The Chicago Bulls followed up a nice first quarter by playing three quarters of terrible basketball, thus leading to a Detroit Pistons victory. Here are my three takeaways from the loss.
1. Cameron Payne played the best game of his NBA career.
After being given the duties of the backup point guard, Cameron Payne has been taking advantage of the opportunity. Tonight, he provided a much-needed spark off the bench and scored a season-high 17 points on an efficient 6-10 shooting from the field and 4-6 from three. Payne also contributed 2 steals. Here are some highlights from his first half:
Solid first half off the bench from Cam Payne, who dropped 8 points in the half, including two triples: pic.twitter.com/XSkNLqmcNE
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) March 10, 2018
Payne’s best play of the night, however, came when forced into a not-so-good situation on the defensive end. He ended up getting backed down by Blake Griffin in the post – not a favorable matchup for Cam – but instead of giving in, he picked Griffin’s pocket, ran the break, and finished with a layup plus the foul.
Not a bad night for Payne.
2. When LaVine and Markkanen struggle, the Bulls struggle.
In the Bulls’ last game against the Grizzlies, Lauri Markkanen and Zach LaVine scored 22 and 21 points, respectively. They also both shot 8-14 from the field. The result? A Chicago Bulls victory.
Against the Pistons, Markkanen shot 3-12 from the field for 6 points and LaVine shot 3-15 from the field for 8 points. Neither made a three-pointer even though they shot a combined 7 of them. The result? A Chicago Bulls loss.
It wasn’t that LaVine and Markkanen weren’t getting good looks, they just couldn’t knock ’em down tonight – sometimes that happens. It’s not a big deal, but it’s definitely the biggest reason the Bulls finished with a mere 83 points. Yikes.
3. The Bulls are fighting the NBA with the Robin Lopez and Justin Holiday situation.
After being warned by the NBA about sitting healthy players (Holiday and Lopez), the Bulls have been giving them minutes again – sort of.
Lopez and Holiday both got the start tonight and each only played 12 minutes – the first 12 minutes.
Lopez played phenomenally in the short time he was given. He finished the game with 9 points on 4-4 shooting from the field (he even made a three). Holiday played fairly well also in the first quarter, he finished with 6 points and 2 rebounds.
Next: Should the Bulls trade up in the draft?
Lopez and Holiday were the only players on the Bulls to have a positive plus/minus (besides Antonio Blakeney who got three minutes of play during garbage time). It’s no secret why the Bulls aren’t playing them – they’re a much better team with them on the court. But the Bulls aren’t gonna let a warning from the NBA stop them from tanking for the final three quarters of a basketball game.
No sir – not this year.