Billy Donovan is ecstatic about the interconnectedness and collective effort that has contributed to Chicago's continued strong play

It was difficult to believe that the Chicago Bulls would reach the current stage after hitting rock bottom early in the season. They may not yet be considered an elite NBA team or sit atop the Eastern Conference standings, but they are grateful for what they have accomplished since late November.

In what could have been a much more disastrous event when Zach LaVine was announced as missing three to four weeks due to foot soreness, the Bulls defied the odds by winning six of their last nine games without the All-Star — with the latest against the Philadelphia 76ers that features reigning league MVP Joel Embiid. They didn't panic but instead changed their approach by attacking as a group and applying quicker gameplay.

Bringing the win back to Chicago.@Plus500 | #SeeRed pic.twitter.com/pUSEQzv2cZ
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) December 19, 2023

Working as a group

Perhaps the most thrilled about the Bulls’ positive efforts for a turnaround this season has been Billy Donovan. The Chicago coach can only solely credit his team's “connectedness” for taking the challenges one step at a time and working through the occasions as one.

“I think the most important thing is a group with five guys connected,” Donovan said. “If you don’t have that and the talent level is equal or you’re undermanned and your talent level is less, you have zero chance to win---none. So I think the most important thing is the connectedness, the sharing and moving of the basketball, the covering for each other (defensively), the extra passing, the rotations and taking charges. Those are all things that are about being connected.”

Finally, evolving to that desired form from being 5-14, the Bulls are now 11-17, thanks to their resilience and collectivity.

The work is still far from over, but Alex Caruso is relieved and proud of the fact that they are finally making pivotal progress for the achievement of their desired campaign this 2023-24.

“We’re finally locking in on the things we’ve talked about all year that we want to do and we’re competing at a high level,” he said. “As crazy as it sounds, we could be 9-0 because we had a couple late games that we lost that we could’ve won.”

Working as a group

Billy Donovan demands consistent aggressiveness from Patrick Williams