CHICAGO (670 The Score) – As he explained it, Bulls rookie forward Onuralp Bitim grew up idolizing star teammate DeMar DeRozan, which is what made a moment so special for Bitim on Wednesday night.
As the Bulls (28-31) were closing out a hard-fought 132-123 win against the Cavaliers (38-20) in double overtime at the United Center, DeRozan gave Bitim a hug. For Bitim, it was a fitting way to commemorate an evening in which he recorded his first NBA points in his first significant action in the league.
“Deebo told me that he was proud of me,” Bitim said. “That means a lot to me, because I grew up watching him. He was one of my idols. Right now, we were on the court together. We won together. And then hearing that verse from him, it’s a really huge blessing.”
A 24-year-old who had played professionally in his native Turkey for the past few seasons before joining the Bulls on a two-way deal last summer, Bitim had his contract converted to a standard deal this past Saturday. Bitim had played a total of six minutes across two games for the Bulls prior to that.
On Wednesday, coach Billy Donovan called upon the 6-foot-6 Bitim for extended minutes as guard/forward Alex Caruso was sidelined by a hamstring injury, joining forward Patrick Williams, forward Torrey Craig and guard Zach LaVine on the sideline. Bitim responded with 10 points and six rebounds in 27-plus minutes, over which he shot 3-of-4 from the field and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line. Bitim drilled both of his 3-point attempts and was a +16.
Afterward, Bitim was all smiles.
“I really can’t describe how I really feel,” Bitim said. “But it’s not about my English. Even in my own language (it’d be hard). Because I was dreaming of this moment for a really long time, and I was really trying to be ready. My teammates were really helping me, my coaches. Because I knew the chance is going to come, but you just never know when. You just have to be ready.”
Bitim played all 10 minutes across the two overtimes as the Bulls matched up when the Cavaliers turned to one-big man lineups and also because Chicago center Nikola Vucevic ended up fouling out. Vucevic and fellow center Andre Drummond both started the game for the Bulls.
“I don’t care how much minutes I’m getting or which games that I’m playing,” Bitim said. “I’m just trying to be ready and when I get the chance, I try to do my best and I will try to do my best on the court to help my teammates.
“When I stepped on the court, I was not nervous because that’s what I do. We are basketball players, and I was on the court, so I was not nervous. I was just excited. I was feeling unbelievable.”
DeRozan thought Bitim handled a tough situation well, considering he hadn’t had much practice time with his teammates lately. At one point in the first half, Bitim hit a 3-pointer from the left corner after he’d sprinted to the right side of the floor, only for DeRozan to wave him back to where he came from as DeRozan then started an action that resulted in Bitim eventually being open while spacing the floor.
Bitim led the Windy City Bulls with 43.3% 3-point shooting in 12 games in the G League this season.
“It’s amazing,” DeRozan said. “I’m proud of him. We’re all proud of him. It’s amazing to see a guy come in and do what he did in such a big game and close the game too. He had some big shots, made some big plays, held his own defensively. It’s crazy. A lot of people probably don’t know, we haven’t had much practice with him knowing the offense and having a rhythm with us and a feel for us. So for him to get out there and do what he did was amazing.
“You can tell he can play. You can tell the IQ is there, the feel is there. He can shoot the heck out of the ball. You can tell by the feel that he had that he’s got a great feel for the game already. It showed tonight.”
Cody Westerlund is an editor for 670TheScore.com and covers the Bulls. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund .
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