FOOTBALL SEASON IS UPON US!
Is today only a preseason game? Yes. Will the Bears most likely suck? Hmmm. But football is football, and Luis will walk you through all the ups and downs of this upcoming season over at BN Bears.
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- A shirtless Alex Caruso draining shots from downtown is the offseason content I need.
- Considering how elite Caruso is on the defensive end, I’ll shy away from saying he needs to be more productive, but it sure wouldn’t hurt if he could become a more consistent 3-point shooter. We all know the Bulls shot the fewest 3-pointers of any team last season. And while they may have finished with the 4th-highest clip in the league, their lack of reliable downtown threats proved to be a glaring issue as the season stretched on.
- Shooting 40.1 percent from long range with the Lakers in 2020-21, we know Caruso has the potential to provide more than what his 33.3 percent mark this past season implied. Playing alongside Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan, he is bound to get his fair share of open 3-point looks, and the Bulls simply need him to knock those down. Indeed, Caruso’s 84 “wide open” attempts from distance this year were one more than his career-high set the previous season in LA. And those attempts came in just 41 games as opposed to 58 games the previous season. The extra volume has already proven to be there, and it’s time to take advantage.
- FWIW: I do have faith that we’ll see Caruso’s 3-point percentage tick back in the right direction. While I’m not sure he’ll reach the 40.0 percent threshold overall, I also find it hard to believe he’ll shoot just 34.5 percent on wide-open attempts again (via NBA Stats). I mean, that number has to go up, right? Anyway, I talked more about Caruso’s 3-point stroke here.
- It looks like DeMar DeRozan took the floor with a couple of fellow All-Stars earlier this week (and perhaps a future one). I bet Chet Holmgren was thrown for the loop the first time he had to guard DeRozan. If anyone can make a rookie feel like … well … a rookie, it’s the midrange master.
- I love that DeRozan seems to prioritize these workouts, and I’m sure they’re a big reason why he finds so much success in certain matchups during the regular season. Since he’s put in extra work with so many high-level players, he knows how to pick up on their tips and tricks.
- Meanwhile, Ayo Dosunmu looks like he could put me in a coma with one punch.
- With most eyes on Patrick Williams, I think it can be easy to forget how big of a jump Dosunmu could take this season. He already looked remarkably comfortable during his rookie campaign, and he now had his first official NBA offseason to hone his craft. And, as someone who improved mightily each season of his college career, I have high hopes for what we’ll see from the 22-year-old this year.
- THE NBA SEASON STARTS IN 66 DAYS PEOPLE!
- Look, I know the Lakers are the Lakers, but they really couldn’t have scheduled a better opening night game? That team just finished 33-49. Give us Warriors-Bucks or even Warriors-Clippers for crying out loud!
- Speaking of Jordans, this stat blew my mind into a million pieces.
- WHOA, WHOA, WHOA! WHERE IS DENZEL VALENTINE!?
- I would have posterized each one of those kids.
- ICYMI: Goran Dragic sank quite the impressive game-winner last night:
- At least the farm system is fun!