The Chicago Bulls lost last night to the Houston Rockets. I wrote what I liked and disliked from game.
If you’re a Bulls fan, there was a lot to like about this game despite the loss.
Six players scored in double figures, the team hit their threes at 43 percent clip and they outscored the second-best team in the Western Conference in the final three quarters (85-81).
But, there’s also a lot to dislike; 20 demoralizing allowed three-pointers.
So, I’m going to pick out my favorite and least favorite aspects of the Chicago Bulls’ play, as I felt both had a greatest impact on the result.
Dislike: Transition defense
There’s little shame in allowing the Rockets to score 116 points in a game. They’re second in the league in offensive rating and points per game for a reason.
But, the way they allowed the Rockets to score those points is what’s going to keep Chicago Bulls Head Coach Fred Hoiberg up late at night.
Trevor Ariza scored nine points in transition within the first three-and-a-half minutes of the game, which would serve as a prelude to how hot he’d be from beyond the arc for the rest of the night.
Back-to-back threes by Gerald Green and Eric Gordon forced the Bulls to call a timeout halfway through the first quarter down 11-25 with 18 of the Rockets points coming off transition three-pointers.
I was stunned by how poorly the Chicago Bulls were defending in transition. The Rockets were eating them alive in that aspect of the game from the get go. The stats confirmed what I was watching.
The Bulls allowed the Houston franchise to score 11.1 transition points per 100 possessions during the game, according to Cleaning the Glass.
This is the third percentile in comparison in how most teams defend in transition. In other words, the Bulls were atrocious.
The nightmare didn’t end there for the Chicago Bulls. They allowed Chris Paul to make a layup in transition, followed by a transition three-pointer by Ryan Anderson to increase their deficit from 10 to 15 within 30 seconds of game time and put the game out of reach.
It’s a shame how porous the Chicago Bulls were defensively in the fast break. They did an admirable job defending the Rockets when they got set on defense; 89.8 points per 100 plays allowed in the half-court, in the 58th percentile, according to Cleaning the Glass.
The Bulls were competitive, consistently contesting shots and rotations were tight in half court defensive situations. Defending in transition has been an issue for the Chicago franchise this entire season.
If the Chicago Bulls are trying to make a push at the playoffs (I sure hope they aren’t), addressing their transition defense is a good starting point.
Like: Bobby Portis
Bobby Portis was a man on a mission for the Chicago Bulls against the Houston Rockets. It’s why he earned the player of the game honors.
“I thought Bobby had great aggressiveness,” Hoiberg said, “He brought a shot of energy to the team we had to have.”
His offensive presence was felt early in the game; he scored 16 points in 17 minutes on 7-11 shooting in the first half. Portis was scoring in multitude of ways for the Chicago Bulls; three-pointers, midrange, baby hooks, getting to the line, etc.
He carried the Bulls offense at the end of the first quarter and second quarter. Portis was the main catalyst for the team cutting the 21-point first quarter deficit down to five at half. This makes it more troubling he wasn’t featured later in the game. He went nearly three-and-a-half minutes without a touch to start the fourth.
Not a shot attempt, but a touch. During this period, the Bulls other top scorers for the game weren’t on the court. Portis was the logical player to play through. Both offenses were struggling to produce points and the Bulls could’ve made a deeper cut into the deficit.
Portis finished with 22 points, four rebounds, two assists and shot 53% percent from the field off the bench. He’s averaging 12.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per game on a 48/36/82 shooting slash for the Chicago Bulls during the 2017-18 season.