Chicago Bulls Numbers That Count: Zach’s Attacks Lack

The Chicago Bulls find themselves in familiar territory at 4-10; the same as they were in 2018. And just as before, there are clear reasons why.

The Chicago Bulls have gone 1-4 since last we checked in on what the numbers had to say about what we were seeing. Long story short, the team’s struggles at the free-throw line are a major hindrance (one of many) to the offense, which has struggled most of the season. Wendell Carter’s foul trouble was also an issue. At least the calls for more Daniel Gafford were answered.

Chicago is 13th in the East, but only two games out of the eighth seed. Complicating things is the stretch of games coming up on the calendar.

The Bulls next face the Detroit Pistons, a team that also currently resides outside of the playoff field but also handed the Bulls a loss earlier this month. They then face the current third-seeded Miami Heat and Jimmy Butler, then the Charlotte Hornets who also already beat the Bulls once.

Then comes games (home and away) against the Portland Trail Blazers sandwiched around a trip to the Bay to face the Golden State Warriors. And finally the stretch ends with the Sacramento Kings and Memphis Grizzlies, two beatable but tough teams, the Warriors and the Blazers once more apiece. That is far from a cakewalk.

It is an important stretch because it will be 24 games or the same amount of games the Bulls played under Fred Hoiberg in 2018 before he got fired. The same fate is not certain for Jim Boylen should his record remain the same as his predecessor. But his .292 winning percentage certainly doesn’t help his case.

This time around will look deeper into the impact Gafford had against the Milwaukee Bucks and what his role should be going forward. We will also look at the reduced minutes for one starter in the last game.

But first, we look at the Bulls top-scorer, Zach LaVine, and examine why he has seemed less effective this season compared to last.

39.6

That is LaVine’s shooting percentage on drives this season. It is a drastic dropoff from 2018 when he hit those shots at a 49.6 percent clip despite barely seeing a dip in attempts. He was at 13.5 drive attempts per game last season and is at 13.1 per game this year. That is not a significant enough difference to explain the ineffectiveness around the rim.

Against the Bucks, he only hit 33.3 percent of his drives. A number that was 36.4 percent the previous two losses. But against the New York Knicks, the Bulls last win, he hit those shots at a 60 percent clip.

Clearly, the teams with viable rim protectors give the Bulls guard problems (go figure) seeing as he still gets the majority of his points by attacking the rim.

Maybe if he were to raise his assist percentage in those situations (currently 30 percent), those possessions won’t be empty. LaVine has earned a dicey reputation for getting empty buckets but also because of his shot selection, particularly in clutch situations, leaves much to be desired.

17:53

No, that isn’t military time. It’s the floor time starting point guard Tomas Satoransky saw in Monday’s loss to the Bucks. It was his fewest minutes played this season and just the third start of his career where he finished with fewer than 20 minutes. Averaging 8.1/3.1/4.6 (5/1/1 against Milwaukee) is a surefire way to lose your starting job.

Satoransky was brought in for his versatility and veteran presence at the lead guard spot, but a good Summer at the FIBA World Games for the Czech Republic gave hope that there was untapped offensive potential.

After the first 14 games, it appears there wasn’t. Outside of a 27/7/8 outburst against the Atlanta Hawks, Satoransky is averaging 6.7/2.7/4.3 on the season.

That won’t keep rookie Coby White at bay. He has benefitted from the rookie scoring dynamo’s poor efficiency but can’t match his spark. He’s trailed White in minutes before, but Wednesday he saw fewer minutes than backup Ryan Arcidiacono for the first time. That won’t happen too often, but perhaps Satoransky returns to a role off the bench or at least sits late in games.

.833

That was Gafford’s field goal percentage against the Bucks. For at least one game, White wasn’t the Bulls only impactful rookie. The big man saw live game action for only the fifth time this season. The second-round pick made his opportunity count putting up 21 points, five boards, and one assist with two blocks in just over 20 minutes of action.

Luke Kornet, the backup center to start the year, is out indefinitely after having surgery on his nose. But when he was active he was exactly lighting it up. The 7-foot-2 former-Knick has a season-high of nine points, which he scored twice.

It was hypothesized that the reason Kornet’s resume didn’t match the kind of hyping up he got when he signed was simple. He just wasn’t that good, Injury aside, that appears to be the case.

No one other than Boylen knows if Gafford will retain the role he had against the Bucks when Kornet returns. But the latter has done nothing to show he deserves those minutes. It would make sense for Gafford to be the first big off the bench. Unfortunately, not much has made sense about the rotations for much of the year.

Bulls in the Red

Wins and losses are the most important numbers, of course. And it was but a few short weeks ago that all the talk of the Bulls making the playoffs seemed feasible. Flash forward to now and we are left to question the job security of their head coach. If things don’t pick up soon the next number we look into for the Bulls could be the dead money remaining on Boylen’s contract.