NEWSLETTER
When the Bulls lost to the Lakers last week, it was an enormous, frustrating, soul-crushing disappointment — even though they were never expected to win that game. But tonight, after another game the Bulls lost that they were supposed to lose, I don’t feel nearly as bad. In fact, I feel pretty good about their overall performance.
Ultimately, the Bulls lost to the Bucks by a final of 124-115, but it felt a whole lot closer than that for most of the game.
The first half was more fun…
Bulls Postgame Live starts now: https://t.co/mf8bDs3YMB pic.twitter.com/ykmMmotOBT
— Bulls Talk (@NBCSBulls) November 15, 2019
Coming into tonight’s matchup, the Bulls carried a +42 first quarter point differential, which ranked first in the Eastern Conference, and added +2 tonight in Milwaukee. At one point, they found themselves down 5 in the first, but Coby White entered the game, knocked down a couple threes and helped the Bulls go on a 13-point run.
This also happened to Lauri in the first quarter …
https://twitter.com/SLAMonline/status/1195155025020030977?s=20
… but we don’t have to linger on that.
What we should talk about, however, is Coby White’s fantastic performance. The rookie guard scored 26 points with 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals (his defense actually looked pretty great tonight). But it’s the 3-point shooting that continues to impress most.
White went 6-13 from behind the arc against the Bucks (one of those attempts was a half-court shot at half-time), one game after going 7-for-11 from 3-point land. And according to Chris Kamka, White is the first player in Bulls history with consecutive 20+ point games before turning 20 years old *and* the second player in Bulls history (of any age) to hit 6+ threes in consecutive games.
I mean … dude (thread of his 3-pointers):
Coby White just checked in and first shot a 3. pic.twitter.com/a17eQkadnE
— Ⓜ️arcusD ▶️ (@_MarcusD3_) November 15, 2019
He’s freakin’ hot.
The Bulls also had a nice, evenly spread offensive effort tonight, with five players scoring in the double-digits (Markkanen, Carter Jr., LaVine, White, Dunn). Kris Dunn, in particular, had a really nice overall game – especially on defense, where he continues to be a force for the Bulls this season:
Kris Dunn has recorded his sixth game of 3+ steals this season, all off the bench.
No other NBA player has more than 2 such games this season.
— Jeff Mangurten (@JeffGurt) November 15, 2019
Markkanen, on the other hand, may have had 8 rebounds and 13 points, but he just continues to look lost on the court this season. We’ll have more on that later.
Zach had a good and productive … but also on-and-off night:
I love Zach LaVine
*picks flower petal*
I hate Zach LaVine
*picks flower petal*
I love Zach LaVine
*picks flower petal*
…
— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) November 15, 2019
It’s also not quite all the way there when he and White are on the court at the same time. To my eye, they haven’t quite figured out who’s the focal point when they’re both out there just yet. Time will help.
In any case, none of it was enough, as the Bulls sent the Bucks to the free throw line 47 (!) times and watched them drain 34 (!!) of them. And when Giannis Antetokounmpo wasn’t taking over the game (mostly in the 3rd quarter), Eric Bledsoe was.
Even still, this was an impressive performance from the Bulls. That may not count in the win column, but they held their own – and kept it extremely close – against one of the best teams in the East. Good on them. If they keep playing as well as they did tonight, the Bulls will be just fine this season.
Elias will have more for you on tonight’s loss tomorrow.
