For the first time since 2021, the Chicago Bulls are off to a 3-0 start to the season. On Monday, they came back from 13 points down to defeat the Atlanta Hawks 128-123.
Now the Bulls will try to go for 4-0 on Wednesday as they take on the Sacramento Kings. In the process, they will welcome back former players Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan.
Meanwhile, a few factors could help explain the Bulls' hot start. For instance, Ayo Dosunmu's strong start doesn't go unnoticed by head coach Billy Donovan, per Sam Smith of NBA.com.
In a way, Donovan sees Dosunmu as an example for second-year starter Matas Buzelis to follow.
“The thing about Ayo, and I’ve said this about Matas (Buzelis), but even more so Ayo, he has an incredible internal belief in himself,” commended Donovan. “For him, I always found it interesting… the road for guys to get to this level (when it is a) struggle because they have to have the belief in themselves to overcome things. Ayo wasn’t a first round draft pick. He gets an opportunity the first year, but the second year is kind of down. But he never loses confidence.”
Furthermore, Donovan recognizes the Bulls' strong chemistry both on and off the court as a reason for their early success.
“The chemistry on the team in terms of their relationships is really good on and off the court,” noted Donovan. “I grew up and played in a time “if you didn’t have a good relationship on the court you generally didn’t have a good relationship off the court. These guys have great relationships.”
How the Bulls gel so well
For many of the core players, they have played for a considerable amount of time together. Coby White, Nikola Vucevic, and Dosunmu have played with each other for the last three seasons.
Later on, Buzelis and Josh Giddey came along and have each found a prominent spot on the team. In return, the guys of old have embraced them with open arms.
Given that there is no obvious superstars on this team, the Bulls have to rely more and more on each other as a group.
At this point, so far so good.
