Chicago Bulls vs. Golden State Warriors: Can the #TNTBulls knock off the Dubs?

Feb 8, 2017; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) dribbles past Chicago Bulls forward Nikola Mirotic (44) in the first quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 8, 2017; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) dribbles past Chicago Bulls forward Nikola Mirotic (44) in the first quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports /
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Three is more than two

Play to your strengths, they say.

The Bulls aren’t a good 3-point shooting team. In fact, they’re the worst in the NBA.

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They both attempt the least amount of threes per game while shooting the lowest percentage from beyond the arc. That’s not ideal.

In the last matchup between these two teams, the Bulls and Warriors took a comparable number of threes (24 and 28 respectively). Of those 24 attempts, Chicago made four shots, while the Dubs sunk 15. The difference in points accrued from three pointers was 33, basically the difference in the final score.

There are three things the Bulls can do to subdue this issue:

  1. Defend the arc better
  2. Make more threes

Chicago gives up the ninth-worse opponent three point percentage in the league at 36.5, according to Team Rankings. This is an accumulation of many factors, mostly that the Bulls just aren’t very good defensively.

On the flip side, the Bulls have had success when they’ve shot well. It’s truly a story of inconsistency when analyzing their outside shooting. Sometimes Denzel Valentine shoots 5-of-8 from beyond the arc, and sometimes the team as a whole makes four.

In the three games since the All-Star break, they’ve shot 44.9 percent from deep, resulting in two wins. With Paul Zipser back in the rotation, they’ll have yet another threat from deep.

I’m not saying the Bulls will make their shots. No one can guarantee that.

But if they do, it’ll help in lessening the effect of the Warriors attack. Another place to do it is at the free throw line.