Here are 4 takeaways from the Bulls’ rout of Jeremy Lin and the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night.
For the first time since the 1996-1997 season, the Chicago Bulls have started the year 3-0.
They dominated the Nets tonight to a 118-88 final score, getting whatever they wanted on offense, along with frustrating the Nets with pesky steals on the other end. The Bulls ended the first quarter with an 18-point lead, and it never got any closer.
Jimmy Butler finished the night with 22 points and 6 rebounds on 6-for-10 shooting, and Nikola Mirotic provided a spark from the bench with 16 points and 10 rebounds on 6-for-14 shooting (4-for-10 from 3-point range).
The Nets were led in scoring by 15 points from Bosnian wing Bojan Bogdanovic, while their two best players, Jeremy Lin and Brook Lopez, chipped in a combined 27 points on 11-for-21 shooting.
Overall, this was an easy win for a team that isn’t short on talent against maybe the worst team in the NBA, so it might not be the wisest move to try and glean too much from this game.
Having said that, let’s go ahead and do it anyway. Here are the top 4 takeaways from tonight’s game.
The Bulls are Running
With three real games under their belts, it looks as if the the faster pace that the Bulls have been talking about for years now might finally be more than just talk. Rajon Rondo was pushing the ball up the floor at every opportunity, and it seemed like every third play or so was a fast break.
A big reason why this was possible was the Bulls’s control of the defensive glass. They had 43 defensive rebounds to Brooklyn’s 29. That meant that they could start possessions before Brooklyn had enough time to get set on defense, leading to open 3-pointers and dunks galore.
The fast pace wasn’t without drawbacks, though.
The Bulls gave up 19 turnovers, seven more than last game. A lot of it came from passes that were just a little too bold and guys going for highlight plays. It didn’t matter on Monday, considering the Bulls were up by about 20 for most of the game, but that kind of sloppiness may come back to haunt them when they face off against better teams.
The Nets are Very Bad
It was a rough night for the Nets, who, despite a bright spot against the Pacers last Friday, are in for a long season. They’ll likely be battling with the Sixers and the Lakers for the winning lottery pick, but victory would just mean seeing that pick fall into the waiting hands of Danny Ainge and the Boston Celtics.
It’s not all bad news. The Nets added a few real NBA players to the roster this summer in Lin, Luis Scola and Trevor Booker, and second-year player Rondae Hollis-Jefferson is quickly turning into a great perimeter stopper. Throw in a few young guys in Chris McCullough, Isaiah Whitehead, and rookie Caris Levert, and this team could have the occasional fun night.
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But tonight was not one of those nights. Tonight was brutal.
Don’t look for the Nets to give up anytime soon, though. With any incentive to be bad resting in Ainge’s clutches, Jeremy Lin and Brook Lopez have no choice but to keep plugging away.
On the bright side, the pairing of those two does give NBA pun lovers the ideal pick-and-roll duo (Get it? Brook-Lin?)
The Bulls are Still Making 3’s
All summer we fretted over how this team, with its many ball-dominant guards, would score enough points. Everyone thought the spacing would be a huge issue and the Bulls would struggle to both get open looks from 3-point range and make the shots they could get.
Well, after three games, the Bulls are leading the NBA in points per game.
How about that.
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They continued with their hot streak tonight, shooting 40.7 percent from 3 as a team. Although it still seems improbable that Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade have suddenly become 3-point threats after being below average for their entire careers, the evidence we have in front of us says otherwise.
Butler made two 3-pointers tonight to add to his 22 points, and Isaiah Canaan was 3-for-4 from 3-point range tonight. Canaan is on the Bulls for one reason and for one reason only: to get buckets, and that’s exactly what he did tonight.
If Butler, Wade, and Rondo can somehow keep this streak of 3-point competency alive long enough to get opposing defenders to respect them from that range, that could be huge for the potency of the offense. Driving lanes would open up immensely, and the game would get a lot easier for fellow starters Taj Gibson and Robin Lopez.
Gibson Posts his Second Double-Double in Three Games
After proving beyond a shadow of a doubt in the preseason that he was deserving of the starting power forward spot, Taj Gibson has kept his production strong to start the season.
With a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds tonight, Gibson is upholding his reputation as one of the Bulls most reliable players.
Next: Bulls-Nets: Instant analysis, reaction after 118-88 victory
Gibson has been a font of steady production down low for the Bulls for years now, and fans can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that more of the same is coming. He’s developed a nice catalog of post moves over the years that can get him two points in a pinch, and he’s still a vicious defender and rim protector, which allows Fred Hoiberg to play him at center at the end of the first and third quarters when Lopez sits.
Gibson’s consistency gives the Bulls options. They can keep benefitting from his solid play on the court and the presence he provides in the locker room for young bigs Bobby Portis and Cristiano Felicio (he’s also a dynamite follow on snapchat).
Or, they can cash in on his production and trade him to a playoff team in need of another big, like my colleague Michael Rene Kanoy suggested.
No matter what, Taj is going to keep working.