It’s homecoming week for several players on the Chicago Bulls, who return to the City of Angels for back-to-back games against the Los Angeles Clippers and Lakers on Sunday and Monday.
Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso used to play for the Lakers and are looking to show their former team how much they’ve improved since being cast off by management.
Zach LaVine and Ball played collegiately at UCLA, while DeMar DeRozan played at USC, as did Nikola Vučević, who didn’t make the trip after entering the NBA’s health and safety protocols with a breakthrough case of COVID-19.
DeRozan grew up in nearby Compton, while Vučević went from Montenegro to play his senior year in Simi Valley. Ball was a well-known high school star at Chino Hills, playing alongside brothers LaMelo, now a Charlotte Hornets guard, and LiAngelo, who is playing in the G League.
So plenty of family and friends will be on hand for the continuation of the Bulls’ extended West Coast trip, which got off to a rough start Friday with a blowout loss to the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco.
The LA connection is not lost on the Bulls, though Caruso said it has little to do with the team’s early-season success.
“Honestly, not really,” he said. “I don’t know if there’s anything more to it than we’ve got really good guys on the team, really unselfish guys, guys willing to put in the work and work for their teammates and work to win. Everybody gets along really well. I don’t think there’s anyone you’re not happy to see each day showing up to work. When you got guys like that, it makes playing basketball really easy.”
LaVine and DeRozan entered Saturday ranked seventh and eighth in the league, respectively, in scoring and are accustomed to being in the spotlight in All-Star games or the Olympics. But the two perhaps with the most to prove in their returns to the Staples Center are Caruso, who wanted to return to the Lakers but was rebuffed, and Ball, who was dealt to the New Orleans Pelicans in the multiplayer trade for superstar Anthony Davis.
Caruso is tied with the Clippers’ Paul George in steals with an average of 2.5 per game, and his importance to the Bulls’ success is growing exponentially with the wrist injury to Patrick Williams and Vučević's absence. Caruso has fond memories of LA, where LeBron James nicknamed him the “GOAT.”
“I loved my time there,” Caruso said. “I loved the people, the organization, my teammates. All first class, and they treated me really well. It’s just the way the game goes. It’s the business of basketball. It doesn’t always work out like a storybook ending.”
Ball, despite an off-shooting night Friday, is connecting on 42.2% of his 3-point attempts and playing the kind of stick-’em defense the Bulls need to overcome their lack of size.
LaMelo Ball was named the NBA Rookie of the Year last season and put on a show at the Staples Center against the Lakers, registering a triple-double with 25 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists in a Nov. 8 Hornets loss. While Lonzo is paying close attention to LaMelo and is proud of his accomplishments, the two have no competition.
“We still follow each other and talk all the time,” Lonzo said. “That’s my little brother. I know he’s just focused on Charlotte and I’m focused on Chicago. That’s really what it comes down to. I want what’s best for him, and I know he wants what’s best for me.”
The two could be future All-Star teammates if they continue on their current trajectory, which Lonzo said would be “dope.”
“Hopefully someday,” he said.
Their parents, meanwhile, have been putting in the miles traveling to watch their sons play, which obviously was much easier when Lonzo played in his hometown.
“It’s kind of difficult because they’re in Cali,” Lonzo said. “I know they made it out to a couple of his (LaMelo’s) games, and came to our home opener. I know they’re still watching back at home. For them to be there is great, but we know we’re going to have their support no matter where they are.”
Caruso, Ball and the rest of the California crew will have to be at the top of their games Sunday against the Clippers, who have won six straight following a 1-4 start, and on Monday against the Lakers, who have struggled with James out with an abdominal strain.
The Bulls committed 20 turnovers and shot poorly against the Warriors, looking nothing like the team that won 8 of its first 11 games and handled Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets on Monday at the United Center.
Help could be coming soon. Coach Billy Donovan said Saturday that Coby White is almost ready and could return to action against the Lakers or Wednesday at Portland. The Bulls need some scoring off the bench and need to learn how to succeed without their big man in the middle.
“We knew it was going to be tough without Vooch,” DeRozan said after Friday’s loss. “Best player, best big, best playmaker. We knew it was going to be a challenge, especially going up against the best team in the NBA. They mixed it up, played well. They did what they do.
“It was a great learning experience for us, to understand we got our butt whupped. How (are) we going to respond after that?”
The answer to that question is coming soon.
