Pippen Ain't Easy
Fansided

Mental mistakes and defensive breakdowns lead to Bulls loss

By Erick Montoya

Chicago Bulls head coach Jim Boylen talks with guard Zach LaVine (8) during a break in the action in the first half against the Atlanta Hawks at the United Center in Chicago on Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2019. The Hawks won, 121-101. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune/TNS via Getty Images)
Chicago Bulls head coach Jim Boylen talks with guard Zach LaVine (8) during a break in the action in the first half against the Atlanta Hawks at the United Center in Chicago on Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2019. The Hawks won, 121-101. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune/TNS via Getty Images) /
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The dumpster fire that is the Chicago Bulls entered tonight with just one 2-game win streak all season. They gave up 121 points to a rebuilding Atlanta Hawks team.

Chants of “We Want Vince” echoed from the United Center as the fans begged for 8-time All-Star Vince Carter to make an appearance in what was another poor outing from the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls – as we’ve seen all season – started out sluggish and couldn’t seem to keep up with the Hawks in the first quarter.

Entering tonight, the Hawks ranked 1st in NBA in pace whereas the Bulls ranked 24th. Atlanta put up an outstanding 42 first-quarter points, with 18 of their points coming from beyond the arc.

The Chicago Bulls pulled within 6 in the third quarter before Robin Lopez was given a technical foul by the referee for talking back on a previous play that didn’t go his way. The Atlanta Hawks stretched their lead back to 15 as they entered the final quarter of play up 98-83.

Atlanta Hawks 5th overall pick, Trae Young had 11 assists and didn’t make his first basket (which just happened to be a three-pointer) until the 1:14 mark left in the third quarter. John Collins had himself a night as he scored a career-high 35 points in just 29 minutes. Talk about efficiency.

As for the Chicago Bulls, Zach LaVine led the team with 23 points, his third straight game with 20+ points. Lauri Markkanen poured in 22 points as he shot 50% from the field.

Bobby Portis looked terrible defensively as he had a defensive hiccup with the game already out of hand. Luckily, rookie Chandler Hutchison saved him by fouling and contesting Justin Anderson who looked for a cheap basket. Bobby then got into a little skirmish with Atlanta Hawks big man, Alex Len as Anderson was shooting his free throws.

The Atlanta Hawks are who we want our Chicago Bulls to be. They play with pace, they’re unselfish with the ball and they have a coach with a roster that fits his system. The Bulls have everything that the Hawks have regarding their players. They just have the wrong person at the helm.

With 34 games remaining, this will be an evaluation mode for Coach Jim Boylen and the players that fit this roster moving forward. A lot of questions remain with this team and it’s up to Boylen to show that this team has improved and shown growth the rest of the season. If he doesn’t be on the lookout for another coaching change after season’s end.

Bulls Bits:

  • Jabari Parker walked back to the Bulls locker room mid-game and after further examination revealed that he had a right patellar tendon strain and was unavailable to play tonight. Coach Boylen said after the game that Jabari’s injury occurred before the game and was a surprise to the team.
  • The Chicago Bulls next three games are at home versus the Los Angeles Clippers (Friday) and a rematch with the Cleveland Cavaliers (Sunday) and away at the Barclays Center against the Brooklyn Nets.
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