The Chicago Bulls defeated the Detroit Pistons 107-105 in Zach LaVine’s debut with the team. It’s time to check out the one thing I liked and one thing I disliked about the game.
The Chicago Bulls welcomed back Zach LaVine on his bubblehead night with a tight win over the Detroit Pistons last night in the United Center.
Fun Fact #1: The Bulls have made at least 10 3-pointers in 13 of their last 15 games, including a current streak of seven games.
Fun fact #2: This is the 17th time in 20 games the Bulls have scored 100 points or more.
With another game in the books for the Bulls, it’s time to check out the one thing I liked and one thing I disliked about the game.
Like: The upside of Hoi-Ball
This could’ve easily been LaVine following in Isaiah Thomas’ footsteps and having a strong, efficient showing in his first game returning from injury.
He scored 14 points on nine shots, made three out of his four 3-points attempts, led the Bulls in points per shot attempts with 1.4 points per attempt and look comfortable in limited time.
The player of the game Kris Dunn deserves praise; he tallied 18 points along with team-highs of eight assist and eight rebounds.
All the Bulls big men played well, including Nikola Mirotic who could be suiting up for the Pistons by this time next week.
But, it was the upside of the Bulls’ new style of playing that shined brightest last night.
Last night was the epitome of how the offense could look under Head Coach Fred Hoiberg.
They’re embracing the trend fully to the tune of 30.1 3-point attempts per game and averaging 97.7 possessions per game, ninth and 12th in the league, respectively.
While the Chicago Bulls didn’t play at a particularly quick pace last night, they shot the deep ball frequently, 39 percent of their shot attempts, and made them at a prolific rate, 49 percent.
The Bulls passing in the system, they assisted on 27 of their 42 field goals, made the game easier for everyone.
Six different players scored more than 10 points, with rookie Lauri Markkanen leading the way with 19 points. Justin Holiday was the only starter who didn’t score in double figures with nine points.
The Bulls had a tough time installing this sort of offense when Hoiberg first took over the team because of the personnel they had.
Now, with younger and better shooting players, we’re able to have a better sense of the vision Hoiberg had for the offense.
Last night may have been the best scenario of what to expect, or could it be a sign of things to come as the youngsters develop.
Regardless of what the case is, last night was a joy to watch.
Dislike: Defensive Rebounding
Last week, I wrote about how the Chicago Bulls’ porous defense in transition undermined their solid half-court defense in their Jan. 8 loss to the Houston Rockets.
Last night, it was the Bulls’ poor defensive rebounding that almost cost them the game.
There was a two-minute stretch in the fourth quarter where the Bulls were outscored 8-3, which allowed the Pistons to take an one point lead with a little over four minutes left in the game.
All eight of those points were a result of offensive rebounds.
The Pistons pulled down 31.4 of available offensive rebound opportunities, 13 offensive rebounds and turned those opportunities extra into 25 points.
The Bulls closed out the game in a good fashion, furthering their standing as one of the NBA’s most clutch teams in the past month despite this deficiency in their game last night.
This is what happens when you face a team with Andre Drummond, who’s a true force on the glass.
But, last night only further exposed the Chicago Bulls need for a defensive minded big man who can man the paint, protect the rim and grab all rebounds in sight.