Bulls need to live with the rough patch of shooting more three-pointers

Shooting threes is not unfamiliar territory for DeMar DeRozan.

It’s just not property that the veteran Bulls forward has chosen to buy. He’ll rent it, short-term lease it, but it’s never been a permanent hang-out spot, especially with a lethal mid-range game like the one DeRozan has in his bag.

“I have no problem with it at all,’’ DeRozan said of the long-range shot. “No one is forcing me to shoot more threes. Whatever shots I can get in the offense I’m going to take it.’’

That was very evident early in Friday’s game with the Raptors, as the Bulls started out 0-for-5 from the field, including an 0-for-4 from three, until DeRozan said enough and attacked the rim for the team’s first basket.

Minutes later as the Bulls were making a run, it was a DeRozan three that tied the game and forced a Raptors timeout.

And that might just be the sad reality for this team. Yes, they definitely needed to change the shot profile and give a tighter embrace on the three-pointer this season, but the front office also has to understand that they didn’t exactly build a team that can be consistent makers from distance.

There’s going to be hot and cold nights with this group – maybe more than with most teams to start the season – but it’s about riding it out.

“We’re getting close,’’ DeRozan said. “Once our rhythm hits, once one guy gets it rolling, it will make it easier on all of us. Just stick with it, stay disciplined, understand what we’re doing when it comes to the offense.’’

Which is all coach Billy Donovan has been asking since making it known after last season that the offense was going to have to be tweaked to open up more three-point opportunities.

“You’re going to have bad shooting nights, and if those guys could control shots going in, they’d never miss a shot,’’ Donovan said. “But what can you actually control in the game? Maybe we didn’t shoot the ball well, maybe it was deflating, but we still have to have a level of resiliency to stick with it.’’

The danger with this core group, however, is the more they’ve shot since coming together three seasons ago, it hasn’t exactly led to more success.

During the 2021-22 playoff season, the Bulls were last in the NBA in three-point attempts with 28.8 per game, but fourth-best in percentage (36.9%). Last season, they inched up to 28.9 threes attempted per game, but went down to 36.1% (16th in the league).

To then watch them put up 42 attempts in the season-opening loss to the Thunder and make only 12 (28.6%), not exactly a good sign.

Donovan’s message, however, remained simple: “If it’s a good shot, shoot it. We’ve got to shoot it.’’

Back-to-back

The Bulls will play their first back-to-back of the regular season on Saturday, heading to Detroit after hosting Toronto. As usual Alex Caruso’s minutes will be a wait-and-see.

“Just trying to really monitor him and then take his pulse on where he’s at,’’ Donovan said of how they will handle the defensive-minded guard this season. “We had some contact (Thursday) in practice, he went through everything, so I think if we can keep him in that (high 20-minute per game range) that seems to be the sweet spot for him. He should be fine, but we’ll try and manage his minutes, so to speak.’’

Road dogs

The Bulls will have their first early-season schedule test starting Saturday in Detroit, as that road trip kicks off the first of four road contests over the next five games. That included trips to Indiana, Dallas, and Denver.