Three takeaways from the Chicago Bulls’ win over the Hawks

Denzel Valentine took some really bad shots, but made some NBA level passes

Valentine was supposed to get a lot more ball handling duties this season after basically being strictly a spot-up shooter last season. He didn’t record a single assist in the first three games this season, but managed to grab four assists in Thursday’s win.

Other than that, he had a terrible game. He went 3-14 from the floor, and 2-9 from three, along with three turnovers. He took some really bad shots, including a contested, pull-up three with about 20 seconds left and a four point lead; it was a chance for the Bulls to put the nail in the coffin, and Valentine completely blew that up.

Still, it’s hard for me not to get excited about someone who is 6’6″, can shoot, and makes a pass like this:

That is just so beautiful. Lebron made that pass famous. John Wall made it cool. My question is, why don’t we see it more often? Now, check out this lob to Cristiano Felicio out of the pick and roll:

That was a bit more of a result of some really bad pick and roll coverage than it was Valentine making a fantastic pass, but he was still able to read the defense and make a pinpoint pass. Again: who is that Denzel Valentine and why doesn’t he always exist?