The Chicago Bulls rebounded tonight from a stretch that’s been marked by melodrama and tension between alphas. The took down the Philadelphia 76ers 121-108 on Sunday night, and they did it with big contributions from up and down the roster. Read on for instant analysis from the PAE crew.
Happy Birthday Stacey King!
It was a feel-good win for the Bulls as they toppled the up and coming 76ers 121-108. Philadelphia was missing their star player Joel Embiid, but Chicago was missing Taj Gibson with an ankle injury. That’s the same thing right?
The Bulls looked like a rejuvenated team tonight. They tied a season high for first half points, and they recorded at least 25 assists for the first time since their overtime win over the Toronto Raptors on January 7th. Let’s go through the game from start to finish and break down anything noteworthy from the win.
First Quarter
It’s quickly becoming the norm for the Bulls to start at a snail’s pace, and tonight was no exception. The team missed their first six shots, with Dwyane Wade and Jimmy Butler starting a combined 0-for-5. It looked as if Chicago would be continuing their stretch of lifelessness for yet another game.
It wasn’t all bad though. Robin Lopez did a good job of protecting the rim, and he and Jerian Grant had 11 of the first 15 for the Bulls. Sixers backup big man Richaun Holmes could not handle him in the post, and the Bulls took advantage on multiple consecutive possessions in order to claw back from their early deficit.
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Bulls color commentator Stacey King also referred to Sixers small forward Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot as “Loo-woo CAB-uh-roo” which was pretty awesome. 50 years old and he’s still got it.
The Bulls also made good on another one of their tropes for the season: Once the shooting checks into the game, the offense picks up. What a shocker. Nikola Mirotic and Paul Zipser provided the spacing necessary for Jimmy Butler to get into the lane and do some damage. He had eight free throw attempts in just the first quarter.
The quarter ended with the Bulls rolling offensively and forcing mistakes on the other end. The first twelve minutes of action ended with Chicago up 37-23.
Second Quarter
The Bulls started the second quarter off with a lineup that’s starting to develop some chemistry on offense with Rondo at point, Felicio in the middle, and Zipser, Doug McDermott, and Nikola Mirotic on the wing (henceforth referred to as Rajon and the Rondos). They scored some pretty looking 3-pointers and had some ugly looking turnovers to go with them:
Rondo was juuuuust a hair off on this pass. pic.twitter.com/mIRBfEI7n3
— Steph Noh (@StephNoh) January 30, 2017
I’m fine with throwing the ball away a couple times though if it means that Chicago inches ever so slightly towards modernity on the offensive end.
The high point of the quarter came when Rajon Rondo attempted free throws for the second time in three games after going over a month without a single attempt (shoutout to Jason Patt). He’s basically the new James Harden.
Mainly, the second quarter reminded us once again that the Bulls are a good offensive team when McDermott and Mirotic make the shots that are given to them. Both Niko and Doug were feeling it and the offense looked fast-paced and free-flowing because of it.
A potent offense isn’t worth much if you can’t get stops on the other end, however, and the Bulls struggled with that part of the equation. They gave up 34 points to Philadelphia, mostly from the likes of Ersan Ilyasova and Robert Covington. Don’t get me wrong, those two are real NBA players, but the Bulls just have to do a better job defending in transition. If a team can get out and run, Chicago bleeds points, and you can only win so many games when that’s the case.
Other quick notes: Bobby Portis did not see the floor again after playing the first seven minutes of the game. Mirotic also fell for his own stupid pump fake move and fouled Ilyasova on the 3-point line towards the end of the quarter. It wouldn’t be a Bulls game without at least one head-scratcher from Mirotic.
The Bulls held on to a 10-point lead and ended the half 67-57. Robin Lopez still led in scoring with 15, but Butler, McDermott, and Mirotic all joined him in double figures.
Third Quarter
The Bulls got back to their starting lineup to start the second half, and boy is it hypnotizingly boring. There’s just only so many times one man can watch Butler drive into a triple-covered lane and try to get fouled.
The lifelessness proved to be almost too much, with the Sixers tying the game on a 13-2 run with about five minutes remaining. Chicago slowly transitioned to Rajon and the Rondos, and things calmed down a bit. Rondo made another free throw, making tonight the first game that he’s made multiple free throws since November 25th, and he also got his 10th assist in a game for the first time in 2017.
Rajon with the nice find to a cutting Niko: pic.twitter.com/h82GNbH3lg
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) January 30, 2017
With the third alpha finding his rhythm, Chicago managed to hold off the Sixers comeback, ending the quarter up 96-87.
Fourth Quarter
Rondo started the fourth quarter off strong with a rare 3-pointer, and it looked as if the Bulls might maybe close out a game without much fanfare.
Not so fast, says Mirotic. Niko missed a three after Rondo kicked the ball out to him, then missed a layup on the next possession. Then he attempted some sort of behind-the-head pass that sailed out of bounds because of course it did. Mirotic oscillates between hot and cold more in a single game than some players do in whole seasons. It’s really quite something.
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Butler and Wade quickly returned to the action, and neither team was playing their best basketball. Chicago does have a knack for slowing the game down at the end of games, however, and that slower pace is more conducive to Butler’s late-game heroics.
With Butler and Wade trading possessions on offense, and the Sixers failing to properly exploit McDermott on defense every single possession, the Bulls found themselves up seven with about three minutes left to play.
Ilyasova continued to have a career game, but #Zipsanity proved to be too much for Philadelphia to handle. Zipser drained a deep 3-pointer with 1:54 left to put the Bulls up 14, then sunk a pretty floater not long after to really bury the Sixers. If he can continue to make shots from deep, that would be huge for the worst 3-point shooting team in the NBA.
Bulls win 121-108.
Post-Game Thoughts
The Bulls making their shots leads to a more potent offense and winning more games. We shouldn’t be surprised by that. Tonight still served as a refreshing reminder that this team still can sink a few every now and then. Hopefully they can turn this win into some momentum and finish this next stretch before the All Star break strong.
Chicago faces off against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday on ESPN. Make sure to keep up with the PAE for all things Bulls until then.