So far this season, the Chicago Bulls have been struggling to close out games, due to a lack of late game defence, and an inability to find good shots.
It’s been a rough start to the season for the Chicago Bulls. Currently sporting a 1-3 record, the Bulls Monday night loss to the New York Knicks was the third game this season that came down to single digits, the one outlier being a 108-84 loss to the reigning NBA Champion Toronto Raptors. The loss to the Knicks was particularly jarring, with a Lauri Markkanen three-pointer with 3 minutes 33 seconds left the last shot the Bulls would make.
Chicago would shoot 0-7 to close out the game, with New York scoring 15 points to take a 105-98 win. This game illustrates that the Bulls need to execute much better on both offence and defence, if they wish to be competitive this season.
The Bulls biggest problem in closing games so far this season has been their inability to hit shots when it matters. In their loss to New York they did not score a basket in the final three and a half minutes of play. They lost by one point to Charlotte despite a 35 point outing from Markkanen, and even their sole victory was an eight point win over Memphis that felt in doubt for the majority of the game. The first reason for this lack of closing first and foremost comes down to play calling.
The Bulls have been running some impressive motion offence so far this season, however it seems that down the stretch they turn to iso and hero-ball play, mostly coming from Zach LaVine. This was the case againt Charlotte, despite Markkanen having the hot hand all night, and LaVine only having 16 points on 41 percent shooting. Again in New York, LaVine ate most of the final possessions, including a number of questionable three attempts and low percentage shots.
If the Bulls wish to compete in clutch situations, they need to work on drawing up plays to get open looks, and focus on taking the right shots at the right time.
The Bulls also need to put focus on their defensive rotations, particularly in late game situations. Chicago usually closes games with their starters, sometimes playing either White or Dunn in place of Satoransky. With the exceptions of LaVine and Markkanen, the Bulls lineup features solid defensive pieces. However, their rotations have left a lot to be desired.
This featured heavily in the Charlotte game, with Devonte Graham and PJ Washington coming up with seemingly endless looks from three. It was also apparent in the loss to New York, with former Bull Bobby Portis sinking two late game three’s to help the Knicks run away with the victory.
Defensive focus has always been a struggle for this Bulls outfit, but again is a large contributing factor in Chicago’s late game struggles and they must improve this in order to win close games.
Clearly, the Chicago Bulls have not had an ideal start to the season. However, the closeness of the games is promising to Bulls fans, and with a focus on getting good shots in the clutch and a renewed defensive intensity, we should start to see the tides turning on these close games for the Chicago.