A much-needed bounce-back win on the night of Black Friday for second-year head coach Billy Donovan and the Chicago Bulls came in the front end of back-to-back games. The Bulls hit the road yet again to face the Orlando Magic on the road at the Amway Center on the night of Nov. 26 to try and snap their two-game losing streak.
The Bulls came into this meeting with the Magic off one of the very worst losses in recent memory for this team. On Nov. 24, the Bulls fell short to head coach Stephen Silas and the Houston Rockets on the road at the Toyota Center by the final score of 118-113. Coming into that game, the Rockets had just one win and were sitting on a whopping 15-game losing streak.
And this two-game losing skid for the Bulls was built off two losses to teams with losing records.
Coby White’s huge night off the bench gets the Chicago Bulls a big 35-point win over the Magic
For multiple obvious reasons, Donovan and the Bulls needed a strong response against the Magic on this night. It also goes without saying that the Bulls have a difficult matchup ahead when they host star shooting guard/small forward Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat at home at the United Center in the back end of these back-to-back games on Nov. 27.
The Bulls dominated this matchup against the Magic through and through to the tune of one of the biggest wins in the last few seasons. A strong start for the Bulls in this game would amount to a convincing win over the Magic by the final score of 123-88.
Here’s a look at two studs, and one dud, from the Bulls’ dismantling of the Magic on the road on Nov. 26.
Chicago Bulls studs from win over Magic: Lonzo Ball
There’s just no way to talk about this win over the Magic for the Bulls without mentioning the great defensive outing from two of Chicago’s guards. The first we’re going to discuss here was the performance of the former New Orleans Pelicans and Los Angeles Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball.
After his worst outing of the season in the loss at home at the United Center to the division foe Indiana Pacers on Nov. 22, Lonzo had a very strong response in the last two games. It’s easy to say that Lonzo was the Bulls’ best player in that embarrassing loss to the Rockets on Nov. 24.
He was also arguably the Bulls’ best player in this dominant 35-point win over the Magic on Black Friday. Outside of three turnovers in this game, Lonzo essentially had a spotless two-way performance against the Magic.
He was a +22 on the floor on this night, the best mark of any starter for the Bulls. He got that by registering 13 points, four rebounds, six assists, and a whopping game-high five steals. And Lonzo shot 4-of-7 from the field, 4-of-7 from beyond the arc, and 1-of-2 from the free-throw line.
Lonzo was critical to helping the Bulls run an effective fast break in this game. He also cut down on one issue that I talked about earlier on this day, his mid-range shooting woes. All of Lonzo’s field goal attempts came from beyond the arc, and he was insanely efficient because of it in this win over the Magic.
One dud from Chicago Bulls win over the Magic: Javonte Green
I want to preface this part of the postgame studs and duds list by saying that it was really difficult to pick the one dud for the Bulls in this dismantling of the Magic on Black Friday.
But there was one player that clearly lagged behind statistically among this group of Bulls starters. the 28-year-old Virginia native wing Javonte Green posted the second-worst plus/minus (still a +13) of any of the Bulls starters. And he had the worst shooting night of any of the five, going just 2-of-7 from the field and 1-of-2 from beyond the arc.
Green also had a team-high four turnovers in this game, which is not what you want out of a low usage player like him. The two field-goal makes for Green resulted in five points, along with eight rebounds, no assists, one steal, and no blocks.
You still have to appreciate some of the dirty work that Green did to come up with the eight rebounds, including one offensive board, and his one steal on the night. That is what Donovan and the Bulls have Green in the starting unit for game in and game out.
There were just some head-scratching plays that Green made on the offensive end of the floor where you’d like to see him take a smarter shot or keep the ball moving. Any night where a player like Green registers four turnovers, shoots 28.5 percent from the field, and doesn’t have a single assist is not great for him.
Chicago Bulls studs from win over Magic: Coby White
The other Bulls’ guard that had just a massive night on the defensive end of the floor is a fellow former Laker and the former Texas A&M Aggies star Alex Caruso. But we couldn’t go with Caruso here thanks to another huge night for another Bulls guard. The play of third-year former North Carolina Tar Heels point guard Coby White was just too amazing in this win over the Magic.
I do want to mention the fact that Caruso was tremendous for the Bulls on the defensive end of the floor, with four steals off the bench. Caruso continues to prove he is one of the very best perimeter defenders in the NBA. This was the fifth game this season for Caruso with at least four steals, and the seventh with at least three steals.
Moreover, it was White’s scoring that really proved to be a difference-maker early for this Bulls team. He provided a spark off the bench and proved to be someone that Donovan could turn to in nearly every situation. The fact that White also played some solid on-ball defense shows how he could really be settling into his spot in the rotation after coming back from shoulder surgery earlier this month.
On this night, White actually managed a bench-high 24 points in this game. He nearly topped the scoring efforts of both star shooting guard Zach LaVine and shooting guard/forward DeMar DeRozan in this win over the Magic.
To get his 24 points, White shot an impressive 9-of-11 from the field, 2-of-4 from beyond the arc, and 0-of-1 from the free-throw line. He also registered four rebounds, two assists, one steal, no blocks, and one turnover. White was also a game-high +39 in this win.