If Bulls are changing, Ayo Dosunmu would like it to start with effort
SAN FRANCISCO — Ayo Dosunmu found his voice with this Bulls team last year.
Thursday was just the latest example of it getting louder.
The guard wasn’t exactly thrilled with a second loss in the finale of the three-game West Coast trip, especially the way it went down against the Warriors.
Build a 14-point first-quarter lead by playing the right way, playing to the identity that coach Billy Donovan had been preaching since fall camp, only to then let go of the rope and get into the same bad habits that Donovan had been warning about since fall camp.
Too many mistakes and too many nights like this for Dosunmu not to say something.
“It’s definitely been frustrating, being a competitor, you know we’ve shown we can do it, and not just once but several times, on several different occasions whether it was home or away, but then you get excitement in knowing that we’re real close in becoming a really good basketball team,” Dosunmu said. “Consistency. That’s more the way I’m trying to look at it. Of course, you accept the negative, you understand what it is, but look at it more in a positive light and say, ‘If we can correct these things, not let a team go on a 12-0 run, not let a team get consecutive second-chance points, the little things that we can control … ‘ You can’t control making a shot, you can’t control making a free throw, you can’t do that, but you can control boxing out.”
That was the issue Dosunmu took away from the loss to the Warriors — rebounding. Or in the Bulls’ case, lack thereof.
Not only were the Bulls outrebounded 52-42, but 15 were offensive rebounds that allowed 29 second-chance points.
And Dosunmu was pointing the finger at himself as well. After all, the Bulls bench — which Dosunmu was a part of — was outscored 83-41 in the loss, and 12 of the offensive rebounds came from Golden State’s reserves.
Unacceptable for a skill that should be learned and understood since players first start dribbling a basketball.
“I mean rebounding is something you learn when you first start playing basketball, so it’s really about wanting to do it,” Dosunmu said. “Having the conscious effort each and every time. When the shot goes up, look, and box out. With the NBA nowadays teams are shooting more threes, so the shot goes up, don’t run to the rim, hover around the three-point line and box out. It’s pretty much simple and we’re not doing it.
“I don’t think there’s nothing hard with rebounding. Just us collectively as a unit have to do it each and every possession. We go through times where we do it, but then all it takes is three or four times not to do it, and they hit threes and the game can change.”
Dosunmu and his teammates are also well aware that the locker room can be changed in less than two weeks.
Trade clouds remain hovering over this team with the Feb. 6 trade nearing, and while the Bulls have been taking and making calls on the likes of Zach LaVine, Nikola Vucevic and Lonzo Ball since early on in the season, there’s talk out there that a Coby White or a Dosunmu could also be on the move, whether it’s part of a package or just an attempt to land more draft assets with two players that are on very reasonable contracts.
Dosunmu’s focus? Just worry about playing to an identity that was established months ago, but start doing it on a more consistent basis. Control what can be controlled.
“It could be a lot of different things that get you out of rhythm or get you away from that identity,” Dosunmu added. “I think that’s what gets us in trouble some games.”