DeMar DeRozan reflects on the importance of getting teammates other than Zach LaVine going

When teams can win a game despite an off night from one of their best players, they will take it without hesitation. That’s what happened to the Chicago Bulls in Monday’s 111-97 home victory against the Toronto Raptors.

The Bulls got some payback after letting Sunday’s game in Toronto get away from them. That 113-104 road loss saw DeRozan score 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting, as he also turned the ball over five times.

Deebo followed it up with a nine-point performance on 2-of-6 from the field. He saw Raptors’ double teams consistently, but he found ways to impact the game, adding seven assists and six rebounds.

“I don’t get frustrated. It’s nothing but patience for me. All I care about at the end of the day is winning. And if that calls for me to be a playmaker throughout the night, I’m all for it.” DeRozan said.

DeRozan scored below double figures for the second time in the last four games. The Bulls went 2-0 over the stretch.

It's not about scoring for DeRozan

DeRozan didn’t focus on scoring in the rematch against the Raptors. Instead, he tried to act as a decoy to help dissect their defense.

“That’s what it’s about,” DeRozan said. “We’ve got to be coming together, jelling, as a team. That’s what it’s going to have to be. It’s not about me being the leading scorer every night (or) Zach."

"We’ve got to be able to play the right way so teams don’t know how to defend us. And if you try to take one of us away out of me and Zach, other guys could get it going as well and it makes our job a lot easier,” DeRozan added.

Six players scored at least 10 points for the Bulls in this game, and DeRozan and Javonte Green had nine points apiece. The Bulls are now 5-3 when DeRozan and LaVine play this year.

LaVine praised DeRozan’s playmaking

LaVine credited DeRozan’s playmaking against the Raptors even as he finished with just nine points.

“I mean they started off doing the same thing, and you know you gotta give credit to DeMar, you know passing it around, taking on the double team and I think we did a better job of keeping him in the middle of the floor to where he could read easier. I think we just played hard tonight,” LaVine noted.

DeRozan attempted just six free throws but finished with the highest plus-minus of any starter for the Bulls that game.

LaVine is not 100 percent healthy, but he’s also finding ways to contribute when he plays. According to Cleaning The Glass, he has a better net rating than DeRozan and Vucevic this season.