Pippen Ain't Easy
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Chicago Bulls vs. Oklahoma City Thunder Game Analysis: Butler Flu Game

By Daniel Coughlin

Jan 9, 2017; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls forward Jimmy Butler (21) dribbles around defender Oklahoma City Thunder forward Andre Roberson (21) during the first half of the game at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Caylor Arnold-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 9, 2017; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls forward Jimmy Butler (21) dribbles around defender Oklahoma City Thunder forward Andre Roberson (21) during the first half of the game at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Caylor Arnold-USA TODAY Sports /
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With a winning streak and a Jimmy Butler streak on the line, the Chicago Bulls hosted the Oklahoma City Thunder and genuine crazy person, Russell Westbrook. Butler came in a little under the weather, but with Westbrook and Butler sharing the court, it was bound to be a treat regardless of the result.

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Despite Butler’s illness and rumors that Wade was likely to sit the following night against the Washington Wizards, it was the same starting lineup as usual for Chicago.

It didn’t last long as a good start turned rough for Taj Gibson right away. The forward, that may or may not be available for trade, had a tough time with the frontcourt combination of Domantas Sabonis and Steven Adams. He found his way to the bench with fouls and getting worked on a post move by the rookie Sabonis.

Robin Lopez didn’t fare any better, dealing with Adams and then Enes Kanter. Both teams worked the post hard early and it was Nikola Mirotic, who subbed in much earlier than usual for the struggling Gibson who connected on a long-range make, one of the few exciting looks early in the game for the Bulls.

Wade took what looked like a stinger in the neck and subbed out for Doug McDermott who was followed by Jerian Grant as the third Bulls sub. The Thunder shot 60 percent in the first quarter, Chicago just 38.1 percent and it was 26-20, Oklahoma City up after one.

The Bulls looked flat early. Jimmy was sick, so that makes sense, but Gibson looked subpar, Wade wasn’t really much in the game, Lopez was getting worked. It didn’t get any better with the bench unit. After Mirotic opened with a steal and a 3-pointer, he began to descend into madness. McDermott didn’t have an impact during his stint on the floor early. The shooting continued to be a problem. About two minutes into the second quarter, the Thunder pushed their lead to 15 points. They were shooting 16-of-25 at that point, Chicago was 9-for-25.

The game was honestly pretty boring at this point. A great Dwyane Wade cut to the hoop narrowed the lead to 11, but it was pretty boring both ways. No Westbrook, Butler looked off and the entire Bulls team was playing uninspired basketball.

This play late in the first half was pretty much the highlight of the game for Chicago:

Things started to pick up on the superstar front as Westbrook and Butler got more involved in the game as the first half wore on, but it was superstar Wade that was trying to steal the show. He led the Bulls with 14 points, despite having to miss a chunk of the half with his shoulder stinger. Butler finished the first half with just one point on 0-for-4 shooting. Westbrook finished the half with a 3-pointer, putting him at 13 points, just one behind Adams for team lead. It was 61-46 at the half, Thunder in control.

The third quarter was a disaster for Chicago. Any possibility that they were going to keep this game close was gone. Eventually, Oklahoma City pushed their lead to as much as 25. With a sick Jimmy, the Bulls never had a chance of keeping this game close. It was 89-67 after three quarters.

Hoiberg pulled Jimmy, but seemed to linger a little with some of his frontline players before bringing in Bobby Portis(!) with about 10 minutes to go. But he still had Wade on the floor, despite trailing by 22 points.

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As the fourth quarter wore on, the only mystery was if Westbrook would get another triple-double. He dind’t. However, we did get a lot of Paul Zipser and Bobby Portis in the fourth quarter and Portis was gunning shots. He had seven points in his first eight minutes of gameplay. Zipser took some shots and couldn’t get them to fall.

The big win was Felicio. He picked up a double-double, despite the Bulls loss. He had 11 points, 11 rebounds and three steals. With the loss, the Bulls are back down to reality, but will need to bounce back quickly for their matchup against the Wizards in Washington on Tuesday.

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