3 Chicago Bulls completions since the All-Star break, including Patrick Beverley’s energy boost – The Mercury News

The Chicago Bulls travel north to Toronto on Tuesday for another key play-in game.

The Raptors (30-32) are ninth in the Eastern Conference standings, one game ahead of the Washington Wizards (28-32) – which the Bulls defeated on Sunday – and 1 game and a half ahead of the 11th-placed Bulls (28- 33). Seventh through tenth place teams in each conference qualify for the play-in tournament.

Here are three takeaways from the Bulls’ two-game winning streak since the All-Star break.

1. Energy is a word that is probably used a lot in basketball.

Players are in constant motion for 48 minutes, so it’s hard not to burn energy on court.

But nearly everyone hailed Patrick Beverley’s arrival at the Bulls as an instant “energy surge” even though he only played two games.

Are the Bulls really playing with renewed energy, or is it just something everyone talks about when a dramatic presence like Beverley enters the equation?

“There’s a little bit (more),” center Nikola Vučević said. “Our power stretches are a little bit higher than they were (before the All-Star break). So now we’ll see how we sustain this.

“We are a little more closed. I think the break did something for everyone. Let’s see if we can maintain that and keep playing like this. It has been much better than us, especially on the offensive side.”

A couple of lopsided wins over the Brooklyn Nets and Wizards put the Bulls right back in the middle of the play-in race. We’ll quickly find out if the energy boost is sustainable with back-to-back games Tuesday and Wednesday in Toronto and Detroit.

The mental break was also good for the Bulls. Vučević returned to Orlando, Florida during the break and was able to relax and get some sun on his face.

“Get some vitamin D,” he said. “It helps.”

DeMar DeRozan said he was also able to get some rest, although he played in the All-Star Game in Salt Lake City and had to fly back to Chicago afterwards.

“I didn’t touch a ball, except in the All-Star Game, until the first practice back,” he said. “I was really just trying to rest, rehab, ice treatment, massage, pain relief. I tried to be on top of that more than anything and I think I did a good job. I’m feeling good and my legs are back.”

DeRozan said he felt good on Sunday and that his pain in his right quadriceps was gone.

2. Coach Billy Donovan said that he and Artūras Karnišovas never discussed giving up a play-in spot to get better chances in the lottery draft.

The Bulls’ first-round pick goes to the Orlando Magic as part of Vučević’s 2021 trade – unless he finishes in the top four.

“I don’t know all the percentages and where you are and stuff, but a lot of times those percentages are really, really low,” Donovan said. “They might be high in terms of looking at someone with a 15% chance versus a 2% chance, but it’s always been about the integrity of the competition.

“When I first met Artūras, it never came up. Everything revolved around victory. The property is on board with that. I’m speaking for myself because it’s not like we’ve had these in-depth discussions. But I know when we were in a situation where there was some conversation my freshman year, it was like, ‘OK, we’re kind of out here. It’s going to be tough to make the playoffs.’ We may not have been eliminated mathematically, but it would be difficult.

“It’s always been about the integrity of building the culture and environment based on what are the things that lead to victory. I think that’s important.”

3. All-Star Game ratings were in the tank as fans turned off a non-competitive game.

It attracted only 4.59 million viewers, the least watched game in history.

Team Giannis beat Team LeBron 184-175, and Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone, who was in charge of Team LeBron, called it “the worst game of basketball ever played”.

DeRozan agreed that changes are needed to get it back to being a fan-pleasing event.

“I wish it was more competitive,” DeRozan said. “I really hope they fix this, even more so for the fans to see the best players in the game competing against each other. You don’t want to keep seeing deep dunks or people shooting 3s from 50 feet. It’s not basketball.”

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