There’s not a whole lot to be excited about as the Bulls wind down their regular season. They’re missing their five leading scorers, both rookies have been out for the year since the All-Star break and in Saturday’s loss to the Raptors they reached 30 home losses for just the second time in franchise history. The future looks bright but the present has become a crawl to the finish line.
That’s what made Walt Lemon’s Bulls debut so special. In what will likely be a blip on the NBA’s radar and a game not talked about when the Bulls’ rebuild is all said and done, it was something to cheer for. The Chicago native suited up for his hometown team two days after receiving a call-up from the G-League that reduced him to tears and was the Bulls’ best player. He was aggressive, active and added a little flair in what wound up being a career night.
He finished with a team-high 19 points and a team-high six assists and was a defensive pest, adding three steals and a block, in 31 highly efficient minutes. He was just a -4 in the Bulls’ 23-point loss and committed just one turnover.
“I thought Walt looked like an NBA player,” Jim Boylen said after the game. “He’s not scared. He wasn’t going to let anyone bully him out there and I liked that. I was very excited about his play, his competitiveness, and the things he does translates to some of the things we need: he moves it on time, on target, he gets downhill, he can play through contact.”
It was on full display against a Raptors defense that, even without resting Kawhi Leonard and Pascal Siakam, served as a difficult matchup. But Lemon took it to Toronto, in part because the Bulls needed it. Playing again without Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn and Otto Porter the Bulls needed a spark, something they didn’t get in an 83-point effort against the Blazers on Wednesday.
He attacked the basket relentlessly, worked seamlessly in pick and roll action to find open cutters and didn’t give the Raptors backcourt an inch on the other end of the floor. He looked like the same player who averaged 20.3 points, 9.7 assists and 1.7 steals per game for the Windy City Bulls and certainly like someone capable of hanging around in the Association.
“I think I played pretty well for this to be my first NBA game in a while and play a lot of minutes,” he said. “I put a lot of hard work in my craft. I got a lot of work to do. I have not arrived yet. But just to know that I played somewhat OK for my Bulls debut, I feel like given more opportunity, I can get more comfortable out there and then that’s when I can get better at certain mistakes I made today.”
NBA
It wasn’t an NBA debut for Lemon – he played 35 minutes over five games for the Pelicans last season – but suiting up for his hometown team was special for the Julian product. Lemon said the nerves first hit him when he took the United Center floor for the first time before the game to go through his individual workout.
He was also playing in front of friends and family, including his mother, sister and uncle. To add to the pressure, he donned the No. 25, a tribute to both Derrick Rose – a player he looked up to – and the late Benji Wilson, a Chicago basketball icon. He also showed a little Chicago dog in him by receiving a double technical foul along with Kyle Lowry after the two got into a brief shoving match after a timeout.
“I was nervous, excited. Part of me didn’t want to mess up,” he said. “Part of me was a little emotional because, you know, I got a Bulls jersey on me. And I’m from here. It was just a lot of emotions in one. I wanted to play the right way and just really show people who Walt Lemon is. I think I did that for the most part and I have to keep building on it.”
Boylen certainly knew who Lemon was. He credited Windy City head coach Aaron Henry with having Lemon ready for this type of moment, and though he’s only been with the Bulls two days, Lemon was already making an impact before Saturday night’s game.
“I just think he’s got that confidence. When you’re not scared of the moment the game’s easier for you. I didn’t see any fear in his face from the first time he was in the gym two days ago,” Boylen said. “Nothing. No apprehension. No ‘Do I go here?’ ‘I got it. No, yeah, I got it. We’re running this. I got it.’”
The final five games of the regular season should be all Lemon’s. Kris Dunn still doesn’t appear close to returning from an ailing back, while LaVine and Porter could very well be out for the remainder of the season, too. That leaves plenty of minutes open in the backcourt. Boylen said both before and after the game that he envisions Lemon starting a few of the Bulls' final five games, and it could come as early as Monday in New York against the Knicks.
Whether Lemon is auditioning for a potential spot on the Bulls' roster or someone else's next season, his energetic and enthusiastic play will give Bulls fans something to cheer for during the final days of the season.
"When most guys get called up, they don’t play. Coach (Boylen) and the coaching staff gave me an opportunity to show what I can do, so I think it’s big for me to continue to make those strides on both sides of the floor and try to be as much of a complete player as I can," he said. "Show teams, show this team most importantly, that I can help win any way possible. So that’s really my focus."