Drawing conclusions from any type of game at this point in the season is outright absurd. The casualties condition everything and the fans, directly, cannot know what would have happened if in a world in which the determining factors have no place, but in which now everything moves through that what if… The Lakers were playing it against the Bulls at the United Center, a team that had not played since December 11 because of that coronavirus that is hitting very hard in a competition that tonight has had to postpone three games due to depleted squads they have an insurmountable amount of casualties to play with. The first matches that were not played were Chicago, that has already recovered part of the staff of its staff and can return to throw forward, an exercise in resilience and survival that all franchises now carry out. Now, nobody knows how long this situation will last. One that, for now, is almost embarrassing.
The Lakers came to Chicago with a braking to their best moment of the season that had a lot to do with the coronavirus, but also with Anthony Davis’ injury against the Timberwolves. The Angelenos arrived at the engagement without Talen Horton-Tucker, Kent Bazemore, Malik Monk, Austin Reaves, Avery Bradley and Dwight Howard, with Kendrick Nunn recovered from the coronavirus but still injured, without the aforementioned Davis and with Frank Vogel on health and safety protocols and David Fizdale as head coach. The Bulls were not short, and although they had many players recovered, the casualties were numerous: Troy Brown Jr., Zach LaVine, Ayo Dosunmu, Matt Thomas, Alize Johnson and Patrick Williams. Almost nothing.
The good thing about the game is that LeBron was around and with him anything is possible. But the players who accompany him are increasingly diverse: Isaiah Thomas and his 10-day contract and a DeAndre Jordan who cannot play in this NBA; Rajon Rondo returned to a rotation where he almost did not want to appear until the playoffs and Trevor Ariza played 15 minutes in his first game of the season. And the Lakers resisted the attacks, defended with dignity, shot well (above 50% in field goals), caught more rebounds (46 by 43), distributed more assists (25 by 20) and were better settled on the court during a long time. But they lost a game marked by constant losses (19 from Los Angeles and 17 from locals) and that had as a differential factor one of the best players of this course: DeMar DeRozan.
With 83-84 on the scoreboard, both teams faced the last quarter with total equality. And there the eaves emerged, hardened in a thousand battles and wanting a deserved redemption after being slightly reviled by public opinion after his departure from the Raptors, and partially forgotten when he was with the Spurs: 38 points for him, 19 in the fourth quarter, including a streak of 9 consecutive without failure only interrupted by a spectacular dunk by Coby White, which he crushed before DeRozan’s last pitch. The star went 7 of 11 in field goals only in the fourth quarter, 11 of 24 in the entire game, in addition to contributing 4 rebounds, 6 assists and going up to 17 times (with 17 hits) to the personnel line. A variable that favored the Bulls (31 attempts per 22 of the visitors) and that Fizdale complained a lot about, but he had no excuses in the end. In fact, in the last period the Lakers threw one more free throw than their rivals (12-11).
The end was crazy: DeRozan’s basket (111-110) within the last minute, Russell Westbrook’s failure (20 + 9 + 8 for him), DeRozan’s failure, Lonzo Ball’s offensive rebound (19 + 4 + 4) and Rondo’s foul on DeRozan. The forward made both free throws and Carmelo Anthony (21 points with 5 of 12 on triples) and Wayne Ellington (6 + 4 + 3) both failed three attempts.. Lonzo sentenced from the staff a victory that had tinges of injustice for the Lakers, who had an extraordinary version of LeBron: 31 points, 14 rebounds and 6 assists, 13 points from Isaiah and very regular minutes (5 + 3 + 4) of a Rondo that is going to have to wake up in this stage plagued with casualties. On the Bulls, in addition to the above, 17 + 9 from the missed Alex Caruso and 19 points and 13 rebounds from a rejuvenated Nikola Vucevic, a favorite to be traded before the close of the market but who has remembered today, for a few moments, the center who became a star in the Magic. In short, the coronavirus, on this occasion, did not deprive us of a good and exciting game. It’s something.
