Chicago Bulls at Boston Celtics Analysis: More Bad Bulls

The Chicago Bulls strolled into Boston for a Matinee match up against the Boston Celtics. The Bulls were looking to avoid their fifth straight loss as they are quickly erasing themselves from the playoff picture. Chicago fans are just looking for competent play at this point, not a lot to hope for.

1st Quarter

The first quarter of this contest was the opposite of what you’d want from a national TV matinee game. NBA execs were cringing when they saw the Bulls shot 3-for-22 and were only down 13.

Bobby Portis bricked a couple of simple looks early and his psyche was shot within minutes, missing his first four shots to go along with an awful turnover. Jimmy Butler couldn’t finish around the rim and didn’t look interested in going back into the paint after a couple attempts.

Nobody looked engaged on defense. The Celtics weren’t even playing particularly well, the Bulls were just awful. This one looked ugly, early.

2nd Quarter

The second quarter started with more of the same. The Bulls were 0-for-13 on shots from the paint, Rajon Rondo broke the slump with a transition layup early in the quarter. Chicago couldn’t get any looks they wanted and kept up the low energy defense.

Near the middle of the second quarter, Jaylen Brown hit a circus layup that almost made you happy about watching the game, but not quite.

The first half was unwatchable; both teams shooting under 50 percent from the field. The Bulls were an abysmal 11-of-43. Chicago ended the half with 26 points. Twenty. Six. Points.

3rd Quarter

The third quarter went the way you thought it was going to. Bulls looked flatter than a pancake. Actually, flatter than a crepe. A pancake isn’t flat enough to compare to how the Bulls played today.

Isaiah Thomas efficiently torched the Bulls. Boston finally got some ball movement going and Chicago’s defense looked even more lost than the first half.

Credit must be given to Denzel Valentine; he hit a 3 and had a nice transition score towards the end of the third quarter. He kept his energy up and attempted to fire up his team. Lopez kept his effort up as well.

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Though effort from a couple of role players wasn’t going to be enough to close the gap. Chicago ends the quarter down 19.

4th Quarter

The final 12 minutes of the game were similar to the first 36. The Bulls uninterested and slow. Garbage time came early. That is my fourth quarter analysis. The Celtics would win, 100-80.

Chicago is in a free-falling down the standings. After this loss, the Bulls are 1.5 games out of the final playoff spot. Though it’s beginning to feel much more hopeless than that. This team is imploding.

Chicago should just give their young players all the run in the world. Keep soaring down the standings while allowing your young guys to develop as much as possible. Finishing in the bottom 10 of the league is now realistic for this team. If they do that they give themselves a chance at high pick in a supposedly loaded draft. It’s tank season, and it’s time for the Bulls to embrace it.

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