A Precarious, Two-Game Winning Streak Is Still a Winning Streak! And Other Bulls Bullets

Dec 05, 2019

I did all the appropriate steps to get ready for the Bulls game last night!

Time to …

1. Plug in my laptop.

2. Grab a beer.

3. Get cozy.

4. Sit back.

5. Relax.

6. Sip said beer.

7. Turn on the Bulls.

8. And then regret everything.

— Elias Schuster (@Schuster_Elias) December 5, 2019

We avoided No. 8!

The Bulls won two games in a row! The Bulls also almost blew two games in a row … again. Be happy about the Bulls finally creating a winning streak this season, but also understand the circumstances. The Bulls took down a Kings team without De’Aaron Fox and Marvin Bagley and a Memphis Grizzlies team missing two promising rookies, Ja Morant ad Brandon Clarke. I will say though, the King beat the Nuggets and only lost to the 76ers and Celtics by a combined 7 points before that, so take that as you will. Anyway, are those two wins the most encouraging? No. Are they at least two wins? Yes.

I don’t think the opponents here matter all that much. The Bulls have been beating themselves since October 23rd and finally broke away from that trend in these last two games. The starters played well, the bench contributed, and the Zach LaVine and Lauri Markkanen duo closed out the ballgame. I want to clarify, I don’t think this team has turned a corner (if the team beats Golden State and can compete with the Heat/Raptors, then we’ll talk), but they may have gotten over a hump. Only 10,000 more humps to go!

One of those humps, the head coach. While the Bulls pulled off the W last night and the starters closed things out, Jim Boylen’s substitution pattern was confusing. The Athletic’s Darnell Mayberry discusses it more in his five takeaways after the game, so give it a read. Boylen sat the starters from basically midway through the first quarter to midway through the second quarter. The most frustrating part of this was Lauri Markkanen came out onto the court hot. He started the game 3-3 with two 3-pointers and a pretty hook shot, and then he was on the bench for 9 1/2 minutes.

LaVine is staying HOT HOT HOT.

Zach LaVine last 6 games:

30.7 ppg
3.5 apg
50.4% FG
55.5% 3PT

— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) December 5, 2019

I like how we say a player is on fire yet when they hit a clutch bucket it’s “cold.” I guess LaVine was the best of both worlds last night.

https://twitter.com/NBCSBulls/status/1202427475004932096?s=20

Wendell Carter Jr. grabbed another double-double. Annoyingly, he is only .1 rebounds away from averaging a double-double on the season (12.7 ppg, 9.9 reb), per Basketball-Reference. The big man talked with Chuck Swirsky after the game, and he couldn’t hold back a smile when asked about his shot-blocking (had four blocked shots last night).

Wendell Carter Jr. finished with a double-double tonight, scoring 16 points and grabbing 13 rebounds 💪

Hear what @wendellcarter34 had to say Inside the Locker Room: pic.twitter.com/KtGLjWx2xB

— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) December 5, 2019

PUT SOME RESPECT ON SATO’S NAME.

Satoransky's last six games:

@ Hornets – 10pts, 8ast
vs. Blazers – 11pts, 5ast
@ Warriors – 19pts, 7ast
@ Blazers – 12pts, 8ast
@ Kings – 14pts, 5ast
vs. Grizzlies – 13pts 8ast

The longest double-digit scoring streak of his career continues. Settling in.https://t.co/r89teeAx5V

— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) December 5, 2019

I talked up this man a lot during the offseason, so thank goodness he is finally showing out (I know, selfish). I like what I’ve been seeing!

It’s all about consistency now. NBC Sports Chicago’s Rob Schaefer wrote about how the team knows there is plenty to improve on after the second-straight victory. We know it, so thank goodness they know it. Dropping 20-point leads has been as easy as missing wide-open 3-pointers for this team. LaVine brought up a good way to counteract their opponent’s comeback efforts, and I couldn’t agree more: Get to the dang free-throw line. LaVine took double-digit free-throw attempts for the third-straight game. Satoransky has also been a big help in that department as of late, with eight and nine attempts in his last two games, respectively. This should be a goal every night, especially when your guards clearly have the talent advantage (which LaVine often does).

What did they win? Two free coupons to punch in late for work?

Bulls teammates Wendell Carter Jr, Denzel Valentine, coach Jim Boylen and assistant Shawn Respert had a friendly bet on last night’s Duke-Michigan State game, where the Blue Devils won, 87-75.
— Eric Woodyard (@E_Woodyard) December 4, 2019

written by

Elias Schuster

Elias Schuster is the Lead Chicago Bulls writer at Bleacher Nation. He started with BN full-time in 2019 immediately after graduating from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign with a degree in Journalism (yes, he started with the Jim Boylen Era). Since joining, Elias has been the driving force behind Bulls and NBA content for both the site and social accounts. You can follow him on Twitter/X @Schuster_Elias.

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