While most teams strictly operate behind closed doors, the Chicago Bulls treated fans today to the first episode of their All-Access series for the 2022-23 season. This video series has quickly become quite possibly the highest quality production among all NBA teams, and allows us a chance to see behind-the-scenes footage that would otherwise be completely inaccessible.
This episode primarily revolves around training camp festivities and offers at least a few hints at what to expect this year. Let’s breakdown perhaps the three most telling things we learned from this month’s episode.
The first episode of the Chicago Bulls All-Access series gave us a sneak peek of behind-the-scenes footage and what we should expect this season.
1. Bulls are aware of Lonzo’s defensive value
Obviously, the biggest story surrounding the Chicago Bulls right now is how this team can move forward without Lonzo Ball holding down the point. While the Bulls will certainly need a playmaker running the show, the loss of Ball’s defensive presence isn’t lost on these guys.
“You can’t replace Lonzo, especially on the defensive end,” says Chicago’s Coby White. “We don’t need to get outside of our box and what we do. I feel like all of us, you know, we all can play.”
It’s encouraging to see this team take accountability and show a willingness to step up in the face of adversity, as opposed to watching them already begin to make excuses in the event things don’t turn out as planned. This competitive spirit feels like a complete 180-degree turn from some of the Bulls teams we’ve seen over the last five years.
2. DeRozan’s leadership in full effect
Perhaps the most obvious running theme throughout this episode is just how clearly DeMar DeRozan has stepped into his new role and accepted the mantle as the leader of this Bulls team. You can debate whether or not DeMar or Zach LaVine is the most talented player on the roster, but the person the young core looks up to continue improving is quite clearly DeRozan at this point.
From general manager Marc Eversley, to the promising young core of Patrick Williams and Ayo Dosunmu, to head coach Billy Donovan himself, there’s no shortage of people willing to give DeRozan a glowing review in this episode. DeRozan himself stressed how important it was having Pat around for a summer of private workouts, “I just wanted to share all the experience that I’ve gained with , as much as I could”
3. How Chicago has adapted to a tougher East
With Arturas Karnisovas repeatedly stressing the importance of relationships and continuity, it was nice to see how he envisions this Bulls team growing into a contender together as a team unit. The front office seems very in tune with Billy Donovan’s philosophy for this upcoming season. Donovan appears to be acutely aware of how an over-reliance on isolation ball proved to be the Bulls’ downfall in the postseason.
Instead, I have high hopes for this season that we may see a more free-flowing offense that gets everyone involved. We also got to see a glimpse of what this may look like in the All-Access. Bulls color commentator Stacey King preached this for what felt like a thousand times during the regular season, but an offensive scheme that keeps Nikola Vucevic on the perimeter and Williams in the corner is just not a sustainable recipe for success.
Coby delivers what was my favorite final poignant comment in the episode, “Everyone’s saying the East has gotten a lot tougher, but I feel like we’ve gotten a lot better .” To see all the behind-the-scenes footage from the first episode of All-Access, you can watch the full video below.