CHICAGO – The Chicago Bulls have orchestrated an impressive turnaround throughout the past couple of months. The team had struggled all season long, and then they traded away their best player, Zach LaVine, before the All-Star break. A lot of people thought that this meant the Bulls were tanking, but the team has actually been better. A lot of players have stepped up and are playing great basketball right now, and perhaps Josh Giddey is the one who has taken the biggest jump.
Josh Giddey has been on an absurd run since the All-Star break. He is averaging 14.3 points per game on the season, and prior to February, his best full month of the year was in December when he averaged 13.9. Giddey averaged 19.8 PPG in Febraury and 20.3 in March. He also shot 53.6% from three during February.
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“Very, very competitive. He [Giddey] leans into the shooting component of it, because that was something that obviously he's had to address since he's been in the league,” Bulls head coach Billy Donovan said to the media on Friday. “He's worked really hard on that. He's got a level of belief and confidence in himself that he can do that. He's figured it out for us, with the way we're playing, where are good shots for him in-and-around the paint area. I think his shooting percentage has gone up because he's taken shots that he's going to shoot a high percentage on. He's a guy who really is just a phenomenal passer. He really has figured out how to play with Coby [White] and play with some of these guys – even Vooch [Nikola Vučević] a little bit as well.”
The growth that Josh Giddey and the Bulls have displayed over the course of the past couple of months has been impressive to watch. Chicago is going to be in the play-in tournament once again, and they are playing their best basketball at the right time. If the Bulls can finish the season strong and move up a spot or two in the standings, they will be in good shape. They should be healthier in the postseason, and they could make a run to the playoffs.
