The Bulls have every reason to be pleased with the production they’ve gotten out of point guard Kris Dunn but that doesn’t mean that the second-year player is necessarily satisfied, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune writes.
“My offensive game is getting there, but that can be polished,” Dunn said, noting that his top priority for improvement is on the defensive side. In 11 December games for the Bulls, Dunn has averaged 15.0 points, 7.7 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 2.0 steals per contest.
Dunn credits Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg for putting the pressure on him to compete with Jerian Grant for the starting gig, a role that he didn’t formally take over until late November.
There’s more from the Central Division:
- There may finally be a timetable for the return of Zach LaVine. Vincent Goodwill of NBC Sports Chicago tweets that the guard will try to make it through six consecutive Bulls practices after December 30. If he does so without issue, he’ll play.
- The Cavaliers will tip off against the Warriors on Christmas Day but don’t get it twisted, LeBron James‘ favorite place to play after Santa Claus comes is a bit further south at the Staples Center, Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com writes. Queue another onslaught of LeBron-to-L.A. hype.
- The trade that sent Victor Oladipo from the Thunder to the Pacers appears to have motivated the 25-year-old, even if he doesn’t say so himself. “He’s come into the season with confidence, I think, to prove himself,” head coach Nate McMillan told Buddy Grizzard of Basketball Insiders. “After a couple moves from Orlando to OKC and then to Indy, there was a lot of conversation out there that the Pacers didn’t get enough in that trade. I think he is proving to the league that he does have talent. We are still learning what he’s capable of.“
Oladipo credits Russell Westbrook for his improvement. He said Westbrook taught him how to work hard if he wanted to be a star in the league.
I wish the Pacers would get Mirotic and Bobby Portis. Their 2 weak spots are backup power and small forward.
Go ahead and stretch Al Jefferson like the Lakers are going to have to do with Luol Deng.
No GM will take both…you missed the fight? We want Pacers in lottery…get another young stud.
Pacers have right chemistry now. Don’t break it up. Porter and Mirotic have put things behind them and are producing well together on the second unit, which is where the Pacers would need them. They are saying GM’s won’t give much for Mirotic because of his consistency even though he’s putting up career numbers. Pritchard won’t let Pacers get into the lottery!
Los Angeles fans don’t get excited. The reason LeBron likes the Staples Center is while with Cavs and Heat he rarely loses there, meaning the Lakers stink. The same article that printed this said LeBron said back in September that he still wants to retire with the Cavs.
Dunn has been a breathe of fresh air in Chicago. Same with Markkanen, and I have every reason to believe Lavine will be great.