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Ayo Dosunmu and Patrick Williams remain unperturbed despite their demotion to the bench
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Ayo Dosunmu and Patrick Williams were both unperturbed after being relegated to the bench for Friday night's game against the Golden State Warriors. The two young studs had started every game until that point, but Chicago Bulls' head coach Billy Donovan decided to shake things up.
Starting five shake-up
The Bulls have not been able to get into a rhythm this season, following huge morale-boosting victories with puzzling losses, so the decision was made to give other players a chance. This was the mindset that Donovan had in shaking his starting five up, replacing Dosunmu and Williams with veterans Alex Caruso and Javonte Green.
"I'm always evaluating, and you're not trying to make a decision after two or three games. But I think there's a pretty decent body of work for the number of games we played. And I just wanted to take a look at something different," explained Donovan.
The two combined for 15 points in a 119-111 loss to the Warriors. Dosunmu had 9 points, and Williams added 7 in their first game off the Bulls' bench.
However, Green sat out Sunday's game versus the Sacramento Kings due to knee soreness, and Williams was immediately re-inserted into the starting five -- he put up 10 points and 5 rebounds in a 101-110 loss. Donovan added that he trusts the two young guys to handle their demotion to the bench very well, as he believes in their professionalism and drive to win.
"They're team guys. They want to win. I'm sure in their heart of hearts want to start. But I also think the team is more important to them," Donovan said.
Dosunmu, Williams remains unperturbed
True to Donovan's thoughts, Dosunmu and Williams were extremely positive despite being relegated to the bench.
"My motto, whether I start or not, is each day I want to get 1 percent better. Nothing has really changed. I want to get better, keep learning at both ends," said Dosunmu, who began the season as the starting point guard in place of the recovering Lonzo Ball. He finished with 6 points and 3 assists in yesterday's loss to the Kings.
On the other hand, Williams understood the team needed to make changes to try and improve their season.
"Trying different lineups is just part of figuring out what works and what doesn't work. I'm with whatever to win. Just trust the process and control what you can control as a player. I trust Billy and the coaching staff. I'm all for it if they think it can help the team," Williams said.
