Averaged 22+9+8 per game! Can Gidi be selected as an All-Star this season?

In the regular season, the Bulls defeated the Knicks 135-125 at home.

This was the first game of this year's NBA Cup between the two teams. The Knicks took the lead at the beginning, but were overtaken by the Bulls less than half a quarter later. The Bulls never trailed again, leading 72-50 by 22 points at the most in the second quarter. The Knicks caught up to 2 points in the final quarter, but the Bulls quickly hit a wave of 11-3, once again widening the point difference and successfully sealing the victory.

After winning this victory, the Bulls recorded a record of 5 wins and 0 losses. Since the 76ers suffered their first defeat of the season on the same day, the Bulls have become the only three teams in the league (the other two are the Thunder and Spurs) and the only team in the Eastern Conference that have not lost. You read that right, the Bulls have now won five consecutive games and are first in the Eastern Conference. The last time was during the Jordan era.

The bull is unexpectedly powerful, and Jidi has to make the first contribution.

Take this game against the Knicks as an example. Gidi played for 38 minutes, shooting 12 of 21 from the field, 4 of 8 three-pointers, and 4 of 6 free throws. He scored a near-triple double with 32 points, 10 rebounds, and 9 assists, and did not make a single turnover.

In the second quarter, the Bulls widened the gap. Gidi made 5 of 6 shots and 4 of 4 three-pointers, scoring 15 points in a single quarter.

In the last 2 minutes of the fourth quarter, the Bulls only led 121-116. It was Gidi who assisted Vucevic for a layup in two consecutive rounds, and then received a pass from Vucevic and made an easy layup inside to kill the game.

In the next four games, Gidi's performance was as follows:

- Against the Pistons, he made 5 of 12 shots, 19 points, 5 rebounds and 11 assists

- Against the Magic, he made 7 of 18 shots, 21 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists

- Against the Hawks, he made 14 shots 7. Scored 18 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists

- Against the Kings, he made 7 of 14 shots and scored 20 points, 8 rebounds and 12 assists

After five games, Gidi averaged 22.0 points, 8.8 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game, with a shooting percentage of 48.1%/45.5%/70.6% and a true shooting percentage of 58.5%.

Pay attention to this data: In the Bulls' five-game winning streak, when Gidi was on the court, the Bulls outscored their opponents by 10.3 points per 100 possessions. On the contrary, when Gidi was not on the court, the Bulls' margin of victory was only 2.2 points per 100 possessions.

You can see that Gidi has completely grown into the core of the Bulls, and there are actually signs of his explosion.

Last season, Gidi played a total of 70 games for the Bulls, averaging 14.6 points, 8.1 rebounds, 7.2 assists and 1.2 steals per game, with a three-point shooting percentage of 46.5%/37.8%/78.1% and a true shooting percentage of 57.0%.

It may not seem like an outstanding performance, but in the final stage of the regular season, Gidi performed brilliantly. In 19 games, he scored triple-doubles in 5 games. He averaged 21.2 points, 10.7 rebounds and 9.3 assists per game. His three field goal percentages were 50.0%/45.7%/80.9%, and his true shooting percentage was 62.0%.

The most exciting moments during the period were the two games against the Lakers. In one game, he scored 15 points, 10 rebounds, 17 assists and 8 steals, almost a quadruple-double; in the other game, he scored 24 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists, and scored a half-court three-pointer at the last minute.

The key point is this data: The Bulls won 12 of the last 19 games. During this period, when Gidi was on the court, the Bulls outscored their opponents by 10.4 points per 100 possessions. On the contrary, when he was not on the court, the Bulls lost their opponents by a net loss of 4.3 points per 100 possessions.

We said at the time that although the sample size was not large enough, if Gidi could maintain this level, he would definitely become the cornerstone of the Bulls and the next All-Star in the league - judging from the start of this season, Gidi has really continued his performance at the end of last season's regular season. If he continues like this, we will definitely see him in the 2026 All-Stars.

Here, there are three more points that need to be said:

1. Gidi completed a contract extension with the Bulls during the offseason. The contract is 100 million for 4 years. At present, this contract may become cabbage. Contract, Gidi's performance at the beginning is not only at the 30 million level, but may even be at the 40 million, maximum salary level;

2. During the offseason last year, the Bulls and the Thunder reached a deal, and Caruso was exchanged for Gil Di, this deal is currently a win-win situation for all four parties. The Thunder and Caruso won the championship, and Gidi got more space to play and grew into the core of the Bulls;

3. It was not just Gidi who performed well for the Bulls. Vucevic, Dosunmu, and Blitzes also performed very well at the beginning, and they also gave up Coby White. Although the overall strength of the 5-0 opponent is not very strong, the Bulls have a chance to become a dark horse in the Eastern Conference this year.

Oh yes, let me say one more thing. Compared with the Bulls two years ago, the biggest difference between this year's Bulls and the Bulls two years ago is that apart from the replacement of Caruso for Gidi and the arrival of several young players, there is another point: DeRozan and LaVine are no longer there - King:?

DeRozan and LaVine have worked together with the Bulls for three years, and they only made the playoffs in the first year. Now Gidi is expected to lead the Bulls to rise again, and look at his performance and his contract, the Bulls are screwed.