Chicago Sports

From a technical standpoint, Nikola Vucevic hasn’t changed a thing with his three-point shot.

Not a tweak to the fundamentals, not a new and improved shooting program.

“Sometimes I’ll do reps, sometimes I’ll do competition shooting,” the Bulls big man said of his process. “I always look to find some fun, shooting games and competing against myself are the hardest ones. Nothing crazy. Just reps, reps, reps, continue to work, things I’ve been doing for a long time.”

What has changed from last season for Vucevic?

His attitude.

It was well documented that the 2021-22 campaign was a rough one for the former two-time All-Star. Playing alongside DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine for the first time, Vucevic took the approach of being option three in that priority list.

It proved to be a tougher adjustment to make than Vucevic anticipated.

In his Orlando days, he was the offense. He was still dependent on teammates feeding him the ball, and feed him they did. That frequency led to him having a short-term memory. Miss an easy shot? No worries. He’ll get a chance on the next possession.

With DeRozan and LaVine that was not the case.

Welcome to life with two other alphas.

So when Vucevic missed easy shots last year or blew a lay-up, he would get stuck on it. Sometimes enough where he would carry it to the other parts of his game. Not because he questioned his ability, but because he knew the opportunities for redemption were few.

What a difference an offseason has made.

Vucevic’s attitude this season seems to be less about where he sits on the priority list and more about LaVine, DeRozan and Vucevic being a tripod. Kick one of the legs out and they all fail.

“I know how good I am,” Vucevic said after the Saturday loss to Philadelphia. “I know what I bring to the table. I’m a two-time All-Star so I didn’t get to where I am by chance. I know the work I put in, the time I put in.

“It’s just different sometimes for me still playing as a third option. Before, when I was the main option [with the Magic], even if the ball didn’t go in right away, you know I’ll get my shots. Last year I was pressing a little bit on it. This year, I’m just able to settle my role more.”

That was evident against the 76ers and All-NBA goliath Joel Embiid.

Vucevic finished with 23 points, 19 rebounds and three assists, becoming the first player in franchise history to make five 3-pointers with at least 20 points and 15 rebounds.

Of those five three-pointers he made, it came on just seven shots, displaying his efficiency.

The bigger picture was it helped rocket his three-point percentage on the season up to 36.4% after a dismal 31.4% last season.

And if LaVine had a little better court vision, who knows?

With the Philadelphia game there for the taking and just 37.8 seconds left, LaVine settled for a 20-foot jumper that he missed, not noticing a wide open Vucevic to his left, all but unguarded behind the arc in the corner.

“After looking at it, I should’ve thrown it to Vooch,” LaVine said afterward. “It was a bad read on my part. If you’re gonna take it, make it. If not, I gotta find Vooch. I wish I was able to re-do it.”

Vucevic wasn’t about to point any fingers.

“I don’t think he saw me,” Vucevic said. “It was a solid shot by him. It just didn’t go in. I didn’t want to yell or anything because he was going into the shot and I didn’t want to disturb him. I know he didn’t miss me on purpose.”

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The first round went as expected, with no real upsets at all. That may have been dull, but it sets up a spectacular second round. There are seven matchups between schools in the Super 25 and plenty of other great games scheduled.

With so little happening the major decision this week revolved around Maine South. I was very impressed with the Hawks on Friday. Ryan Leyden missed most of the season with an injury. His return has made all the difference. I considered bumping Maine South up near the top five, but didn’t pull the trigger.

Naperville North, which lost to Marist, drops out and is replaced by Glenbrook South. The Titans have been on the cusp of the rankings for more than a month. Their convincing win against Homewood-Flossmoor gave them the nod over Andrew.

The other movement was Brother Rice jumping a few spots down at the bottom. The Crusaders handled a good Jacobs team rather easily on the road.

Week 11’s Super 25With record and last week’s ranking

1. Mount Carmel (10-0) 17A: at Downers Grove North

2. Loyola (9-1) 28A: at Edwardsville

3. Lincoln-Way East (10-0) 38A: at Neuqua Valley

4. York (10-0) 48A: at No. 10 Marist

5. Simeon (10-0) 56A: vs. No. 14 Crete-Monee

6. Glenbard West (9-1) 68A: vs. No. 22 Glenbrook South

7. Hersey (10-0) 77A: at No. 18 Batavia

8. Lemont (10-0) 86A: at Quincy

9. Prospect (9-1) 97A: vs. No. 11 St. Rita

10. Marist (8-2) 108A: vs. No. 4 York

11. St. Rita (8-2) 117A: at No. 9 Prospect

12. Warren (9-1) 128A: at Andrew

13. Maine South (8-2) 138A: at No. 24 South Elgin

14. Crete-Monee (8-2) 146A: at No. 5 Simeon

15. Prairie Ridge (9-1) 156A: vs. Kaneland

16. St. Charles North (9-1) 167A: at Hoffman Estates

17. Wheaton North (9-1) 177A: vs. No. 19 Lake Zurich

18. Batavia (7-3) 187A: vs. No. 7 Hersey

19. Lake Zurich (9-1) 197A: at No. 17 Wheaton North

20. Brother Rice (6-4) 237A: vs. Collinsville

21. Plainfield North (10-0) 218A: vs. Lyons

22. Glenbrook South (9-1) NR8A: at No. 6 Glenbard West

23. Sycamore (10-0) 225A: at Carmel

24. South Elgin (10-0) 248A: vs. No. 13 Maine South

25. IC Catholic (9-1) 253A: vs. Stillman Valley

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Justin Fields’ big night in Foxborough is a sign of things to come as the Bears will continue to take advantage of their best player on offense.

Justin Fields had a big game against the New England Patriots, with 14 carries for 82 yards and a touchdown with 12 designed QB runs.  Fields will likely see a similar type of workload against the Dallas Cowboys because doing so opens up the offensive versatility in Chicago.

The key weapon for the Bears is not only Justin Fields running ability but how they can threaten teams in a not-so-obvious passing situation.  If the Bears are at any point at third and 10 or less and they empty out the backfield and look like they’re going to pass, there’s no guarantee they will.  Justin Fields ran QB power from an empty set against the Patriots on a key third and seven in the game with Fields gaining over 20 yards on the run.

As the Cowboys you don’t want to drift into zone coverage and leave only four men at the line of scrimmage being run blocked by five offensive linemen.  If Justin Fields runs power he’s going to have a convoy of blockers in front of him and not much to stop him from getting to 10 yards.  Leave one man chasing the play from behind, and if Fields makes one tackler miss that means the Bears are going to have the advantage in picking up the first down.

Make it look like you’re running the ball and suck the defenders up to the line and Fields is going to throw the ball over the top of the oncoming tacklers who just left their coverage responsibilities behind.  It’s a dangerous game of cat and mouse that favors the Bears because Fields’ rushing talent is better than 30 other QBs in the NFL and even some of the best running backs.

The Bears need not worry about Justin Fields getting injured because Fields is big and durable, plus Fields’ using designed runs gives him the advantage while running with the football.  If Fields is running by design, he has the advantage.  If he’s scrambling then he’s going to be more vulnerable to getting teed off on by the Cowboys defense.

If the Bears pull off the upset against the Cowboys today on the back of Justin Fields, then it will announce to the rest of the league that the second half of the season in Chicago could be where the Bears make their run to the playoffs.  Anything is possible if Fields played as he did against the Patriots on a game-to-game basis.

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ARLINGTON, Texas — As expected, Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott won’t play against the Bears on Sunday. He didn’t practice all week after spraining his right knee against the Lions, and was ruled out Sunday.

Tony Pollard, who shares running back duties with Elliott, is expected to see increased carries.

Bears offensive lineman Alex Leatherwood, whom the Bears activated on Friday after he returned from mononucleosis, is active. Whether he plays is another question. The Bears are expected to start veteran Riley Reiff at right tackle after they ruled out Larry Borom with a concussion on Friday

The Bears also ruled cornerback Lamar Jackson, tight end Jake Tonges and receiver Isaiah Coulter inactive.Leatherwood was the No. 17 overall pick last year, but things quickly went sour between him and the Raiders. After being drafted to play left tackle, they moved him to right guard and cut him before the start of this season. The Bears claimed him on waivers, but shortly put him on the Non-Football Illness list and didn’t activate him until this week.

Standout linebacker Micah Parsons, meanwhile, is active after being limited in practice because of a shoulder injur. He was expected to play all week.

Receiver Noah Brown (foot) and safety Malik Hooker (hamstring) are among the inactive Cowboys.

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An update on likely trade scenarios throughout the NFL has Roquan Smith possibly being dealt this week.

Roquan Smith is actively being shopped by the Chicago Bears.  The fifth-year linebacker has multiple teams interested in bringing him aboard before the November 1st trade dead line.  But if Smith isn’t traded, he’s likely to receive the franchise tag.

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BUFFALO, N.Y. — Blackhawks goalie prospect Arvid Soderblom already has shown his talent at almost every level and in almost every setting. In Sweden, in Rockford of the American Hockey League and in the NHL preseason, he has excelled consistently.

But he hasn’t yet shown his best stuff in a meaningful NHL regular-season game and earned a victory for his efforts.

For a long time, Saturday looked as though it finally would be that breakthrough night — and Soderblom deserved for it to be. But the Hawks let him down late in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Sabres.

”He played great,” Hawks coach Luke Richardson said. ”He really deserved better tonight. He looked really calm in there, made some really big saves on the primary scoring chances. That’s something we want to clean up as a team, especially in front of a young goaltender, but he showed a lot of poise.”

Said Soderblom: ”Personally, I felt really good out there. [I made] a lot of good saves. I played my game and did my best. It always sucks to lose.”

Soderblom, 23, stopped 36 of the first 37 shots he faced but finished with a less remarkable stat line of 41 saves on 45 shots after the Sabres rallied late.

Tage Thompson scored twice in the last nine minutes of regulation before Victor Olofsson tallied the game-winner on a power play 36 seconds into overtime.

”We [need to] go back a step, take a look at this and realize it’s now two [bad] games, it’s not just one,” Richardson said, also referring to the Hawks’ 6-5 loss Thursday to the Oilers. ”We have to . . . play just a little bit smarter situationally, like laying pucks ahead to the next zone and doing a little bit of forechecking or getting changes in and not turning over pucks.”

The Hawks’ defensive miscues enabled Soderblom to demonstrate many of his strengths. He made 14 high-danger saves, tied for the most by any Hawks goalie since Corey Crawford on Feb. 21, 2020.

Soderblom plays a somewhat opposite style in goal to teammate Alex Stalock. While Stalock injects any game with chaos, Soderblom’s presence almost makes one forget there’s a goalie at all. He makes the job look that easy.

The Sabres generated several semi-breakaways that Soderblom stopped by challenging the shooter to cut down his angle — his 6-3 frame doesn’t leave much open space — then using his quick glove-hand reflexes to snare the shot.

”[He’s] understanding [that] with his size, he doesn’t need to cheat,” Richardson said. ”He has to trust he’ll get there. It makes him feel confident. A big guy with a good glove, that’s a good recipe for a good goaltender.”

The Hawks have high hopes for Soderblom not only because of how talented he looks but also because of his stellar results at every stage of his career to date.

He posted .924 and .921 save percentages in his last two seasons in Sweden’s pro leagues, a .919 save percentage in 38 AHL games last season and a .939 save percentage in a preseason start with the Hawks last month.

But he hasn’t fully translated that skill into big-league results yet. His career NHL save percentage remains an underwhelming .879, weighed down by two tough starts last winter.

And he might not get many more opportunities this season if Petr Mrazek returns soon. The Hawks would prefer Soderblom to keep building confidence in Rockford.

”[That was] . . . my best game so far,” he said. ”You want to get the win. [I’m] sad it didn’t come today, but hopefully it comes in the future.”

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Since the last week of training camp, Zach LaVine has barely practiced.

The Bulls guard has gone through several shootarounds, done some light shooting on his own, and played in just four of the first seven regular-season games, including in the 114-109 loss to Philadelphia on Saturday.

So to expect that the starting unit is anywhere close to running like a well-oiled machine is a fairytale at best.

The solution?

There’s no good one on the horizon.

As long as LaVine is under the umbrella of his current left knee management schedule, the on-again-off-again doesn’t do anything for team chemistry or building out the offensive and defensive packages as the season goes on.

Coach Billy Donovan has admitted that, and so have the players.

Even DeMar DeRozan acknowledged that it’s less than ideal, but was banking on the long game in all of this. According to DeRozan, if they can weather having LaVine as a part-time teammate for the time being, there’s a pay-off down the road.

“It’s tough, but it’s going to make us better at the same time,” DeRozan said. “Other guys that get the opportunity to play, get experience, get reps, that that next-man-up mentality. The most important thing is having [LaVine] in the long run, and we all understand that. As long as he gets better and gets stronger, and we continue to tighten up things when we don’t have him, it’s just going to make us that much better down the line.”

Until then, however, there’s just going to have to be more growing pains as they try and figure all of this out. That means more inconsistent quarters of play.

That’s been evident at the start of games – with or without LaVine – as first quarters have been this team’s Achilles heel, especially in three-point defense.

Philadelphia (3-4) was just the latest team to take advantage of that, building a 36-22 lead in that opening stanza, and doing it courtesy of a 5-for-9 shooting clinic from three-point range.

“The first quarter … actually after the first quarter, the three-point line has been relatively even quarters two-through-four on shooting percentages,” Donovan said. “Outside of Indiana, you look at the first quarter, and teams have been shooting an astronomical percentage. We’ve got to do a better job starting the game. We’ve got to have better awareness and recognition on some of these situations.”

Practicing and playing together on a more consistent basis might help, but that’s just not this team’s reality right now.

Case in point? The plus-minus marks of all the starters in that opening quarter on Saturday was all on the minus side, with LaVine a minus-13.

What this Bulls (3-4) team has been good at in the early part of the season? Halftime adjustments and playing some stellar basketball in the third quarter.

They did that in the season opener against Miami, earlier this week against Boston, and then again with the 76ers, outscoring them 31-26 in that third to make it a game.

Just like that a first-half 19-point deficit was a nail-biter, and would stay that way throughout the fourth.

That was until Joel Embiid had something to say about it. The big man hit a three-pointer with 18.1 seconds left to break the tie after a LaVine miss. The Bulls missed on two opportunities to cut into that lead but it wasn’t to be. Nor was slaying the “Embiid Curse,” as the star center improved to 12-0 lifetime against the Bulls.

“To me the disappointing part of the game was you’re trying to climb out of 19 points,” Donovan said. “We’ve shown it, but we’ve got to do it more consistently.”

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The Blackhawks are defying expectations early on in the season

The bar was set extremely low for the Blackhawks this year. Even Patrick Kane said he’s not sure if the team has many expectations for this year. You know things must be bad if the best player on your team and one of your leaders essentially says the team isn’t good. While this year’s Hawks team might just be very bad the elephant in the room is the matter of just how bad they are and if they will tank. Don’t buy your Conor Bedard jersey’s just yet Blackhawks fans, 7 games in and this team actually looks like they might just scratch a playoff spot.

Let’s face it the Blackhawks are too good to tank

Yes, 7 games is a small sample size but honestly, if you look at the worst teams in the league for the past few years, this Blackhawks team is simply not that. Then take a look at the teams who have gotten off to terrible starts this year. The Arizona Coyotes have 2 wins and have been outscored 29-19. The Anaheim Ducks have looked absolutely terrible, they have one win and have been outscored 32-16. The Blackhawks simply don’t fit into the category that the Ducks and Coyotes are in.

Why was the team expected to tank?

After all the moves Kyle Davidson made in the offseason which included trading away Alex Debrincat, Kirby Dach, and Brandon Hagel and letting Dylan Strome and Dominik Kubalik walk, experts around the league were talking about the Blackhawks possibly having a 50-point season. The team hired a brand new coach in Luke Ricahrdson and handed him a roster that was absolutely designed to land the NO. 1 overall pick or at best a lottery pick.

One who is not familiar with the tanking strategy may ask “why would a team lose games on purpose and essentially throw away the season?” 17 year old Connor Bedard is why. Connor Bedard is the first player ever to be granted exceptional status in the WHL which allowed him. After a shortened season due to the pandemic, Bedard exploded in the 2021-22 season. He became the league’s youngest 50 goal scorer and also notched 100 points becoming the 4th 16 year old in WHL history to net 100 points and the first to do so since 1986. We are talking Connor McDavid level talent here folks he is as real of a deal as it can possibly get.

Connor Bedard was just 15 years old when he was selected to Canada’s national under 18 team which competed in the 2021 IIHF world under 18 tournament. He became just the 3rd 15 year old to represent Canada in that tournament joining Connor Mcdavid and John Tavares as the only ones to do so. Bedard went on to match McDavid’s point total in the same tournament leading them to a gold medal.

What has gone right for the Blackhawks so far

The Blackhawks are recently coming off a 4 game win streak which probably should have went to 5 games if it wasn’t for aforementioned Connor McDavid. The Blackhawks early success can be directly tied to their special teams. As of Wednesday the Hawks penalty kill has been phenomenal. They killed off 20 of their last 21 penalties successfully which includes a 6-6 performance against an absolutely loaded power play for the Florida Panthers. They have already netted 4 short handed goals this year which is already double the total of SHG’s they had last season. Lottery teams usually have terrible special teams, just one more reason why the Blackhawks look like they don’t have the makings of a lottery team.

Another thing that has gone right for the Blackhawks so far this year is that they are taking care of business against the bad teams. The teams first 3 wins came against San Jose, Detroit, and Seattle all teams whom are not expected to be in the playoffs this year. Good teams have to take care of the trash and that is exactly what the Hawks have done so far. They even notched an impressive win over the loaded Florida Panthers.

The jury is still out on the Blackhawks

In no way am I saying that this years Blackhawks team is good and will be in the playoff race come April. Yes they have gotten off to a better than expected start but on paper this team is bad, I mean real bad. Only time will tell if the Chicago Blackhawks will continue to defy expectations but so far they have all the makings of an above average team, a team that will essentially have no chance at winning this years lottery. Kyle Davidson will have to make some serious moves if he wants any chance of landing the generational talent Connor Bedard.

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Tysean Griffin is just a junior, but Morgan Park relies on him to make its offense go. Griffin’s speed breaks games open and keeps defenders on their toes.

So it was a tremendous sign of growth that the young Mustangs defeated Fenwick 14-6 on Saturday at Gately Stadium with Griffin managing only five carries and no receptions while nursing an injured ankle.

The victory sent Morgan Park (9-1) into the second round of the Class 5A playoffs.

Senior Orlando James stepped up in place of Griffin with 14 carries for 62 yards. He was a steady and dependable ball carrier in a close game.

”[Orlando James] is a point guard,” Mustangs coach Chris James said. ”So we lose him to basketball over the summer. But now he has his legs back, and he’s another weapon for us.”

Sophomore quarterback Marcus Thaxton and junior receiver Chris Durr Jr. connected on both of Morgan Park’s touchdowns. The first was a 26-yard pass late in the first quarter and the second was a 21-yard pass late in the third.

Durr had eight receptions for 161 yards.

”I’ve known [Thaxton] since we were 6 years old,” Durr said. ”And we’ve just had that special connection since we met.”

Thaxton is the most talented passing quarterback to play in the Public League in recent years. He was 18-for-33 for 247 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.

”I have high expectations for Marcus,” Chris James said. ”I’m not going to hide that. Marcus is going to be one of the best quarterbacks to come out of the Chicago Public League. We just have to protect him.”

Junior Corey Harris had four catches for 35 yards as Thaxton connected with six receivers.

”It’s great to get my first playoff win as a sophomore,” Thaxton said. ”This team sticks together. There isn’t another team I’d want to be a part of. I love my teammates to death.”

The Mustangs’ defense, led by sophomore linebacker Jovan Clark, shut down the Friars’ passing game. Fenwick (5-5) completed only five passes for 47 yards. Clark had an interception in the first quarter and helped force a fumble in the second.

The Friars had success on the ground. Junior Luke D’Alise had 25 carries for 191 yards, including a 10-yard touchdown. But Fenwick was unable to finish several drives with scores, coming up short in the red zone.

”We were too one-dimensional on offense,” Friars coach Matt Battaglia said. ”But the defense played their hearts out.

”Holding them to two touchdowns was unbelievable. That’s a lot of explosive power, and the defense gave us a shot. But [Morgan Park] made the plays when it counted.”

”We expect to be this good, regardless of who the opponent was, but we wanted to beat them after they beat us last year,” Chris James said. ”And they were the defending state champions. To be the champ, you have to beat the champ.”

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