Bulls go with Ayo Dosunmu as starting point guard in loss to Pelicans

Every NBA coach has an -ism.

The on-going Billy Donovan-ism?

The Bulls coach doesn’t like to reveal his starting lineups before a game.

On Tuesday, Donovan finally colored outside those lines, even if it was for just one night.

Getting peppered with questions about a starting point guard now that Lonzo Ball (left knee surgery) is on the shelf for at least the next month – likely longer – Donovan finally gave in.

“So should I give you guys one since it’s preseason?” Donovan said. “Then you’re not going to ask me again rest of the year?”

And just like that Donovan announced that hometown kid Ayo Dosunmu got the start in the eventual 129-125 loss to the Pelicans in the preseason opener at the United Center.

“I gave you guys one,” he proudly declared after.

Now, if Dosunmu has staying power in that starting lineup moving forward? Don’t you dare ask Donovan.

“I think we’ve got a lot of guys that can handle the basketball, and bring it up for us, and play, but a lot of times the point guard on a made basket is the guy bringing it up, but we’re pretty comfortable out-letting the ball to anybody one-through-three on the perimeter and playing from there,” Donovan said, when asked about Dosunmu having that job full-time, or at least until Ball can return.

Translation: It’s a need-to-know basis, and just one game into the exhibition season, the media didn’t need to know.

Donovan did say that he could experiment with the likes of Goran Dragic, Coby White and even Alex Caruso in the remaining three preseason games, but wouldn’t go much further than that.

He didn’t need to.

While the third-year coach wanted to keep it a mystery, it’s really not. Dosunmu had been getting the most run with the starters in camp the last few days, and just made the most sense. Donovan made that clear without trying to, saying that Dragic needed shortened minutes because of his age, while White and Caruso were better off the ball.

That left Dosunmu, who finished the game with 10 points and three assists.

And as it turned out, was the least of the problems for the Bulls.

Yes, it was the preseason, but there were still some serious issues lingering from last season, and that started with the defense, especially against athletic play-off caliber teams.

The Pelicans starters got almost every shot they wanted in that opening quarter, putting a 40-spot on the Bulls and doing so with very little resistance.

“We got a long way to go defensively,” Donovan said of that showing. “There’s no question about that.”

The other concerns?

Patrick Williams was still “Passive Pat,” taking just seven shots and scoring five points, while the second unit brought very little to the floor collectively.

There was some good, as Nikola Vucevic had four blocked shots to go along with his 15 points and 10 rebounds. DeMar DeRozan was in midseason form with 21 points and 12 trips to the free throw line. And Dalen Terry showed some fire.

The rest?

Good thing it was preseason.

As for Dosunmu, he made it clear that while he wanted to try and do some of the things Ball did, he also wanted to play his own game.

Whether he stayed the starter or not.

“Last year helped me a lot,” Dosunmu said. “There’s a balance of understanding when to shoot and when to play-make, and that comes down to experience, understanding the moment. I have a better ability to assess that now, just with me going through the wars, going through some battles last season, watching a lot of film. That’s the best thing about experience, the best thing about learning.”