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Two nights earlier, clinging to a single-digit fourth-quarter lead in Orlando, Chicago Bulls guard Josh Giddey waltzed to the scorer’s table.
It took 17 seconds before Giddey reverted to the bench of his own volition. He nudged coach Billy Donovan on his way back, a vote for a surging Ayo Dosunmu to keep playing. Giddey, moved by the momentum Chicago’s reserves conjured, decided he wasn’t needed. That he — a $100 million guard in a league of egos and agendas — was not bigger than the program.
That rippling choice could be felt on Monday.
The throughline in this 3-0 start to the season — wins over Detroit, Orlando and now Atlanta, which marks Chicago’s best start to a campaign in four years — is that the Bulls have surrendered to their depth. They look left and right and are reassured not solely because Donovan’s eager rotations leave them little choice. But because they trust the constant swaps, a belief partly born from summer kickbacks, a newfound camaraderie and youthful innocence.
“We’ve got a selfless group,” said Giddey, who totaled 18 points, 13 rebounds and five assists in Monday’s 128-123 win over the Hawks. “We all want to win. That’s our No. 1 priority. So, when a group and a lineup’s rolling, you let them go, and you leave them out there.”
Each night highlights a new hero. Or several. Tre Jones has snatched late-game glory and steadied this rapid-fire offense. Dosunmu’s fourth-quarter shot-making has prevailed. Giddey’s spin moves and rebounding have proved valuable. Patrick Williams looks different.
With each game, the Bulls have tallied an additional double-figure scorer: six versus Detroit, seven in Orlando and eight versus Atlanta. Chicago’s bench scored 53 points versus the Hawks and 58 against the Magic.
“We’re all very connected,” forward Matas Buzelis told The Athletic. “We’re all not jealous of each other when we’re out there. We’re excited for the next person up who’s performing.”
Jones, essentially discarded at February’s trade deadline, has been surgically steady, a shepherd of offense, particularly necessary in the absence of a 20-point scorer. Active hands. Cool demeanor. A valuable reserve successfully settling into his guise as a starter in Coby White’s absence because he both buoys Giddey and brings substance to second units.
He’d never frown upon his experience in San Antonio. However, he’s warm and bubbly over Chicago. Secure when the Bulls depend on him and Nikola Vučević’s pick-and-roll in glass-break scenarios. Seemingly grateful to be desired and used in the way he always hoped, as a traditional point guard who helps everybody eat.
Jones is almost too fitting a poster child for this Bulls start.
The Bulls have carried on as though the volatility embedded in this many substitutions and lineups is their weapon. There has been no truly transcendent Bulls lineup through three games. It has left room for risk in choosing combinations, chances Donovan was likely to take with such a youthful group anyway.
When Hawks coach Quin Snyder reached for lineups with big men Kristaps Porziņģis and Onyeka Okongwu, Donovan responded with Williams at center and at least three ballhandlers beside him.
The same small group that seemed destined to be buried by Porziņģis on switches in Monday’s second quarter eventually returned and remained afloat in the fourth, the kind of marathon these Bulls have run through three games. An answer for one of Chicago’s lineups early on does not guarantee one late, when the Bulls have swapped player after player over and over. Catch them if you can.
“Best teams in the league,” Giddey said, “they can go nine, 10, 11 guys deep, and there’s no drop off from first unit (to) second unit.”
Donovan’s turnstile saw wrinkles unique to Monday. Marksman Kevin Huerter was plugged late, his movement shooting threatening Atlanta’s switches. Isaac Okoro, who’d missed all eight of his field-goal attempts through his first couple of games, shed any previously timid nature with the ball. He hung on the rim and drilled 3s; his 10 points were a breakthrough.
Buzelis has been a beneficiary. He’s gone cold and has also thrived. He’s been pushed around and has also done the manhandling. That Donovan has ventured so deep into the rotation has made up for any errors Buzelis has made early in this sophomore season, a year so vital for his development. It’s also provided an idea of who Buzelis has to be.
In Orlando, the 21-year-old ambled to the bench with 10 minutes left in the game. What started as a whistle-induced sulk flared when he slapped the seat next to him. He spent most of the night there, just the second time he’s fouled out in his career (the other instance, he begrudgingly noted, was also in Orlando). His teammates carried the load, and on Monday, they gave him the chance to work through those issues in real time.
Hawks forward Jalen Johnson wasn’t any easier to handle than Paolo Banchero. Buzelis, thrilled to carry Donovan’s physical orders, drew two quick fouls. His touch fell flat when trying to power through Johnson, shooting 2 of 7 for a minus-13 in the first half.
However, the Bulls’ depth was the crutch Buzelis needed before he could make precise reads and get out of his own head. He made four of his final five attempts, finishing with 16 points and five boards.
The viability of this depth remains to be seen. Three games ain’t 82. Three Eastern Conference foes — albeit three widely predicted to finish higher than Chicago — don’t speak for the league. The idea that this marriage of depth and connection could thrust the Bulls into the playoff picture is just three games old.
However, Dosunmu felt this sensation in the summer.
“It felt special just going to dinners,” Dosunmu, who scored a team-high 21 points Monday, said of the team’s connection. “I think this group, by far, is probably the closest group in terms of that. You know how sometimes you’re around some teams where it might’ve been forced in terms of the way we clicked as fast?
“But this group, we can go on a bus ride and we’re laughing, we’re talking about the NBA. It’s more of a brotherhood, because we relate to each other more.”
These youngins can revel in naivete. This juncture is one without onerous expectations; they’ve already arguably made Chicago basketball as fun as it’s been in years. They’re empowered to believe that friendship fuels momentum in this league, because as far as they know, it does.
“You ever went to the park and played with your brothers?” Dosunmu said. “If your brother (is) open, you gon’ throw it to him, right? Because that’s your brother. I think that’s the type of relationship we have.”
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Joel Lorenzi is a Staff Writer for The Athletic covering the Chicago Bulls and NBA. Prior to joining the Athletic, he covered the Oklahoma City Thunder for The Oklahoman for two seasons. He’s the recipient of the 2023 USBWA Rising Star Award. A graduate of the University of Missouri, Joel was born and raised on the West Side of Chicago. Follow Joel on Twitter @JoelXLorenzi
