One like and dislike from the Chicago Bulls loss to the Los Angeles Lakers
By Khobi Price
The Chicago Bulls lost to the Los Angeles Lakers 108-103 Friday in the United Center. It’s time to check out my one like and dislike about the game.
The Chicago Bulls returned to the United Center with a tight loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. Their loss marked the team’s third straight defeat; their fifth streak of three or more losses this season.
Fun fact #1: This is the 23rd time in 26 games the Chicago Bulls have scored 100 points or more. The Bulls tallied a 15-11 record over those 26 games and went 1-2 in the games they scored less than 100 points. They scored 100 or more points eight times in their first 23 games and tallied a 3-20 record in those games.
Fun fact #2: The Chicago Bulls have made at least 10 3-pointers in 11 straight home games; their longest streak in franchise history.
Dislike: Highs and lows
I don’t mean high-low post-entries typically done by big men over the course of the basketball game. The peaks and valleys the Chicago Bulls experienced in their loss to the Lakers cost them the game.
The Bulls had a slow start to the contest for the second game in a row. The Windy City franchise went through a sloppy two-minute stretch where they couldn’t buy a basket and couldn’t prevent the Lakers from scoring: a 12-0 run by Los Angeles which pushed the Bulls’ late first quarter deficit to 17 points.
Chicago managed to bring the deficit down to seven points with a 13-2 run of their own thanks to the scoring of guard/forward Denzel Valentine, the player of the game, and forward Nikola Mirotic.
These kinds of sequences plagued the Bulls for the rest of the game. It hurt them the most at the end of the game when their three-point lead turned into a four-point deficit and the eventual loss.
The absence of starting point guard Kris Dunn has zapped the Bulls of a consistent playmaker. He’s the team’s most steady distributor at the point guard position even though he has his moments of erratic play.
Guard Jerian Grant is somehow more unpredictable (how he finished the night with eight assists and zero assists amazes me) and is unreliable when defenses turn the pressure up.
Zach LaVine hasn’t proven to be a reliable playmaker for others and is still trying to adjust to his return to the court.
Valentine is a solid playmaker, but is better suited as the lead playmaker for the second unit or secondary ball handler against starting units.
Head Coach Fred Hoiberg has even dabbled with allowing forward Lauri Markkanen to bring the ball up the court to initiate the offense.
(I wish Hoiberg would expand on this setup. Learning how to read defenses better is a step Markkanen will need to take to develop and Dunn’s absence provides him with plenty of opportunities to do so.)
The Bulls will continue to experience these highs and lows even after Dunn returns. It comes with the territory of having a young and inexperienced team.
But, with a 1-3 record since he went down, (their lone win coming against the worst team in the league in the Atlanta Hawks) it’s evident the Bulls miss Dunn’s playmaking skills more than anything else.
Like: Bench play
This isn’t the first time, and I doubt it’ll be the last time, the bench unit has received praise. The bench has managed to make games more competitive when the starters are struggling.
They’re tied as the eight best bench scoring unit in the league. The unit isn’t deep, but each player brings valuable skills to the table.
Valentine operates as a reliable playmaker and can shoot the deep ball at an efficient clip. Mirotic spaces the floor, is developing his post-game and should be in contention for six man of the year.
Forward/center Bobby Portis has embraced his role as the spark of energy and backup center who’s just as dangerous getting to the basket as he is spotting up from deep.
Guard David Nwaba plays to his strengths; he’s persistent in his pursuit of attacking the rim and is the team’s best one-on-one defender.
There wasn’t a lot to like about how the Bulls performed last night that didn’t involve one of their bench players.