Chicago Bulls: DeMar DeRozan finding his stride right away

There should always be some level of patience that comes along with so many new additions getting accustomed to a new team, which looked to be a situation directly applicable to the Chicago Bulls coming out of the offseason. The Bulls retooled the arsenal for second-year head coach Billy Donovan really dating back to the trade deadline last season.

Since the trade deadline last season, the Bulls’ front office went out to land the likes of star center Nikola Vucevic, shooting guard/forward DeMar DeRozan, point guard Lonzo Ball, guard Alex Caruso, etc. And that has resulted in a lot of success for Donovan and the Bulls out of the gates this season.

Although they’ve had different degrees of success to start out this regular season slate, most of the new additions the Bulls made since the trade deadline last season are helping to contribute to more success in the win column in a big way. That could not be a truer statement for any of the Bulls’ new additions than the former San Antonio Spurs and Toronto Raptors star DeRozan.

The four-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA Team selection DeRozan really caught fire of late for the Bulls. During this two-game winning streak the Bulls currently sit on following wins over the Utah Jazz at home on Oct. 30 and the Boston Celtics on the road on Nov. 1, DeRozan has amassed 69 points combined.

In fact, through seven games this season, DeRozan has averaged the second-best tally of points per game and rebounds and the best three-point shooting percentage of his career. Through seven games, he’s averaged around 26 points per game, six rebounds, four assists, one steal, and one block. And he’s shot around 49 percent from the field, 41 percent from beyond the arc, and 87 percent from the free-throw line.

Chicago Bulls getting major contributions from DeMar DeRozan right away

The last two games for DeRozan are doing a lot of the work to put up such impressive per-game stats and shooting percentages out of the gates this season. His two best game scores came in the Bulls’ last two games. And he topped out with a game score north of 32 in the win over the Celtics.

In this win over the Celtics, DeRozan registered a game and season-high 37 points, seven rebounds, two assists, one steal, one block, and just one turnover. And he shot 15-of-20 from the field, an impressive 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, and 4-of-5 from the charity stripe.

For only the second time in his career, DeRozan has an on/off-court plus/minus in the positive. He’s also registering the best plus/minus per 100 possessions of his career out of the gates this season. So far, he’s registered an on/off-court plus/minus of +8.6 and a plus/minus per 100 possessions of +11.4.

The broad impact that DeRozan has made for the Bulls this season is crystal clear. If he keeps up this type of production throughout the season, it looks like he’s well on pace to get his fifth career All-Star nod and challenge for his third career All-NBA Team selection.

DeRozan is currently one of just 17 players around the NBA that have already amassed at least one win share on the season. He also ranks among the top 15 players in the NBA this season in win shares per 48 minutes thus far, with .217. That is also good for a career-best for DeRozan.

Following the impressive comeback win on the road over the Celtics at the TD Garden, by the final score of 128-114, the Bulls own a record of 6-1. Next up for DeRozan and the Bulls is a meeting with the Philadelphia 76ers on the road on Nov. 3.