Anyone’s alma mater playing during this championship weekend?
If so, I wish your team luck. I’m an Illini alum, so I don’t really know what this “championship weekend” feeling is like. The team went 6-6 this regular season, so that’s kind of like our version of a championship victory.
Do you know who else hasn’t had the championship feeling in a while? Anyone playing for the Chicago Bulls! Bullets time!
I woke up like this …
The Chicago Bulls were in prime position to pick up three-straight wins for the first time since February against the Golden State Warriors last night, but I think you already know how that went.
Heading into the matchup, the Warriors were on a four-game losing streak with their last win coming against the Bulls on November 27th. The win wasn’t a gimme, sure, but with the Bulls proving they could finally take care of business in the 4th quarter against the Kings and Grizzlies, it felt like they could at least do the same against the 4-19 Warriors. Alas, that wasn’t the case.
Oddly enough, the Bulls “stars” played decently well, with LaVine and Markkanen each scoring at least 20 points for only the second time this season. Coby White also contributed well off the bench, shooting 4-5 from downtown with 14 points. I’ll admit the Warriors made their handful of tough shots to stay in the game, but when push came to shove in the 4th quarter, the Bulls (supposed) talent advantage SHOULD have won out. Instead, we saw a flashback of the Bulls’ previous woes, as iso-ball and poorly drawn plays took over the offense. Meanwhile, on the other end of the court, the aggressive defensive scheme cost them a pivotal bucket.
While watching this live my head started to shake the moment Draymond stepped up to set the pick. He knew the Bulls were going to blitz and he’d likely have a wide-open look for the go-ahead basket. That’s just a veteran understanding of the game. In general, the Bulls were just outsmarted and out-coached during the end of this one. The Warriors displayed discipline, while the Bulls watched Denzel Valentine get his second technical foul because he couldn’t keep his mouth shut on the bench.
The Score’s Cody Westerlund shared a quote from Wendell Carter Jr. that illustrates the difference between these two teams well. I encourage you to go read the full thing here, but here’s a brief snippet: “There was like two minutes left in the game. Everybody was running around trying to stop the ball, trying to do something to help the team win. I don’t think it was anything that could’ve been done differently.” Everyone trying to help the team win? Good. Everyone running around trying to stop the ball? Eh, doesn’t sound like the best strategy. I know this might just be the way Carter Jr. describes it, but that sure does sound like a lack of discipline … unless they were told to do that?
“Just learn to move on. That’s all you can do,” Lauri Markkanen said after the game (via The Athletic). Is that really all you can do? I feel like these teams should be taught to remember these losses and carry a chip on their shoulder. Markkanen’s comment here reminds me of when the Bulls were saying there was “no shame” in the last loss to the Warriors. Get angry, please!
Yup, this about sums it all up.
Cool. Great. Lovely. Wonderful.
Copy and Paste: At least we have Coby White (nah, really though, he’s great)!
And at least we had Joakim Noah! Have a good Saturday!
https://twitter.com/statmuse/status/1203328468961955840?s=20