When every game is close, sometimes you'll lose
a legit great Bulls performance doesn't get the result
Monday night in Phoenix saw the Bulls put on perhaps their best stretch of basketball all season, peaking at a 23 point lead a few minutes into the 3rd quarter.
The Bulls were dominating the glass allowing them to get out and run, collapsing the defense, and find open shooters. Up until that point the Bulls hit 12 of their 24 three point attempts, led by Alex Caruso with five makes.
The Suns were on a back-to-back, have no bench, a starting center getting outplayed by Nikola Vucevic, and ultimately try and pass off Bradley Beal as their third “star”, so it certainly looked to me like they’d just roll over in this, as it’s just 1 of 82. They were getting to the foul line a lot more often, but that was not due to offensive force but the difference in defensive effort on both sides: the Bulls do reach and grab and trip and barrel-into ballhandlers a lot (it forces turnovers! Ayo had himself several great plays), whereas the Suns were oftentimes not even close enough to foul.
I can’t accurately assess if that Phoenix defense really picked up much, at least not in the shadow of what was a spectacular Kevin Durant run. After the Bulls peak leading margin, Durant went 12 of 17 for 30 points in 17 minutes, closing the game on a Jordan-over-Ehlo-esque double-clutch midrange jumper.
Let’s quickly pivot back to something good, which was Coby White doing his part to fend off the Durant-led Suns rally:
White’s ascendance continues to be the only (?) good thing about this season. The rest brings to mind the bigger issues in roster construction and development: the Bulls simply do not have many tall non-centers. Durant fared much worse when Alex Caruso was on the floor, but Caruso isn’t too far from the floor (he’s short, is what I’m saying) and can’t stay on the court very long. They have one tallie in Patrick Williams, who looks to be a very good wing defender and can hit open threes, but has not progressed otherwise to where the team doesn’t get much else when he’s required on the floor.
Ultimately, though encouraging and fun to watch, as a game it was ‘clutch’ again. The Bulls have been absurdly successful in these kinds of contests this year: they’ve had the most such minutes and a stellar defensive rating in them. But as we all should know (including the front office, fingers crossed!), that success rate is highly volatile and random. They can look underwhelming and get a victory in the clutch due to an opponent missed FT or three, or lose a heartbreaker in a game you looked really good in against a quality opponent.
(blow was the worst example of randomized heartbreak. You get what you want - Bradley Beal shortarming the floater - and the ball bounces out to an open Durant three)
Unfortunately, in my consumption of post-game ‘analysis’ I came across the official show complaining that DeMar DeRozan - who hit multiple late baskets and wins them more games than I can easily reference - was shooting instead of just handing the ball to Coby. The words “this team needed Zach LaVine” were also said.
Clearly a bad attempt at a lesson from this game. The actual one is that this team needs to raise its overall talent level to where things aren’t so variable in the first place. Of course more higher-end talent like Durant, but also better role-player talent that can try and guard guys like Durant.
That’s why in the coming weeks, the actual on-court record will matter less than their record in transactions. MAKE A TRADE.
This game was fun to watch but I got mad that the Bulls lost so I wish I didn't see it. This game confirmed some things for me.
First, Vuc is bad. You look at his box score and it looks really solid, but he couldn't make any plays when the game was on the line. This happens all the time. if you need a big 3, Vuc is gonna brick it. A key rebound? Here you go, Drew Eubanks. It's unreal how Vuc shrinks when the lights get brightest.
Also, Billy needs to give the ball to Coby in crunch time. I get why he calls plays for DDR at the end, but when Coby is feeling it you have to give him a chance. This happened at the end of the Rockets game-- Coby was cooking and Billy drew up an iso for DDR. Last night was the same thing. You learn by doing and Coby needs to get opportunities in these game-winning situations.
Last, Patrick Williams is just a guy. The Bulls need wings so they need him, but I am not looking forward to seeing what his contract is going to look like. He played some good defense and hit some 3s, but is really passive and has trouble finishing at the rim. I didnt look at any stats but he's gotta be one of the worst at-rim finishers ever.
This game was disappointing for several reasons, chief among them that the Bulls lost. But, also as an illustration. Alex Caruso is pure gold, and the Bulls, who are collectively fools' gold at this point, don't deserve him.
At the point he picked up his fourth foul, Durant went nuclear. Because he's so pivotal to the marginal success of this team as currently constructed, the Bulls will ask for 27 first round picks in exchange for his services, thereby making him untouchable.
Flip to Zach LaVine, who is currently headlining the Klutch-sponsored NBA's Overpaid Asshole 2024 tour, thereby making him almost as untouchable for opposite reasons. And count me into the camp of folks who severely underestimated how hard it would be to move him. Chicago's, what, now seven years into this experiment and are multiple years removed from Zach LaVine, EFFICIENCYGOD. We're to a point where the team simply plays better without him. Would Chicago have to surrender draft capital to deal him? Maybe. Would Chicago fetch a heavily protected first for him? Hopefully, or teams could opt for Terry Rozier at much less cost.
Which brings us to a nasty fork in a nasty road. The Bulls won't trade guys who they should and can't trade guys who they will.
And last night's game was a great reminder of those current coordinates. Like, the Bulls are currently sitting at the intersection of can't and won't with this roster.