2. Golden State Warriors (Nov. 27, Dec. 6)
Final Score Pt. 1: 104-90, Warriors
Final Score Pt. 2: 100-98, Warriors
Should the Chicago Bulls be absolutely ashamed for being swept by the Golden State Warriors this season?
Overwhelmingly yes.
But the manner in which the Bulls lost to the Warriors is the worst part. The Bulls were thoroughly defeated by the Warriors on the road in the sparkling new Chase Center in San Francisco.
This is a Warriors team without superstar point guard Stephen Curry or shooting guard Klay Thompson suiting up against the Bulls in either outing. The fact that the Bulls couldn’t average more than 94 points in their two outings against this poor Warriors defense combined is a testament to how this season went under Boylen so far.
Moreover, it wasn’t only in the loss to the Hornets that the Bulls didn’t get any help out of third-year power forward Lauri Markkanen. He was benched against the Hornets, and could barely work in his way into double-figures scoring on inefficient offensive night in any game against the Warriors. He’s been bad this season.
Since the Bulls were turning the ball over just 15 times per game against the Warriors and forcing 20 on average, this should’ve gone better for them. But the three-point shooting fell flat, as did the ability to get to the free-throw line. When the Bulls best players aren’t playing their best, then they can get swept by possibly the worst team in the NBA this season, like the Warriors.