The Bulls play their 6th game of the season tonight in San Antonio. With a 3-2 record there will be a lot to watch tonight however all eyes will be on one player. Bulls starting power forward DeMar DeRozan is likely going to make history tonight. With just 7 points tonight DeRozan will be the 50th player to join a prestigious club.
DeMar is 7 points away from joining the 20,000 career-points club. pic.twitter.com/xPoEqmzLVI
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) October 28, 2022
Whenever DeRozan scores 7 points he will be just the 50th player to score 20,000 career points. DeRozan will join an elite list of players and add another impressive accomplishment to his career. He knows how close he is to achieving this milestone and it’s fitting that he will face the Spurs tonight.
DeRozan has one major person to thank
Some made jokes after the Bull’s last game saying that DeRozan purposely waited for this game to go over 20,000 points. DeRozan played three seasons under Spurs head coach Greg Popovich while in San Antonio. In those seasons in San Antonion DeRozan continued to thrive and made himself an ideal candidate for teams looking to add a major piece to their team. DeRozan knows how much Coach Pop meant to his career and touched on it ahead of the game. If he can get seven points he’s got someone to thank.
“That’s why, if it happens, it’d be special against Pop. Soon as I get seven points I’m gonna go thank Pop.”
I’m sure there will be many people to thank when that moment happens but Coach Pop certainly had a big impact on his career. DeMar has continued to play at a high level since leaving Toronto and then San Antonio. It would only be fitting if he could score his 20,000th career point against coach Pop. On top of him joining this elite group, DeRozan is showing up in another major award category early in this season.
DeMVP is back
Last year throughout the regular season DeRozan found himself in the top 10 of the league’s MVP race. While he didn’t end up winning the league MVP he did end up in 10th place when all was said and done. He averaged 27.9 PPG, 50.4 %FG, 4.2 RPG, & 4.9 APG last season and was the biggest reason the Bulls made the playoffs. Well to start this year DeRozan has once again found himself in the early MVP race.
The NBA has released it’s first MVP ladder for the season:
1) Ja Morant
2) Giannis Antetokounmpo
3) Luka Dončić
4) Pascal Siakam
5) DeMar Derozan👀
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) October 28, 2022
DeRozan finds himself at #5 in the early MVP rankings. So far this season he’s averaging 24.8 PPG, 51.8%FG, 4.0 RPG, & 5.4 APG. He’s been an absolute force in the team’s first five games and it’s clear the league has taken notice. There are still a lot of games to be played but if DeRozan can keep up this level of play he will again find himself in MVP discussions as the season comes to an end. This isn’t something that we should be focused on at this time however it is something to keep in the back of our minds. For now, it’s time to watch DeMar join an elite group of players.
Seven Points
It should be very easy for DeMar to score 7 points tonight. Honestly, he should be able to get them in the first quarter. DeRozan joked about coach Pop doing everything he can to stop him from getting those 7 points. After being asked about the likelihood of Popovich levying a box-and-one on him to prevent him from scoring DeMar said,
“You know what’s crazy? That’s something he would definitely do.”
DeRozan was joking but it is something to watch out for. Even if that were the case I could see DeRozan doing everything he can to make sure he gets those 7 points. Tonight will be a historic moment in DeRozan’s career. It’s great that we get to watch him accomplish this while in a Bulls uniform. Let’s hope that DeRozan can continue to keep his name in the MVP race and keep the Bulls in contention.
He’s not a power forward though