Chicago Bulls vs. Orlando Magic Takeaways: Magic, WYD?

Apr 10, 2017; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls forward Bobby Portis (5) reacts after making a basket against the Orlando Magic during the first half at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 10, 2017; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls forward Bobby Portis (5) reacts after making a basket against the Orlando Magic during the first half at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
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Apr 10, 2017; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Isaiah Canaan (0) reacts after making a three point basket against the Orlando Magic during the second half at the United Center. Chicago defeats Orlando 122- 75. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 10, 2017; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Isaiah Canaan (0) reacts after making a three point basket against the Orlando Magic during the second half at the United Center. Chicago defeats Orlando 122- 75. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports

The Almighty 3-Ball

The Bulls were notoriously awful at shooting the 3-ball all season, like terrifying bad. But, uh, something has definitely clicked over the past dozen or so games. In their last 13 games, Chicago has knocked down at least 10 3s a whopping 11 times. This is a crazy stat. Why? Well, because it is easily the best string of 3-point shooting in the history of the Bulls – like, their entire history.

For some perspective, if you eliminate the first three games of the season, Chicago had the same number of games with 10-plus 3-points between November 1 and March 18 as they have between March 19 and April 10.

This whole streak falls under the category of “Highly Improbable.” As a team, they’ve only shot below 40 percent from 3-point range three times in the last 13 games.

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That is an arbitrary number, but it is pretty close to an exact point where they just started scorching nets a la NBA Jam and they just haven’t stopped.

On Monday, they continued the “He’s on fire!” stage of NBA Jam, starting 6-for-12 from deep, finishing the night 12-of-26, good for 46.2 percent.

If I asked you to guess which Bulls player led the way in 3-point shooting, you would know the correct answer. It is Nikola Mirotic. Of course it is. He’s been out of control over the past dozen or so games, and I’ve definitely written about that right here on PAE. He connected on 3-for-6 from deep tonight, not his biggest volume, but he’s keeping the percentages high on that is the most important thing, by far.