Dalen Terry steps up with career performance for seriously undermanned Chicago Bulls
Dalen Terry is finally doing Dalen Terry things at the NBA level.
With the Chicago Bulls’ injury report looking longer than a CVS receipt for Thursday night’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks, the former Arizona guard got his best opportunity to impress so far during his rookie season. Terry played a career-high 27 minutes for the Bulls.
Chicago lost to Milwaukee 112-100, but Terry was certainly a bright spot in the defeat. He finished with 13 points, seven rebounds, six assists, and a steal. The best number in the box score? No turnovers. The 6-foot-7 wingman also shot 6-for-12 from the field.
Despite being picked 18th in the 2022 NBA Draft, Terry has rarely been used in his rookie season. Chicago went into the year hoping to compete with a backcourt that, when healthy, features Lonzo Ball, DeMar DeRozan, and Zach LaVine.
And though Chicago has largely underwhelmed, Terry has been left on the bench. Prior to this week, he’d played more than five minutes in a game only four times this season.
But with injuries mounting — DeRozan did not play Wednesday or Thursday night — Terry has been asked to step up.
He saw eight minutes in Chicago’s game against Orlando on Monday, finishing with four points and two steals.
On Wednesday, Terry saw his playing time up again to 15 minutes.
“Honestly, I’m just trying to get in where I fit in,” Terry said after Monday’s game, per The Chicago Sun-Times.
“To me, it looked like the game slowed down to him tonight. He made some really, really good decisions,” coach Billy Donovan added. “I give him a lot of credit. He has not wavered at all with his work.”
Billy Donovan on rookie forward Dalen Terry’s encouraging nine-minute stint against Orlando (and a Derrick Jones Jr. update).
“To me, it looked like the game slowed down for him tonight,” Donovan said. “He made some really, really good decisions.” pic.twitter.com/XoNoxWsaeH
— Darnell Mayberry (@DarnellMayberry) February 14, 2023
Chicago is two games back of the NBA’s Play-In tournament as it enters the All-Star break. Its first-round pick in the 2023 NBA Draft goes to Orlando unless it lands in the top four (which seems unlikely). We’ll see if Chicago decides to give Terry an extended look down the stretch.