Who knew passing led to points?
The Chicago Bulls tend to get bogged down in isolation heavy sets, often watching Jimmy Butler try desperately to make something happen and just standing still.
That happened less often on Sunday. While there were possessions featuring Butler holding the ball for what seems like an eternity only for nothing to happen, the Bulls were moving the ball well and finding the open man.
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Chicago finished with 33 assists, led by Butler’s 14 and Rondo’s nine. Butler opened the game by finding Robin Lopez wide open for a dunk after a Lopez off-ball screen led to Butler being double-teamed.
Butler did a good job attacking the rim to create, whether it be a dump-off pass to Joffrey Lauvergne or finding the open man for the corner 3-pointer.
Part of me remains a bit skeptical about nights like this. While Chicago definitely played well and were finding the open man, they also simply couldn’t miss.
The Bulls shot 54 percent from the field for the night, and the starters shot a whopping 67 percent on 58 field goal attempts. That’s not sustainable for any team night to night, let alone this team.
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Chicago is onto something here though. It’s almost like moving the ball can help get the defense out of position or something!