Just when it looked like first-year head coach Billy Donovan and the Chicago Bulls were starting to turn it all around at this point of the regular season, they fell short in agonizing fashion entering the weekend. The Bulls saw star shooting guard Zach LaVine go off for a season-high 50 points in what would amount to an April 9 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on the road.
The loss to the Hawks entering the weekend snapped a three-game winning streak for the Bulls, and it was even harder to believe with the way LaVine played. Yet, this setback against playoff-level competition in the Eastern Conference down the stretch this season can’t be something that distracts this Bulls team.
There’s still a good opportunity for this rejuvenated Bulls team to keep their winning ways going heading out of the weekend. A Bulls team that has still won three of their last four games is now sporting a record of 22-29, still in the picture to get a spot in the play-in tournament next month.
How the Chicago Bulls can continue a strong playoff push?
Next up for LaVine and the Bulls is a meeting with the Minnesota Timberwolves (who just went through a big change in ownership) on the road on April 11. That gives the Bulls a good chance to get back in the win column against a team that is currently at the bottom of the NBA standings.
The schedule does lighten up a bit for the Bulls through the rest of the month of April. They had a heavy stretch of road games against some difficult competition in the last few weeks, but an easier schedule should help this team down the stretch.
Also, here’s a look at three Bulls players who must turn their game around in the near future if this team is to make a legitimate playoff push this year.
Tomas Satoransky, G
Although he was playing really well after getting moved into the starting five last month for Donovan and the Bulls, veteran combo guard Tomas Satoransky has cooled down in the last few games. Sato did also play a big role in facilitating the Bulls building a three-game winning streak earlier in the week.
Yet, Sato didn’t play well enough on April 9 in the Bulls’ loss to the Hawks. For the first time in his two seasons with the Bulls, Sato didn’t register a single point when he was the starting point guard. Sato shot a tragic 0-of-6 from the field and 0-of-3 from beyond the arc. That was good for the lowest game score of the season to date when Sato was a starter.
The one saving grace for Sato in the loss to the Hawks was that he did register 10 assists, often finding a hot LaVine for a basket.
If the plan moving forward is still for the Bulls to run Sato as the starting point guard (which it looks like it is), he’ll need to remain an efficient and reliable floor general. He’s surely helped this team since the All-Star Break when he was moved into the starting five.
Players will have off nights, and at least Sato still did really well in one regard in the loss to the Hawks. Hopefully, that means that Sato is just due for a big night when the Bulls face the Timberwolves to round out the weekend.
Troy Brown Jr., SG/SF
First-year executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley did get the Bulls some younger depth on the wing at the trade deadline. By way of snagging 21-year-old shooting guard/small forward Troy Brown Jr. from the Washington Wizards and shooting guard Javonte Green from the Boston Celtics, the Bulls did rejuvenate this portion of their rotation.
Especially with veteran shooting guard Garrett Temple dealing with lingering injury issues in the last few weeks, the role of Brown in this wing rotation for the Bulls is crucial. He’s shown flashes of brilliance on both ends of the floor, but his overall efficiency off the bench in seven games played with the Bulls thus far was less than stellar.
He’s averaged 4.6 points per game, 2.6 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.3 blocks, in his seven games played with the Bulls. And he’s shot 42.9 percent from the field, 30.8 percent from beyond the arc, and 80.0 percent from the free-throw line.
The defensive ability of Brown was definitely underrated during his few years with the Wizards. He’s played solid on-ball defense off the bench for Donovan and the Bulls when called upon this season. If he’s going to continue to get playing time in place of an injured Temple and fifth-year shooting guard/wing Denzel Valentine, the overall efficiency of Brown will need to start trending up.
Coby White, PG
It was nice to see the return of second-year former North Carolina Tar Heels point guard Coby White to the backcourt rotation earlier this week. White dealt with some neck spasms and a COVID-19 issue that kept him out of a few games to start the month of April. The 21-year-old North Carolina native White has played inconsistently both in a starter and reserve role this season, though.
The former seventh overall pick in the first round of the 2019 NBA Draft for the Bulls hasn’t quite found that same magic that saw his game explode down the stretch during his rookie campaign. In four dozen games played this season, White averaged 14.7 points per game, 4.4 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 0.5 steals, and 0.2 blocks. And he’s shot 41.1 percent from the field, 34.6 percent from beyond the arc, and 90.2 percent from the free-throw line.
White’s defensive ability is a continued point of emphasis for this team, as he’s very much struggled on that end of the floor. The offensive spark plug that he provides for this bench since he was moved out of the starting five is valuable, but it doesn’t look like he’s going to be a significant part of the future of this team’s core.
Yet for the time being, White is going to be one of the x-factors for the Bulls down the stretch given his skill set that provides volume scoring off the bench. White has scored in double figures off the bench in his last three games played. But he needs to shoot at a higher clip from deep and just be more efficient for the Bulls than he was while shooting around 35 percent from the field, in the loss to the Hawks.