Grading the Chicago Bulls through 20 games
By Luke Askew
Through 20 games, the Chicago Bulls have the worst record in the league and are showing very few signs of competency. Here are my new team grades for the Bulls. Note: This does not include the game on December 1 against the Kings.
The Chicago Bulls overall Team Grade: D-
Previous grade: C-
The Chicago Bulls deserve to drop a full letter grade after this last 10 game stretch.
Not much has gone well for the Bulls through the first 20 games of the 2017-18 season. They were bad in their first 10 games (2-8) but have been even worse in their last 10, going 1-9, including a 49 point loss to the Warriors.
The Warriors are widely considered to be the best team in the league so that loss is no surprise. It wouldn’t have even been a surprise if they lost by 20 or 30 – but a 49 point loss? That should never happen.
Their lone win in this 10 game stretch came at home against a struggling Charlotte Hornets team in a 123-120 battle. Kemba Walker dropped a game-high 47 points, but the Bulls managed to limit the rest of the Hornets. Their second highest scorer was Marvin Williams with 13 points.
So if the Bulls had such a bad 10 game stretch, what’s keeping them from earning an F grade?
In my previous team grades article, I mentioned that I would be looking for Kris Dunn to transition into a starting role. Well, that finally happened during the second 10 game stretch.
Dunn has started 7 of the last 10 games for the Bulls and has been, for the most part, very good. In the last 10 games, Dunn is averaging 13.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.9 steals. He’s also shooting 54.5% from three – an extremely efficient clip.
If Dunn continues to take strides offensively like we’ve seen in the last 10 games, his individual game will dramatically improve. I’m ready for this new and improved offensive version of Kris Dunn – I think we all are.
Tanking Team Grade: A+
Previous grade: A-
What more can we ask for here? There isn’t much too it, the Bulls are just killing the tanking game.
They have the worst record in the league – and they definitely pass the “worst team in the league” eye test, as well.
Their performance in the most recent game of this 10 game stretch was the epitome of tanking. They had a good Nuggets team on the ropes in Denver.
An ill-advised three point attempt from the Bulls with under one minute left gave the Nuggets control late in the game. After a nice drive by Kris Dunn gave the Bulls a one point-lead with under 10 seconds remaining, the Bulls failed to stop the ball and allowed Will Barton to take it coast-to-coast for what ended up being the game-winning layup with about three seconds left. Barton finished the game with a game-high 37 points.
Poor game management can be expected from a young team that lacks experience in these moments. All we as fans can do, is expect them to learn from these games and prepare for the future.
That’s a great loss for the tanking grade and helps the chances of the getting the #1 overall pick in next year’s draft, immensely.
What a run for the tanking Bulls. We’ll have to watch and see if they can keep the lead in the race for the worst record in the NBA.