The Chicago Bulls have won three straight games after beating the Miami Heat. Here are three takeaways from the game.
Well, they’re at it again, friends. Your Chicago Hoibulls have now won three games in a row, and four of their last six games. Yesterday afternoon, Chicago cooled down the red-hot Miami Heat, destroying the 25-18 squad’s seven-game win streak. The Bulls held on to a massive third quarter lead to win, 119-108. With the victory, Chicago climbed yet again in the Eastern Conference standings. They now sit in 12th place in a weak conference. At 17-27, the Bulls are just six games out of a playoff seed. And this is all despite the fact that their front office cobbled them together to lose as many games as possible!! We did flip an MVP candidate to get Zach LaVine, Lauri Markkanen, and Kris Dunn. I still don’t love that trade. But I don’t hate it as much as I once did.
We are now firmly ensconced in the plot of “Major League,” people. The Chicago Bulls are the Wesley Snipes-era Cleveland Indians. To be fair, there is no subplot to move the team to Miami. Also, neither Gar, nor Pax, nor Jerry Reinsdorf looks like Margaret Whitton, sadly. But otherwise — it’s the same darn thing!
Here are your game takeaways.
Three-Pointers Galore
The Bulls as a team drained 16 of their 39 three-point attempts, good for a solid 41%. Miami made just 12 of their 36 looks (33%). The Bulls were led in the long-range department by starting small forward Justin Holiday, who drained seven of his 11 three-point attempts. That number marked a career high three-point makes. Zach LaVine added two triples of his own (on four attempts). Nikola Mirotic did make three, but he took 10.
By knocking down three of his six three-point attempts, rookie Lauri Markkanen also broke a rookie record as the fastest NBA player to sink 100 triples in a career. And yes, it was Steph’s record. Markkanen, the Finnisher, finished his night with 17 points (six of those in the final 1:08) and nine rebounds.
Justin Holiday, Auditioning For New Teams
The marksman came to the Bulls over the summer on a very affordable two-year, $8 million contract. The story of this Bulls season has been their three power forwards and trying to gauge just how good Zach LaVine and Kris Dunn are. Holiday, something of a chucker who almost never looks to pass, has quietly put up a solid season of his own. The 6’6″ swingman from Washington is averaging 13.8 points and a surprising 4.6 rebounds a night. His 38.7% field goal percentage is late-career Kobe-level (again, he’s a chucker). On the other hand, the 28 year-old is also connecting on 38.7% from long distance — which is pretty good! Yesterday, his lights-out three point barrage was the highlight of his 25 total points, scored on eight-of-15 shooting.
Holiday’s very agreeable contract may make him tough for Chicago to trade. Robin Lopez and Nikola Mirotic may be easier to flip. Mirotic had another solid game last night, scoring all 18 of his points in the fourth quarter. The Bulls should be sellers at this trade deadline, despite their team’s recent success. They are not good enough to handle the Celtics or Raptors, let alone the behemoths looming out west. They need a 2018 lottery draft pick. If Holiday, Mirotic, or even RoLo can help them get there, then so be it.
LaVine Time
Zach LaVine had himself quite the weekend. He followed up a very efficient Saturday evening (he had 14 points on five-of-nine shooting) against the Pistons with an equally snazzy night against the Heat. In just 19 minutes, the super-athletic shooting guard scored 18 points at a great seven-of-12 field goal conversion rate. He also had five rebounds, five assists (including some nifty bounce passes), and finished as a +6 in plus-minus on the night, the fifth-best such rating on the team. LaVine’s coolest play was a three-point look at the end of the first half. With one second remaining on the shot clock, LaVine squeaked over a Robin Lopez screen to draw a foul from Josh Richardson to complete a four-point play. He has been able to create both on iso’s and pick-and-roll actions. LaVine’s defense has been typically suspect, which ultimately might lead to more Bulls losses. Here’s hoping.
Being waylaid for 11 months after an ACL tear hasn’t done much to deter the Slam Dunk champ’s confidence or hops. Chicago has a big decision to make this summer, as LaVine, a restricted free agent, is up for a rookie extension. He has been introduced last in his two Bulls games thus far. Gar Forman and John Paxson clearly view him as a foundational piece in the Bulls’ continued youth movement.
One unfortunate side effect of LaVine’s emergence has been David Nwaba’s decline in minutes. Slow-motion sharpshooter Denzel Valentine did cede his starting spot to the Timberwolves import. But Nwaba has felt the minutes crunch thus far. Nwaba played just 12 minutes against the Heat, while Valentine logged 27. This time, it did work out for Chicago. Valentine had 12 points on four-of-eight shooting, plus seven rebounds. Nwaba scored just one point, but pulled down three boards.