The shots will fall.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s way down on the list of concerns for Ayo Dosunmu these days.<\/p>\n
Emerging as the Bulls best two-way player, continue being looked at as a vocal leader, hey, winning some meaningful games \u2026 that\u2019s what the fourth-year guard is holding onto as priorities. His shot?<\/p>\n
\u201cTake the shots when they\u2019re there,\u201d Dosunmu said. \u201cI understand that I put a lot of work into my jump shot. I\u2019m not really worried about that. When it\u2019s all said and done, I know that I\u2019ll be at a certain percentage. That\u2019s typically how it goes when you put the work in.\u201d<\/p>\n
And the work continues being put in.<\/p>\n
Before practice, after practice, on his own at night. According to Nikola Vucevic, the two players you can always count on finding at the Advocate Center anytime of the day are Coby White and Dosunmu.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why Wednesday\u2019s loss in Orlando offered up some vindication for Dosunmu.<\/p>\n
On his way to a team-high 21-point night, how about done on 10-of-12 shooting (83.3%) and 1-of-3 from three?<\/p>\n
Even with that highly efficient night, Dosunmu was still at 47.9% from the field this season, and a career-worst 28.2% from three-point range. To add perspective to that, Dosunmu shot 40.3% from three last season and was a career 36.1% three-point shooter.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why he chooses to believe the numbers on the back of his basketball card over what he\u2019s done in just 20 games in the 2024-25 campaign.<\/p>\n
And so does his coach.<\/p>\n
The Bulls are playing a much different style of basketball this season and have led the league in pace most of the year. With Lonzo Ball barely playing and Josh Giddey just not as quick as Dosunmu, someone has to ignite that pacing.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s where Dosunmu comes in. He\u2019s the engine.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve put a lot on him as far as the pace-setting for us because he\u2019s so fast coming down the floor,\u201d Billy Donovan said of Dosunmu\u2019s changing role. \u201cGuys are running with him and he\u2019s pushing it ahead, spraying it around, he\u2019s getting into the teeth of the defense, flattening the defense out, but there\u2019s probably been a sacrifice a little bit there with his scoring where he hasn\u2019t had as many opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Somewhat accurate.<\/p>\n
Dosunmu has started seven games but is averaging a career-high 29.2 minutes per game. He\u2019s still getting the same amount of shot attempts and threes up as last season, but his shot chart profile has slightly changed. Because he\u2019s playing on the ball a bit more, he\u2019s not hiding out in the corner for the corner threes as much.<\/p>\n
But what Donovan admires about Dosunmu? None of that matters to him. Whatever job he\u2019s asked to do, he does.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just want to keep pushing the pace,\u201d Dosunmu said. \u201cThat\u2019s how Coach wants us to play, play fast, wants us to get threes up, wants us to spray it around, play unselfish, and I\u2019m asked to do that, I\u2019ll do that. If I\u2019m asked to play defense, I\u2019ll do that too. Whatever it takes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t expect that mentality to change, either. With Alex Caruso moving on to Oklahoma City in the Giddey trade, the Bulls don\u2019t really have anyone willing to do the dirty work. That player that will ugly up a game without concerns that it doesn\u2019t appear in a box score.<\/p>\n
Dosunmu submitted his resume for that job on Day 1 of fall camp.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor sure,\u201d Dosunmu said of accepting that role. \u201cBecause at the end of the day that\u2019s how you stick around this league for a long time and that\u2019s what winning players do.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dosunmu has been asked to be the engine for Billy Donovan’s offense on most nights, and if the game calls for someone to ugly it up, well, he’s willing to try and fill that role as well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":12333,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12331","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"yoast_head":"\n