The latest Chicago Bulls news for April 5, including another crazy Josh Giddey stat line, Coby White's new franchise record and updated Play-In standings and lottery odds.
Josh Giddey's latest triple-double is even more impressive than others
In a 118-113 win over the Portland Trail Blazers last night, Bulls guard Josh Giddey notched his sixth triple-double of the season, a career high for the 22-year-old. That's become a relatively regular occurrence during the second half of 2024-25 as Giddey continues to develop as a shooter and scorer.
But last night's stat line, which is impressive on the surface—15 points, 19 rebounds (five offensive) and 12 assists—might be his best of the season. Why? Because he only turned the ball over twice.
For those keeping track, that's a 5:1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Giddey is averaging 7.1 assists and 2.8 giveaways this year, the latter a number that has flown under the radar given his leap in shooting efficiency, especially from behind the three-point line.
Coby White breaks his own franchise record
Nikola Vucevic and Coby White tied for a team-high 31 points in the win over the Blazers. It was a throwback game for Vucevic, who was at times Chicago's best offensive player and its most potent shooter from deep during the first half of the season.
White and Vucevic nailed two threes apiece in the five-point victory, but the second one was a meaningful one for the 24-year-old UNC alum. It marked 210 made triples on the season, a new Bulls franchise record, surpassing the 209 that White set himself last year.
The sixth-year guard has become his team's go-to option offensively and is shooting 36.9 percent from deep this season on a career-high 8.1 attempts a night.
Updated East Play-In Tournament, NBA Draft Lottery standings
The Bulls' win, coupled with a Miami Heat loss, moved Chicago back up to ninth in the Eastern Conference standings. Both teams are 35-42 with five games left in the regular season, but the Bulls own the head-to-head tiebreaker and therefore would host the first of two possible Play-In games.
The winner of Chicago-Miami would face the loser of a game between the seventh-seeded Orlando Magic and eighth-seeded Atlanta Hawks, with the winner moving on to the playoffs to face the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round.
The bad news here is that the Bulls plummeted in the draft lottery standings to No. 12 and now hold just a 2.1 percent chance at landing the first pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
Chicago was leapfrogged by Miami due to their flip-flop in the season standings. Portland moved a game closer to solidifying a top-10 spot after losing to the Bulls, and the ever-disappointing Phoenix Suns have entered the picture, landing at No. 10 heading into play on April 5.