“Accountability’’ was a word carelessly thrown around the Advocate Center the last five years.
Often said, but seldom practiced.
If there’s one aspect of the Bulls that has changed in the new regime takeover? There’s substance behind words like “accountability,’’ and people are held to that standard.
The coaching staff has shown that to this point, and the players have embraced it. Now, the early test is does accountability travel west? It better, as the Bulls flew out to Portland on Monday, scheduled to face the Trail Blazers Tuesday night, Sacramento on Wednesday, and then the Lakers and Clippers to end the West Coast swing.
For a team that’s already had some good moments in the 3-4 start, one bad week can be a setback to what is being built.
“Yeah, I mean our schedule is really, really hard,’’ coach Billy Donovan said of this trip. “We’re gonna find out a little bit more about ourselves every time we play. I think the unfortunate part for us has been the fact that our roster has been so inconsistent in terms of players being available. And hopefully they’ll be a point where we get everybody back and we’ll have to fit people back in again.’’
Not anytime soon, however, and probably not on this trip.
Both Chandler Hutchison and Tomas Satoransky tested positive for the coronavirus last week, while Lauri Markkanen and Ryan Arcidiacono were in the NBA protocol through contact tracing.
Garrett Temple and Thad Young are still getting their legs under them from being on the shelf during training camp and into the start of the season, leaving Donovan to hand heavy reserve minutes to Daniel Gafford and Denzel Valentine, seemingly playing rotation musical chairs.
A game that is not close to being finished.
There’s a chance that Markkanen and Arcidiacono are ready to go at the end of the trip, possibly rejoining the team in Los Angeles. Then the rotation puzzle starts all over again.
“When you lose Lauri and you lose Sato it takes a little bit of an adjustment period to figure out who’s playing what spots and what times and rotations,’’ Donovan said. “And then those guys end up coming back, and you’re back to square one of integrating those guys, trying to get those guys ready to compete and play, so. It’s going to be a very, very challenging time until we can get everybody on our roster together on a consistent basis.
“And I give our guys a lot of credit with myself and the staff being new and trying to put in different things on offense and defense and terminology and very, very limited training camp, and lead-up to the start of the season. No fans. Missing players. These guys have really worked hard and have really tried to stay engaged, and who have tried to improve, and I really, really appreciate that from all of them.’’
Appreciates, but also expects.
Donovan has insisted several times that as much as been thrown at them, the players have to accept professionalism and the accountability that comes with that at this level.
Go ahead and check that box.
“Some of the best teams are in the West,’’ guard Zach LaVine said of the upcoming week. “If you want to be a really good team you gotta be ready to play these guys. We should be excited to go and show what we have against these teams and be ready.
“From an accountability point, everybody has to look at themselves first, figure out what I can do better, whether I take criticism, whether it’s by another player or by a coach, and move forward from that … guys have to take accountability for their actions, good or bad.’’
