OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – By the way he’s been carrying himself on the court lately, it’s hard to believe that Denzel Valentine’s confidence was on life support a month ago.
Not that the Bulls guard/forward could have been blamed.
The former lottery pick was a nightly DNP [Did Not Play] Coach’s Decision, and seemed to have permanent residency in Jim Boylen’s dog house.
Then he didn’t.
“I think he’s really trying at the defensive end, and he’s really tried to rebound and do the things we talk about that,’’ Boylen said of Valentine’s turnaround. “We know he can shoot it and he can make decisions. He can play in the pick-and-roll, he has a great pace in his pick-and-roll decisions, but he always talks about defending and rebounding because that’s what we need. We need our guards and our wings to rebound, and when they do that we play better.’’
Valentine is all in on both.
“I’m more confident out there,’’ Valentine said on Monday. “I’m more mature. I mean this is my fourth year here, so I know how to play defense. It’s really about heart. I don’t have the best athletic tools, but I have enough to keep me going. And I think I’m a really underrated defender and an underrated athlete, but just try and do what I can to help the team win, and defense is a big part of that.’’
Coincidentally, since Valentine has worked his way back into the rotation, the Bulls bench has found some much-needed value.
“We all kind of mesh well together,’’ veteran Thaddeus Young said of the second unit becoming in sync the last few weeks.
Valentine might be a big reason why.
Yes, he’s averaging 10.1 points per game in the month of December and shooting 46.2 percent from three in that time, but he’s impacting the game in other ways. What matters to Valentine is in the five games in which he’s played at least 16 minutes this month, the Bulls are 3-2.
Even he would have had trouble believing that was the case when he was out of the rotation to start the season.
“Yeah, it was tough, but I’ve got to give credit to my teammates, my family, God, everyone that’s been positive with me,’’ Valentine said. “I just took it for what it was, kept working, and prayed for things to turnaround. They did, and now I’m going to keep trying to take advantage of this, stay patient, and keep working.’’
Boylen did say that missing all of last season because of foot surgery was one of the reasons they took their time bringing Valentine along, but the main reason was the former Michigan State product was just not playing well in Boylen’s eyes. He had been passed up by younger, more athletic teammates.
“He missed 257 days,’’ Boylen said. “I mean c’mon man, that’s amazing where he’s at right now. It’s amazing to think you can miss that much time and still keep your feel, and work your way back. I’m really happy for him.’’
Tip-ins
Big man Cristiano Felicio was back in action and active on Monday, after he missed more than a month with a fracture in his right wrist. However, he remained out of the regular rotation. … Chandler Hutchison (right shoulder) was on this road trip, and will continue picking up his activity. If he can have contact in practices with no setbacks this week, the Bulls could have clarity on his timetable for a return.
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December 17, 2019 at 09:14AM
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Life out of the dog house is good for Bulls guard Denzel Valentine - Chicago Sun-Times
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