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Chicago Bulls: Does the win over the Magic provide false hope?

By Luke Askew

CHICAGO, IL - DECEMBER 21: Head Coach Jim Boylen of the Cleveland Cavaliers looks on during the game against the Orlando Magic on December 21, 2018 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL - DECEMBER 21: Head Coach Jim Boylen of the Cleveland Cavaliers looks on during the game against the Orlando Magic on December 21, 2018 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The Chicago Bulls beat the Orlando Magic yesterday night, but did the Bulls actually play well? There’s more to yesterday’s game than what meets the eye.

The Chicago Bulls got their eighth win of the season yesterday night in Chicago. The Bulls actually didn’t play that well, though. How much credit do they deserve for the win?

The Bulls are currently last in the league in offensive rating (99.6) and it’s not even close. The next closest team, the Phoenix Suns, doesn’t even have a point guard and they’re still nearly 3 points better (102.5) than Chicago.

The Bulls’ offensive rating in last night’s win (103.4) was higher than their season average but still really poor. For reference, the Milwaukee Bucks have an offensive rating of 113.4 – the best in the league. It’s generally not good to fall into the habit of comparing a rebuilding team to one of the elite teams in the NBA, but if you want to know how far away the Bulls are from being successful, it’s nice to know what the best teams are doing.

One could make an argument that as long as the defense is solid, then the offense is fine to lag behind. While that worked against the Magic and will work on occasion moving forward, if the modern NBA has taught us anything, it’s that good offense will always beat good defense. Holding NBA teams to 80 points isn’t something the Bulls can rely on moving forward. That’s why winning a game 90-80 provides a sense of false hope.

While the Bulls’ defense is decent, it’s definitely not good enough to consistently win games. “Decent” is even a pretty generous term to describe their defense.

Don’t be tricked into thinking that just because the Magic only scored 80 points, that the Bulls were locking guys down yesterday. Chicago did have some stretches of solid defense, but they also got some help from the Magic. Orlando shot 16-of-53 (30.2 percent) on uncontested field goals, including a combined 3-of-17 from Nikola Vucevic and Terrence Ross – two of Orlando’s best scorers.

On top of that, it’s important to keep in mind that the Magic are 27th in the league in offensive rating. Limiting them to 80 points isn’t that great of an achievement. It’s not like they’re a team full of flamethrowers.

Next. 3 external coaching candidates for the Bulls. dark

Yes, a win is a win, and as long as the Bulls score more points than the other team, that’s really all that matters. But this win doesn’t mean that things are getting better in Chicago. In fact, it’s a bad sign for what’s in this team’s immediate future.

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