Pippen Ain't Easy
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Film Room with the Bulls: What to Like, Not Like from First Two Weeks of Season

By Michael Whitlow

Nov 2, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Chicago Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg reacts on the side line during the second quarter against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 2, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Chicago Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg reacts on the side line during the second quarter against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports /
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Rajon Rondo, PG, Chicago Bulls
Nov 5, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Rajon Rondo (9) brings the ball up court against the Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /

Overall thoughts on the Bulls

There’s plenty of good to take from the Bulls’ 3-3 start.

Jimmy Butler has been his usual self offensively. He’s sixth in Basketball-Reference‘s offensive rating (130.0) among qualified players, seventh in the NBA in free throws made (41), eighth in overall attempts (47), 12th in true shooting percentage (63.7), tied with Dwyane Wade coincidentally for 13th in 3-point percentage (47.6), and sits 14th in win shares (0.9) already.

Butler’s averaging 21.2 points and 5.7 rebounds per game on 48.1 percent shooting, while only playing 32.5 minutes a game.

Something he’s seemed to improve on this season: Not only finishing at the rim, but finishing through contract around the rim. (He’s shooting a fantastic 62.5 percent at the rim in the first six games. The league average is 55.6 percent.)

But, usually with the good, comes the bad.

Nikola Mirotic is taking six 3-point shots on average per game and making 30.6 percent of those attempts. Michael Carter-Williams is out for at least another 3-4 weeks with a bone bruise in his knee. The Bulls are turning the ball over 15.7 times per game (the league leader is 17.7), with a 19-turnover game this past Wednesday against Boston.

Their youth isn’t fully coming along the way they had hoped it would just yet.

Take Bobby Portis for example. Look at the defense he played against Joakim Noah during the fourth quarter last Friday night. You can’t play this any better than he did, and Noah still drained a hook over him. There’s nothing you can do it about it. It’s a case of “good defense, better offense”.

But, then there’s the play you can control, like not getting beat by your man down the floor in the midst of a fourth-quarter run for your opponent.

The Bulls aren’t completely terrible, but they’re not the team that looked like they were going to win 60+ games right off the bat with back-to-back blowout wins in the first week.

Next: Bulls Week in Review: The Good, Bad, Ugly from Week 2

They’re coming back to reality in some sort of way.

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