The Chicago Bulls followed their dramatic win in Charlotte with a poor performance tonight in Chicago. What went wrong?
The happiness Chicago Bulls fans felt from Zach LaVine’s late-game heroics against the Charlotte Hornets couldn’t last forever. The Bulls got a reality check tonight.
Damian Lillard and Co. came into the United Center in desperate need of a victory. They’ve been one of the biggest disappointments in the NBA so far this season. But the Bulls were hoping they could use their gutsy win over Charlotte as a turning point for their season. The Blazers got their wish; the Bulls didn’t.
Chicago actually came out of the gates looking alright. Zach LaVine and Tomas Satoransky were dominant in the first quarter, helping the Bulls head into the second quarter with a 28-27 lead. The Blazers would go on to win the next three quarters by 24 points, though. Yikes.
A lot went wrong for the Bulls over those final three quarters. The offense stunk, the defense was swiss cheese, the rebounding was nonexistent and the coaching was unsettling. A hefty portion of the defensive problems for Chicago came when defending the pick-and-roll. Their coverage on said pick-and-rolls was… odd. They insisted on switching over and over again despite getting burned by mismatches. That can’t happen going forward.
Offensively, the Bulls fell into the same trap they’ve often found themselves in. As soon as the momentum started shifting Portland’s way, Chicago’s offense got stagnant. LaVine didn’t attack the rim nearly enough, Wendell Carter Jr. didn’t get a healthy amount of post touches, Lauri Markkanen’s shoot button was broken and Tomas Satoransky wasn’t alpha enough.
Let’s dive into that last part a little more.
Sato’s at his best when he’s getting into the paint. He’s solid coming off screens, he’s savvy in the paint and he uses his size to get quality shots off. He just needs to believe in himself a little more. When the Bulls start to panic, Sato needs to be the one to demand the ball and calm the offense down. Tonight, he was aggressive at the beginning but then got more passive as the game went on.
Sato isn’t the only Bulls guard who had a night to forget. Coby White finished the game with eight points on 3-of-13 shooting from the field and 1-of-8 shooting from 3-point range. Obviously, he didn’t shoot the ball well, but Jim Boylen deserves some of the blame for his poor game.
White doesn’t get used nearly enough as a pick-and-roll ball handler, and it’s starting to get frustrating. He’s awesome at throwing lob passes to rolling big men, and he has a fantastic hesitation dribble — two skills that can be shown off in the pick-and-roll.
If Boylen puts Coby in more pick-and-roll situations, we should see his efficiency go to the next level.
The Bull I’m most concerned about, though, is Lauri Markkanen. He clearly isn’t 100 percent. He only shot the ball seven times tonight, and five of those were threes. He’s unbearably passive on the offensive end of the court. I’m hoping it’s because he’s not feeling right physically. If it’s anything else, it’s a major red flag for his future.
Chicago will look to get back on track Wednesday night when they head to San Francisco to play the struggling Warriors.