said we were ever in a rebuild, but this is what our version of our rebuild just happens to look like\u201d plan.<\/p>\n
Eleven-man-deep rotation. No Coby White (yet), no bench mob, no real \u201csecond unit.\u201d All sums of one part. Twelve for all, all for 12. The new Bulls proverb. Depth be their superpower. Buy-ins, camaraderie, confidence and connectivity can be cumulative.<\/p>\n
It all comes down to balance. And, as of now, it seems the Bulls and coach Billy Donovan finally have found it.<\/p>\n
Four of their five games have been played at the UC, so that could be something worth considering. But why? Objectivity and rational thinking when this team is having a 2021 flashback start to the season seem stupid. Part of sports, especially when done responsibly, is to purposely get caught up and lost in moments like this. As there is \u2014 particularly with the Bulls\u2019 recent 20-year past \u2014 never any assurance about how long these moments will last.<\/p>\n
Yes, the test will be the seven-game stretch that began Friday via the Knicks that ends on Nov. 12 in the Pistons rematch. Before the season, if asked, they\u2019d be lucky to maybe win one. Now, at worse, they could \u2014 should? \u2014 still be above .500 by the time they test themselves in Denver against the team that gave them their only road loss in the preseason.<\/p>\n
Things done changed; the Bulls done changed. But for now, for being in this unexpected circumstance of unknown and way-too-early-to-know truth, we can say that the potential within them has reared its beautiful head and shown us all that this has the potential to be their new norm.<\/p>\n
They\u2019re second in the NBA behind the Nuggets in assists at just over 30 per game but fourth in turnovers at 18 per game. A realism that does not promote \u201cstill better than the Pistons, Cavs, Bucks and Pacers\u201d in April, but if they get that plus-minus above 10 and maintain the current balance of having six or seven players averaging double figures in scoring with only two players averaging single-digit minutes, then the jury no longer will be out about them possibly hooping in May.<\/p>\n
(And there\u2019s this low-key notice: Taking charges on defense has seeped into the overall mentality of how this team rolls in comparison to last season. It so far has become a part of their defensive philosophy; last year, it was nonexistent at best.)<\/p>\n
Eight players in double figures against the Hawks. Seven against the Magic. See, new norm. The small sample size of replacing their methodical \u201crectangle\u201d offense with a pace-and-space flow that has them scoring at a frequency close to 58% (an 86 percentile, fifth in the league). And Buzelis? As NBA play-by-play maestro Mark Jones leaned over to Adam Amin and Stacey King after Buzelis\u2019 switch-hands-in-midair finger roll in the fourth quarter of the Kings game had to ask: \u201cMatas, he\u2019s got some .\u2009.\u2009. like a little, little .\u2009.\u2009. oomph?\u201d To say the least.<\/p>\n
Balance is defined as a state of equilibrium. An even distribution of weight on each side of a vertical axis. An aesthetically pleasing integration of elements. A state in which different things occur in equal or proper amounts. The successful combination of both natural instinct and control .\u2009.\u2009. in what you can control.<\/p>\n
Balance is young, connected, hungry and ballin\u2019.<\/p>\n
Balance is when we see red.<\/p>\n
And so we\u2019ve begun. Bulls Nation, you know what time it is? We do. The time \u2014 this time \u2014 is now. The Bulls may have transitioned from a suspect team into a legit ballclub. Finally, after all these years, doing what ballclubs do \u2014 ball.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
If only Caleb Williams had the same start to his Year 2 that Matas Buzelis already has had, this city would be on fire.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":116411,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-116410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"yoast_head":"\n