Chicago Sports Exchange: Bulls, Hawks Each Surprise With Competitive and Deep Rosters
There won’t be any championship parades held in their honor after the season, but given pre-season expectations, the Bulls and Hawks have earned applause.
Zach LaVine and Patrick Kane deserve every ounce of praise that’s been thrown in their direction this season.
As the frontmen of their respective teams that, while far from swimming laps around the competition, are treading water at a pleasantly surprising rate, it’s only right.
But please, don’t forget to give their drummers some.
From Thad Young’s ascension to arguably the Bulls’ second-best player to Kevin Lankinen’s stranglehold on what was an open-competition to protect the Hawks’ net, neither LaVine nor Kane would find themselves in the early hunt for a playoff berth without contributions from their unsung teammates.
To say nothing of the leadership from their head coaches, Billy Donovan and Jeremy Colliton, who’ve frequently had to adjust on the fly due to injuries and health and safety protocols.
Or the steadying presence of Young’s bench mates — Denzel Valentine, Garrett Temple and Tomas Satoranksy — and the way Lankinen’s fellow first-year teammates — especially Pius Sutter and Philipp Kurashev — have taken on the challenge of increased responsibility.
No, there won’t be any championship parades held in their honor after the season, but, given pre-season expectations and/or their previous lack of competitiveness, the Bulls and Hawks have earned a round of applause.
Headliners and second fiddles alike.
HOLD — Bulls Play Wavering Again As Lauri Injury Tightens Roster
It could’ve been worse.
Then again, it could’ve been better, too.
The sandwiching of two losses and Lauri Markkanen’s injured right shoulder (which will keep him on the mend for the next 2-4 weeks) between a pair of victories spoiled a week that seemed crafted for the Bulls to gain traction within the Eastern Conference standings.
Instead, the four-game stretch ended in bittersweet fashion with the Bulls (9-13) notching their first victory in 25 tries against one of the conference’s eight playoff teams from a season ago but sliding to 11th place.
Saturday’s 118-92 dismantling of Orlando was the kind of performance fans might’ve expected to see in the frontend of the back-to-back with the Magic, who were playing without four prospective starters. It’s late arrival is a reminder of how these tender-footed Bulls — who dug themselves into 19- and 14-point holes in successive losses to New York and the Magic respectively — aren’t beyond the reach of any team they’ll face this season.
Not even tonight’s opponent, the one-man Bradley Beal band that’s been the Washington Wizards (5-15), the first of three teams — New Orleans (10-12) and the Los Angeles Clippers (17-8) are the other two — that’ll visit the United Center this week.
With Markkanen now shelved alongside Wendell Carter Jr. (again), the Bulls’ margin for turnovers, slow starts and porous defense shrinks that much smaller.
BUY — Hawks Start New Win Streak, Getting Improved Goalie Play
Somewhere, Jonathan Toews, Brent Seabrook, Alex Nylander, and Kirby Dach are smiling.
A season once thought to be short on promise has taken on a more favorable appearance even as the Blackhawks carry on without their present and potential future cornerstones.
A 2-1 victory in overtime against Dallas Sunday — the Hawks’ first away from the United Center and after regulation — is the latest evidence of their season makeover.
Alex DeBrincat scored both goals for the Hawks (5-4-4) who have now won two games in a row, three of their last four and secured at least one point in each of their last 10 games. DeBrincat himself has recorded two points in each of the three games he’s played since being reactivated from the COVID-19 protocol list.
Malcolm Subban, who started in goal for the first time in nearly two weeks after Kevin Lankinen was given a rest day, turned away the first 27 shots he faced. Subban finished with 30 saves and a .968 save percentage against a Stars team that led the NHL in goal per game through their first eight contests.
The Hawks will try to claim their first three-game win streak of the season in Tuesday’s rematch with the Stars. The Hawks close out the week at home Thursday and Saturday against the Columbus Blue Jackets, whom they split a two-game set with two weeks ago.
BUY — Red Stars Rolling Deep on US National Team
Red Stars Julie Ertz, Alyssa Naeher and Tierna Davidson were all named to the U.S. Women’s National Team last week.
As USWNT mainstays, that trio was expected to be on the 23-player roster ahead of the 2021 SheBelieves Cup in Orlando later this month.
Their new teammate, Mallory Pugh, being among three players named to the training portion of the roster was quite the opposite. The 22-year-old Pugh, who made her debut with the senior team when she was 17, was left off last year’s Olympic qualifying roster. She then suffered a right hip injury that limited her to just one appearance with the National Women’s Soccer League’s Sky Blue FC last year.
USWSNT head coach Vlatko Anodonovsky said Pugh’s inclusion in camp isn’t as much rehab-driven as it is a means to set her career back on track.
“We’re going to give anything possible to help her get up to speed in order to get back to her best because we all know the potential that she has,” Anodonovsky said of Pugh, who was traded to Chicago in December. “We all know what Mal is capable of doing. So, I felt this is one opportunity for her to get to where we all want her to be.”
Drew Stevens is a Senior Writer for WARR Media, he lives and works in Chicago