OKLAHOMA CITY — With the way he has been carrying himself on the court lately, it’s hard to believe Denzel Valentine’s confidence was on life support a month ago.
The 2016 lottery pick was a nightly scratch and seemed to have permanent residency in coach Jim Boylen’s doghouse.
Then he didn’t.
“I think he’s really trying at the defensive end, and he’s really tried to rebound and do the things we talk about,’’ Boylen said. “We know he can shoot it, and he can make decisions. He can play in the pick-and-roll, he has great pace in his pick-and-roll decisions, but he always talks about defending and rebounding because that’s what we need. We need our guards and our wings to rebound, and when they do that, we play better.’’
Valentine is fully committed.
“I’m more confident out there,’’ Valentine said Monday. “I’m more mature. I mean, this is my fourth year here, so I know how to play defense. It’s really about heart. I don’t have the best athletic tools, but I have enough to keep me going. And I think I’m a really underrated defender and an underrated athlete, but I’m just trying to do what I can to help the team win, and defense is a big part of that.’’
Coincidentally, since Valentine has worked his way back into the rotation, the Bulls’ bench has found some much-needed value.
“We all kind of mesh well together,’’ veteran Thaddeus Young said of the second unit getting in sync the last few weeks.
Valentine might be a big reason why.
He was averaging 10.1 points and shooting 46.2 percent from three-point range in December, but he’s also having an impact in other ways. In the five games he has played at least 16 minutes this month, the Bulls are 3-2.
Even he would’ve had trouble believing things would turn out this way after the rough start.
“Yeah, it was tough, but I’ve got to give credit to my teammates, my family, God, everyone that’s been positive with me,’’ Valentine said. “I just took it for what it was, kept working and prayed for things to turn around. They did, and now I’m going to keep trying to take advantage of this, stay patient and keep working.’’
Boylen said that missing all of last season because of foot surgery was one of the reasons they took their time bringing Valentine along, but the main reason was the Michigan State product just wasn’t playing well in Boylen’s eyes. His younger, more athletic teammates seemed to have passed him by.
“He missed 257 days,’’ Boylen said. “I mean, that’s amazing where he’s at right now. It’s amazing to think you can miss that much time and still keep your feel and work your way back. I’m really happy for him.’’
Valentine had 10 points and shot 4-for-9 from the field, including 2-for-5 from three-point range, in the Bulls’ 109-106 loss Monday to the Thunder.
This and that
Big man Cristiano Felicio was activated after missing more than a month with a fracture in his right wrist but did not play against the Thunder.
u Chandler Hutchison (right shoulder) made the road trip and will continue picking up his activity. If he can have contact in practices with no setbacks this week, the Bulls could have clarity on the timetable for his return.
