The Bears are 3-6 for the fourth time in the last nine years. And the three previous seasons they were 3-6 were marked by a definite pall at Halas Hall, and not just in the media room.

In fact, each of those seasons ended with the head coach getting fired — 2014 (Marc Trestman), 2017 (John Fox) and 2021 (Matt Nagy), when not even Justin Fields’ big second half in a near-upset of the Steelers that dropped the Bears to 3-6 could prevent that death-march feel of dread for the final two months of the season.

But not this year. The Bears are 3-6 again, but the mood was noticeably light in the Bears’ locker room this week — almost a bit of a buzz, in fact. That’s perhaps a testament to the power of a growing quarterback and an offense that has scored 33, 29 and 32 points the last three weeks. It’s one of those NFL truths the Bears don’t often experience: The team that feels good about its quarterback feels good about itself.

“For sure,” said guard Cody Whitehair, who is 3-6 for the third time in his seven seasons with the Bears. “We’re growing as a team. We’re growing as an offense. We’re really doing some nice things. We’re starting to click. We’re putting up some points. You can see the direction this team is going. We’re very close.

“The biggest thing for us now is we just got to find a way to finish games. That’ll happen. We’re doing a really good job at practice, and Coach is doing a good job of putting us in situations and now we just got to go out and execute.”

When Whitehair says, “That’ll happen,” it’s not just hope or blind faith. Just two years ago, the Bears’ offense scored 138 points in a four-game span — 30, 34, 33 and 41 — but nobody thought the Bears had finally figured it out.

Those games at the end of the 2021 season were against four of the worst scoring defenses in the NFL — the Lions (32nd), Texans (27th), Vikings (29th) and Jaguars (31st). This year, the scoring outburst has come against the Patriots (tied for seventh in points allowed), Cowboys (second) and Dolphins (22nd).

This offense is a long way from “arrival.” But with Fields’ improvement, offensive coordinator Luke Getsy’s impact and the addition of wide receiver Chase Claypool, this offense is more promising than at any point of the Nagy/Mitch Trubisky eras. Who knows where it goes from here, but the progress is real.

“You see it. You feel it,” Whitehair said. “You see us working certain drills in practice, where the confidence level and the execution is getting better in situations where we can perform well.”

There’s no telling how this thing will turn out — we’ve been fooled before — but the Bears at least are finally doing the rebuild right. They’re taking some lumps, losing some games — not always the worst thing in a rebuild — but don’t have any established players standing in the way of developing ones. That’s how it’s done. And they have a quarterback who is getting better — and an offensive coordinator who’s getting better — against playoff-contending teams instead of patsies.

Matt Eberflus is trying to win every game, but he’s also got the big picture in mind.

“There’s going to be a time where we got this going and it’s the other way around, and we’re going to have to deal with the things,” Eberflus said. “Right now, we’re dealing with adversity, and that’s part of being a man, part of being a pro, part of being an organization.

“Those guys do a really good job of that. That’s been our message along: Stay with the process; get better; learn from performance. Good, bad or different, we are going to learn, and we are going to get better.”

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It always sounds too bad to be true. There’s no way the Bears could actually be as awful as the Lions.

The harsh truth is that the Bears have barely been better over the last decade, and they’ve been much closer to slipping below the Lions at the bottom of the NFC North than overtaking the Packers at the top.

The Lions are in their 10th decade of doing nothing, and they seem to be perpetually rebuilding. They were expecting to show some modest progress this season but sit at 2-6 heading into their visit to Soldier Field on Sunday. It’s the first time the Bears, just a hair better at 3-6, have been favored since Week 3 against the NFL-worst Texans.

New general manager Ryan Poles’ task is to make sure the Bears don’t end up like the Lions. His predecessors couldn’t manage to clear even that incredibly low bar.

From 2013 through last season, under the watch of Ryan Pace and Phil Emery, the Bears went 8-10 against the Lions. Each team made the playoffs twice and got knocked out immediately. They had identical .421 winning percentages — only five teams were worse.

The Lions provide a template of how to get everything wrong. If Poles or any other general manager used “Do the opposite of whatever the Lions would do” as a guiding principle, they’d probably be fine.

They don’t have a quarterback other than pricey placeholder Jared Goff and haven’t drafted one since sixth-rounder Brad Kaaya in 2017.

They don’t know if they have a coach. Dan Campbell certainly is entertaining, but he’s off to a 5-19-1 start, and the last time the Bears saw him, he was getting flagged for calling consecutive timeouts as Matt Nagy outfoxed him for a 16-14 victory.

Their drafts have been a mess, and that’s usually how teams get here. The Lions have drafted 58 players the last seven years, and four made a Pro Bowl. Of those four, only offensive linemen Frank Ragnow and Jonah Jackson are still on their roster.

That’s an unsightly portrait. And it looks a lot like the Bears did as they sputtered along with draft misses and coaching duds.

That’s the mess Poles walked into. He’s searching for solutions that stumped Pace and Emery, and the question is whether he has the Bears in any better shape than the Lions as both franchises try yet again to climb out of the pit they dug with their incompetence.

The answer seems to be yes. The Bears have good reason to believe Poles has them on course.

It always starts with quarterback, and Justin Fields has pumped optimism into the organization with his play the last five games. After posting the NFL’s worst passer rating through the first four weeks at 58.7, the 99.7 he has put up since ranks eighth. He gave the Bears a combined passing and rushing output of 154.5 yards per game through Week 4, then 261.2 since.

As for the coaching, Matt Eberflus still has a lot to prove, but at least there hasn’t been anything clownish. His CEO-style approach to running the team is sensible, and he and offensive coordinator Luke Getsy made meaningful adjustments to the offense rather than refusing to change a la Nagy. The Bears look organized, and that’ll serve them well once they’re fully stocked with good players.

That’s where Poles has work to do, and it’ll take another couple of years to evaluate how good he is at picking personnel. This year wasn’t particularly telling because he had to begin by demolishing the ramshackle house Pace left him. He had to bulldoze before he could build.

While some of his moves have been debatable, like going too cheap on the offensive line and at wide receiver, as well as trading potential franchise pillar Roquan Smith, there haven’t been any wild misses yet. Even the questionable decisions have had clear, credible logic behind them.

Poles’ first real opportunity to construct a roster will come at the end of the season. The Bears will have the most salary-cap space in the NFL by far, and even after giving up a second-round pick to acquire receiver Chase Claypool, the Bears have one pick in each of the first three rounds and two in the fourth.

In the meantime, the way they play matters more than whether they win — for the most part. This week would be an exception.

While it’s unreasonable to expect the Bears to go punch-for-punch against good teams, they need to show they can knock down opponents in their weight class. They host the Lions this week and visit the Falcons next week, and neither of those teams has the kind of personnel advantage the Bears typically face.

When they take on teams at their level, they need to win. That’s one of the ways Eberflus is up for evaluation even in the early stage of a rebuild. Regardless of the roster, he needs to squeeze the most out of it.

The Lions provide a favorable opportunity all around. Fields will love that they’re allowing a league-worst 29.3 points per game and a 99.8 opponent passer rating. No team gives up more yards per pass than the Lions’ 8.1. They’re also the second-worst run defense.

And as Eberflus tries to stabilize a defense that has said goodbye to Smith, Robert Quinn, Khalil Mack and Akiem Hicks since he took the job, the Lions are highly stoppable.

Goff is a league-average quarterback with 10 turnovers in eight games. Their top rusher is running back Jamaal Williams, who has 267 yards in his last four games. With three decades of experience as a defensive expert, Eberflus should have some answers for that.

And that’s a good step for the Bears toward proving they aren’t the Lions: Furthering their own progress while hindering Detroit’s. Even in a season like this, the Bears need to establish that they’re decisively better than the league laughingstock.

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Coaching and cooking were how Greg Bey showed love. He’d feed more than 100 people each Mother’s Day, inviting them to his Chicago Heights home for a feast that might include prime rib, crawfish etoufee, greens, fried chicken and macaroni and cheese — with six kinds of cheese.

“He cooked all of it by himself because that was his love language,” said his wife Tracy.

His only requirement for attendance? You had to have had a mother.

Mr. Bey, 62, died unexpectedly last month at Ingalls Memorial Hospital in Harvey.

He was a role model for many grade school kids he coached for 20 years in the Jaguars football program, now based at Jackie Robinson Park at 105th Street and Morgan Street.

“He was so positive,” said Roosevelt Martin III, 25, who with his twin brother Russell started with the program in fourth grade. “It made us feel so great.”

He and his brother both now coach for the Jaguars and try to pass along lessons they learned from Mr. Bey.

“We teach our players to encourage and uplift each other,” Martin said. “If something doesn’t go right, just pat each other on the back, let them know they’ll get it next time. At the end of the season, they’re all brothers.”

Just a look from Mr. Bey was enough to let players know they needed to up their game.

“Whenever we would pull up late to practice, he would just look at us and say, ‘Start running!’ ” Russell Martin said. “You learned if you’re late to work, there are repercussions.”

“He’d do visits when the seasons were over to make sure they kept academics first,” said the twins’ father, Roosevelt Martin Jr., the director of the Jaguars. “He taught integrity. Then, he’d teach football.”

“If a student was having a problem in school,” Tracy Bey said, “he’d tell them, ‘We’ll get you a tutor. You’ve got to keep your grades up because you’ve got to go to college.’ “

Mr. Bey grew up in Harvey, a son of Essie and Herman Bey. His father was a union steward at Reynolds Metals in McCook. He played football at Thornridge High School. He liked skating at The Rink, a popular 87th Street spot that was owned by relatives and patronized by generations of skaters. He excelled at “JB skating,” inspired by the moves and music of James Brown.

Young Greg skated in a 1977 play at the Medinah Temple, “Look Mama, No Hands.” To promote it, he appeared on WGN-TV’s “The Ray Rayner Show.”

“Even as an adult,” his wife said, “he would dust off his skates. He might not be able to kick as high as he did at 13, but he’d certainly get out there.”

Mr. Bey graduated from Illinois State University in Normal. Later, he joined Phi Beta Sigma.

He went on to sell telecommunications equipment and Internet services to businesses including Walgreens and State Farm. He worked for companies including MCI, Comcast, AT&T, Verizon and, most recently, Cogent Communications.

Once, after finding out he didn’t get a job, Mr. Bey immediately pitched his fraternity brother Jason Easterly.

“He said to me, ‘I interviewed with them. They didn’t give me the job, but I told them about you,’ ” said Easterly, who landed the position. “I am forever in his debt.”

The Beys were married in 2000 after a courtship filled with culinary delights.

“When we were dating, he invited me over to his house,” his wife said. “He made a baked catfish, oh, my God, with a lemon sauce that was the best lemon sauce I had ever had.”

She said their daughter Christian said it best: “He was an alchemist in the kitchen.”

He’d map out ingredient itineraries to shop for specialties at different stores.

“He was so heartbroken when Moo & Oink closed,” his wife said.

For Thanksgiving, he’d deep fry turkeys for friends and relatives.

“He would give you your time slot,” his wife said. “He had an assembly line of turkeys.”

A week before he died, he volunteered at a college scholarship fair put on by the organization 100 Black Men of Chicago, for which he also worked on Christmas toy drives.

“He loved being able to help kids have the kind of holiday that he had when he was a kid,” his wife said.

Through his membership in the group The Chicago Assembly, he also helped raise scholarship money for young Black men who want to become educators.

Mr. Bey enjoyed traveling to “anyplace that had beaches, sand and sun,” his wife said.

Services have been held. In addition to his wife and daughter Christian, Mr. Bey is survived by his sons Gregory Jr. and Garrett and granddaughter Jaden.

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College football week 11 continues with a solid 3:30pm window including a couple fun ranked matchups.

Here are the best bets for the college football 3:30pm primetime slot.

Alabama vs. Ole Miss on CBS

At a point I have to make a stand and state that Alabama can’t keep doing this and neither can Vegas. Double digit spread on the road for Alabama again and it makes zero sense which is why I want to take them because Vegas knows something. This is not the same Alabama team. They stink to be fair for the first time in a while in college football.

The OC Bill O’Brien stinks and so does the DC Pete Golding. The wide receivers are horrendous for Alabama. Bryce Young tries but he has a bum shoulder and no one that can get open. The offensive line is not close to be dominate like in years past. Alabama just isn’t the same this year and I can’t let Saban and his massive success in years past entrap me again.

Ole Miss isn’t great either by the way. Jaxson Dart is horrible and I’ve made that clear before. He genuinely tries to give the ball away. His numbers would be so much worse if defensive players just caught the ball. The positive this year for Ole Miss is the run game which is why I think they do well in college football in general and on Saturday. Home field is also the bonus here and I believe will hopefully will this team to cover.

The Bet: Ole Miss may not have the better recruits but this game means the world to them and I can’t take a double digit spread with Alabama on the road where they struggle mightily. Ole Miss +12.

UCF vs. Tulane on ESPN2

UCF won a good game last week vs. Memphis but it was with their backup quarterback. Their main man John Rhys Plumlee was out with an injury and unfortunately in college there are very little injury reports until the game starts and the guy is either playing or he isn’t. UCF is an ok team when watching them especially last week.

Memphis is definitely a weak team this year and had plenty of chances to tie or take the lead. UCF has been timely in games under Malzahn but in general no one has ever really been a huge fan of Malzahn during his college football time as there’s something about him where he just isn’t a great coach. Sure he can be good but just can’t get to great.

Tulane is sick this year especially with their defense. Last week I thought Tulsa could cover their spread being at home and they had every chance of doing so they just needed one touchdown in a quarter and a half. Long behold nothing happened at all. Tulane didn’t score nor did Tulsa. Tulane just shut them down basically the whole game just like they’ve done with basically every team they have played. This will be their toughest battle since Kansas State where Tulane pulled that upset off. Fortunately Tulane is at home in New Orleans in this historic matchup as they are ranked for the first time since 1998.

The Bet: It has to be Tulane -1. If John Rhys Plumlee plays for UCF I would be a little scared but Tulane has a really good defense and I am confident they will shut any quarterback down they face. Tulane -1.

Maryland vs. Penn State on FOX

Genuinely I do not like this game. But it’s primetime college football and it had the right idea of being a good game but Taulia Tagovailoa for Maryland is still little banged up and may not be 100%. This is a perfect spot for him which he loves to do and that is cause an upset or easily smoke a spread.

Last year Penn State went to Maryland and won pretty easily but there was some beef as Taulia was pushed by a player while out of bounds and that player was then suspended. Maryland may not matchup well but they are going to play Penn State harder than Penn State thinks they will.

Penn State stinks per usual and I’ve been saying it as James Franklin isn’t good enough and Sean Clifford for the past 6 years was never good enough. Their running backs are awesome and their defense isn’t half bad especially how they played Ohio State. But also Ohio State can’t really run the football but that’s a whole other problem. Either way Penn State’s college football season is over now nothing really matters to them and their about to face Locksley who loves to get his guys going and Taulia Tagovailoa who is always ready to go like his brother.

The Bet: Maryland is in a perfect sleeper spot to me and even at Beaver Stadium with a possible 100,000 fans I like the Terps +10.

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7-2 Illinois football takes on 5-4 Purdue at home again in Champaign this Saturday after a tough loss to Michigan State last week.

Just to recap quickly last week’s loss because I don’t want to talk long about it. Michigan State stinks like I said in last week’s preview but Illinois probably played the worst they could have played. It was very very windy just like we saw in Northwestern with Ohio State so its understandable the scheme might change but it was a significant problem that the run game was not sharp. Chase Brown had two fumbles and the biggest issue was 3rd down.

Illinois had so many 3rd and longs there were very few third and shorts and when there were Illinois football still could not pick it up. They went 0 for 6 on fourth down. While stats for Brown and DeVito look ok on the outside it was the untimely success that cost them. Also a horrendous punt in Illinois’ territory was a backbreaker. 

Moving on to more important things such as the road to the Big Ten championship. Well that is still very much in play even with a loss to Michigan next week if that even happens.

I understand they just lost to Michigan State but Bielama is sneaky and at the very least Illinois football could cover the spread there. I digress from the Michigan game. The Big Ten West is Illinois football’s if they beat Purdue and beat Northwestern in the final week of the season. Case closed.

Purdue got killed last week by Iowa as they only put up 3 points and they allowed Iowa to score 24 points which is hard to do since Iowa is miserable at offense. Aidan O’Connell is the Purdue quarterback who has been there for a while and is quite experienced.

While I mentioned they only had 3 points last week there is something to be wary of with O’Connell. He has played some insane games in the past and has put up monster numbers in big games. You know how Purdue always knocks off a ranked opponent once or twice a year recently? That was Aidan O’Connell. While it does not look like things are all together for Purdue like they were at times last year Illinois football can’t forget what Purdue and O’Connell like to do. Which is ruin seasons.

While DeVito and Brown had nice numbers, besides two fumbles form Chase, the two of them have to be more timely with their success.

First down and second down are even more paramount this week after seeing what took place on third downs last week. Good news for Illinois football is the OC Barry Lunney has agreed to stay next year with the Illini. He has done a great job with Brown and especially DeVito who is 2nd in the nation in completion percentage.  Illinois football will be fine as long as the turnovers are limited comparatively to last week and if they convert 3rd downs. Hopefully this week Illinois football and Bielama will also play the field position battle better. Punt well and force Purdue to make long drives against this defense.

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Week 11 is upon us for college football and the college football playoff still has a long way to go before we lock in the top 4.

Here are the best bets in college football for the 12pm primetime games in week 11.

Missouri vs. Tennessee on CBS

Missouri seems content with Eliah Drinkwitz to continue to lead this team. The argument can go either way with whether he deserves the job or not but it’s extremely tough in the SEC and to be fair he has somehow landed some stud recruits. Coming into this year they landed at 14th in the nation with their recruitment. With the competitive recruiting conference they’re in that is very impressive.They really need a QB though because the recruits Drinkwitz has landed are playmakers including Luther Burden who is a 5 star wide receiver and they can’t be loving the lack of production at QB.

Missouri is going on the road to Neyland Stadium which is one of the toughest environments in college football and unfortunately for them Tennessee fans won’t be taking a day off just because it’s Missouri. With the loss by Tennessee to Georgia the stakes have ramped up for Tennessee to make their way back in to the playoff without going to the SEC championship.Therefore Missouri finds themselves in the crossfire this week.While Missouri’s defense has not been bad this year it is the offense that has struggled mightily only putting up 23.1 points per game. They gave Georgia a really good scare at home on 10/1 which if they were at home this week I would consider them covering any spread and possibly winning. But they are not home and instead in a really tough environment.

Tennessee needs to win big here on out. I completely bought they hype of Tennessee. Im not saying they could never beat Georgia to be honest but they just weren’t ready for a massive game on the road like that. The college football playoff committee put them at number 1 last week so that they didn’t have to move Tennessee that far after the loss and they can still sneak their way in later in the year. The committee at least knows people would like to see an offense like this in the playoff which is why they protected them with the rankings last week. The thing is they can’t leave any questions or doubt for the remainder. They need to dominate everyone and that starts with Missouri. Luckily they are at home because after playing in Athens they looked a little shell shocked.

The Bet: Tennessee needs to win big going forward and I think the early kickoff day game at Neyland is a perfect recipe for them to cover. Tennessee -20.5.

LSU vs. Arkansas on ESPN

I may be the biggest LSU hater out there besides Alabama fans. I’m not buying them as I wasn’t buying them earlier this year either. I’ve seen Jayden Daniels when he played at Arizona State and he is just not the guy. Why teams week to week do not just spy him like they should Justin Fields is beyond me. Sacrifice the coverage and tackle him when he runs cause he always does. My dislike for LSU is so high that I am genuinely blaming Alabama for losing more than LSU for winning.

Bill O’Brien is a bad OC and we’ve witnessed that for multiple years even when they had better talent prior to this year. Pete Golding is an awful DC that we have witnessed for multiple years even with better talent years prior. Bryce Young does everything he can even with his bum shoulder and yet his receivers can’t catch or get separation unless Bryce Young extends the play 10 seconds. Now is this about Alabama or LSU? I am just trying to prove a point that LSU isn’t this good.

On the other side is Arkansas who many have been disappointed in as they were solid last year in college football and they brought back K.J. Jefferson at QB who was decent but most definitely a gamer. The thought was Jefferson would improve throwing but that hasn’t really been the case as the inaccuracy still remains. They lost to Liberty quite embarrassingly last week but also props to Liberty for being prepared and ready for an SEC team. Prior they smoked Auburn and BYU. It really is just the inconsistency that kills them. Their defense is also miserable even dating back to last year when every game was a shootout.

Raheim Sanders is a beast and he’s only a sophomore so remember him in a couple years as he could be playing well after college football. If he can play well and allow Jefferson to avoid taking hit after hit that he normally does they can do well. The issue is K.J. may not play and that would allow Malik Hornsby to play and Sam Pittman seems to believe in him a lot. We’ll see what happens but the defense for Arkansas needs to show up just a little bit. That will be the deciding factor.

The Bet: Arkansas at home after a bad loss feels solid to me. Pittman is not an X’s and O’s guy he’s a man manager and this is a gem to get the players ready. K.J. Jefferson may not play but Arkansas at home points are bound to fly. I like over 61.5.

Purdue vs. Illinois on ESPN2

To me it’s simple for this game. Illinois simply can’t beat themselves again like they did last week again Michigan State. Purdue isn’t good this year and I know they like to upset teams but Bielama and Illinois can’t let them come to Champaign and dictate.

The Bet: Small preview of the game because I have a separate article that I preview Illinois football. Illinois -7 is the best bet here.

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A Chicago Bears starting cornerback was ruled out Friday

The Chicago Bears had several injuries after the team’s heartbreaking loss to the Miami Dolphins in Week 9. The Bears’ injury report Thursday had several starters listed. On Friday, a Chicago Bears starting cornerback was ruled out against the Detroit Lions in Week 10.

According to a statement by the Bears, Kindle Vildor will not play against the Lions. Starting cornerback Jaylon Johnson is listed as questionable to play Sunday as he is battling an oblique injury. Offensive lineman Teven Jenkins is questionable, as well as he has a hip injury. Defensive lineman Al-Quadin Muhammad is doubtful to play against the Lions with a knee injury.

The injuries at the defensive back are concerning. The Bears employed the dime package against the Miami Dolphins’ explosive offense as the team covered for undrafted rookie linebacker Jack Sanborn who lacks NFL pass coverage skills.

If the Bears have two starting cornerbacks out, the team will have to hope the reserves can hold on against a strong Lions passing attack that averages the eighth most passing yards per game.

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Ayo Dosunmu started to smile before the question was even finished.

The Bulls guard knew exactly where the conversation was going, especially since he’s been having it with his coaches and teammates on an almost daily basis.

“Yeah, for sure,” Dosunmu said. “The days of them leaving me wide open, those are over. It feels like they’re done with that.”

On one hand it should be a compliment for Dosunmu. The former Morgan Park High School standout now has to be game-planned for. He can see that, and feel it when he takes the court. On the other hand it’s a stark reminder that this is no longer a game of checkers Dosunmu is playing. It’s chess, and it’s on him to anticipate the next move on the board before it happens.

That’s where Dosunmu is right now – adjusting to the adjustment.

“Teams have definitely been watching the film and closing out more, but that’s just more recognition of the work that I put in over the summer and so far this season,” Dosunmu said. “Now it’s about making that next stride, making that next step.”

Steps he definitely took over the summer and that were on full display through the first month of the regular season.

While starring at the University of Illinois, the three-pointer was an accessory to his game. He took them, but he didn’t rely on them.

In his final season with the Illini Dosunmu did shoot 39% from three-point range, but put up far less from out there [82] than he did his previous two seasons. Back in the 2018-19 campaign, Dosunmu attempted 142 threes.

That was actually one of the concerns with him coming out of college – could he develop into a threat from outside? That’s how you go from first-round talent to the Bulls grabbing him in the second round with the 38th overall pick.

What the scouts missed on was Dosunmu’s work ethic. He not only asks tons of questions, but knows how to put the answers into practical use.

That’s what last summer was about.

The versatile guard knew that Lonzo Ball’s knee was an issue – maybe not to the extent it’s become – and that there could be a vacancy at the starting point guard spot, so the grind started almost right after the Bulls saw their playoff run ended by Milwaukee.

Atop that priority list was making himself a threat from three-point range.

After shooting 37.6% from three last season and averaging 2.4 attempts per game, the payoff of that work was seen right when camp started.

Dosunmu shot 55% from three in the four preseason games and carried that into the start of the regular season. In his first six games, Dosunmu strutted out of the month of October shooting 46% from three and taking a healthy four per game.

The film doesn’t lie, and the rest of the league took note of that.

Through Dosunmu’s last six games? The defense has played him tighter, the numbers have dwindled. Dosunmu will enter Sunday’s game with Denver getting up 3.8 threes per game over that span, and watching his percentage drop to 30.4.

“That’s the game, making that next adjustment,” Dosunmu said. “It’s about me taking the open ones, making the open ones, but also knowing when to play off the closeout and read it better.”

The very point coach Billy Donovan has been stressing to Dosunmu. Donovan wants his guard to still be a threat from outside, but also understand how to attack the closeouts more consistently by going to the rim or simply moving the ball to open spaces.

In other words, seeing the chessboard with more clarity.

“There’s so much I’m working on – defense, passing, my shot from outside … that’s been a big part of my game, my development,” Dosunmu said. “Now I have to keep figuring out different ways to manipulate the offense, manipulate the game for my team.”

Knowing Dosunmu he will, and the rest of the league will undoubtedly be waiting.

NOTE: Bulls big man Nikola Vucevic was fined by the NBA for an obscene gesture made in Wednesday’s loss to the Pelicans.

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