One like and dislike from the Chicago Bulls win vs. the New York Knicks

The Chicago Bulls loss to the New York Knicks 110-92 Monday in Madison Square Garden. Here’s my one like and dislike from the game.

The Chicago Bulls loss to the New York Knicks 110-92 Monday in Madison Square Garden. The Bulls won the season series 3-1.

Tank-o-meter

The Chicago Bulls’ record is 24-46 after the loss. They have the eighth worst record in the league, are officially eliminated from playoff contention and are 5.5 games back of the worst record in the association.

Fun Fact #1

The Chicago Bulls only made three of their 30 3-point field goal attempts. It’s the first time in the Bulls’ history that they’ve attempted 30 or more 3-pointers and made five or less of their attempts.

Fun Fact #2

Forward Bobby Portis, the player of the game, scored 16 points in the loss to the Knicks. It’s the fifth consecutive game in which he scored 15 or more points, which is the longest streak of his career.

Dislike: Non-big men

I don’t want to harp on this loss too much. Bad losses are going to happen anytime one of the worst teams in the league doesn’t have four of its most effective players on the court. But, the disparity in production between the Chicago Bulls’ big men and the rest of the roster was ridiculous.

Forward Noah Vonleh, center Cristiano Felicio and Portis combined for 42 points on 18-of-31 shooting from the field and 2-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc. All the other Bulls players combined to score a measly 50 points on 15-of-61 shooting from the field and 1-of-26 shooting from deep. Yikes!

Forward Denzel Valentine displayed his inconsistency. After his career night against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday, Valentine didn’t make a single 3-pointer and shot 36 percent from the field. Guard Cameron Payne took three times as many shots (12) as points he scored (4) after putting up a double-double against the Cavaliers.

Guards Jerian Grant and Justin Holiday and forward Paul Zipser shot a combined 0-for-11 from beyond the arc. Surprisingly, David Nwaba wasn’t his typical sensational self on the defensive end of the floor.

But, Antonio Blakeney rejected Knicks forward/center Kyle O’Quinn at the rim for a nice moment from the Bulls backcourt.

Jeez, that was vicious. But, Felicio ensured the night wasn’t going to completely ugly.

Also, Vonleh didn’t waste time in creating his own highlight.

https://twitter.com/chicagobulls/status/975890371346509824

Like: Finally going all-in

The Chicago Bulls have picked up a lot of bad wins for the race to the bottom of the standings. They’ve defeated the Atlanta Hawks (twice), Orlando Magic, Dallas Mavericks and Memphis Grizzlies in the past month and a half. These wins derailed the Bulls chances of falling in the standings.

In a Monday The Athletic article, Stephen Noh talked about how the Bulls’ wins didn’t reflect truly reflect progress or development. He said that the Bulls’ wins reflected the opposing teams merely out-tanking them.

Well, it appears like the Chicago Bulls have finally caught up to rest of the league. It looks like the Bulls are going to put their eggs into the tanking basket. It’s probably too late for the Bulls to fall as low as fans would’ve wanted them to when the season started. But, there’s still enough time to improve their draft position.