No. 9: Without Wade, Bulls bounced back on the road in LA
The Bulls were in game four of their six-game road trip and had just come off a tough loss in the same stadium against the Los Angeles Clippers the night before. With Wade out of the lineup due to rest, this easily could have been a trap game against a bad Lakers squad.
More from Bulls News
- The dream starting 5 for the Chicago Bulls 5 years from now
- Bulls’ Ayo Dosunmu inspires the future with new school program
- Chicago Bulls NBA 2K24 full roster ratings, risers, and fallers
- Bulls sign a pair of promising guards to Exhibit 10 contracts
- When does NBA Training Camp start? Dates Bulls fans need to know
While the Bulls didn’t blow them out like they maybe should have, the Bulls showed toughness and proved they had some fight.
Rondo provided 12 assists, Nikola Mirotic and Robin Lopez both had double-doubles and combined for 26 rebounds. This game, however, did continue to provide proof that in order for the Bulls to be competitive in the postseason, the bench would need to show up.
All of the Bulls starters had a plus/minus of at least +10. That’s pretty good for a starting comprised of minimal 3-point shooters. But, the bench really struggled in plus/minus.
In only 5 minutes of play, Jerian Grant had a plus-minus of -16. Not only did Grant struggle in a small sample size, but Bobby Portis had a plus/minus of -13 in only 11 minutes of play.
So, why was this one of the best wins for the Bulls this season? Jimmy Butler showed that he can take over and score 40 points when his team needs him the most.