Chicago Bulls: Turnovers become insurmountable issue vs. Suns

There were a lot of problems that ultimately wound up costing the Chicago Bulls in their upset bid at home at the United Center against star veteran point guard Chris Paul and the Phoenix Suns on the night of Feb. 26. Heading into the weekend, first-year head coach Billy Donovan and his Bulls team was looking to win their fourth game in a row against their toughest competition of the week thus far.

The Bulls had built up a three-game winning streak against some Western Conference competition just ahead of the weekend. That win streak for the Bulls was built up by beating the likes of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Sacramento Kings, and Houston Rockets.

But none of those three aforementioned Western Conference foes that the Bulls beat earlier in the week were near as talented and/or deep as the Suns. This was going to be a new type of challenge for Donovan and the Bulls at home.

For most of the game, the Bulls remained within striking distance of the Suns. Yet, a poor start and a poor finish doomed the Bulls in the end. The Suns owned a double-digit lead for much of the first eight minutes of the first quarter, and they really separated in the fourth quarter down the stretch.

What cost the Chicago Bulls against the Suns

The Suns dominated the Bulls in the fourth quarter, winning by a margin of 16-points. That allowed the Suns to get the win in the end by the final score of 106-97. It was largely the combination of that poor fourth quarter showing along with rampant turnover problems that cost the Bulls this game.

The turnover battle was won by the Suns in this game, and it wasn’t even close. On the night, the Bulls turned the ball over 17 times, compared to just seven from the Suns. The main culprits for the Bulls in the turnover department were star shooting guard Zach LaVine (five), third-year center Wendell Carter Jr. (four), and second-year point guard Coby White (three).

That Bulls trio mustered all but five of the team’s turnovers on the night. LaVine is turning the ball over a lot lately. He’s got a dozen turnovers in the last two games alone. And while the Bulls got away with that in an overtime win over the Timberwolves on Feb. 24, they did not against a better team like the Suns.

As a whole, the starting five just wasn’t that effective for the Bulls in this loss to the Suns. LaVine had just one rebound, five less points than his per game average this season, more turnovers than assists, and no steals and/or blocks. WCJ also turned the ball over twice as much as he assisted it, and mustered just five points on the night.

Last but not least, White did have 19 points in this loss to the Suns, but he shot poorly from beyond the arc again and had just one more assist than he had turnovers.

Following this nine-point loss to the Suns heading into the weekend, the Bulls now hold a record of 15-17. The loss to the Suns snapped their three-game winning streak. And the Suns now move to a record of 21-11 on the season.

Next up for the Bulls is a meeting with the Toronto Raptors on the road on the final day of the month of February. Tip off time between the Bulls and Raptors north of the border is set for 6 p.m. CT on Feb. 28.