NEWSLETTER
Be kind, rewind.
The Chicago Bulls played back the same film we’ve seen far too many times this season. After suffering an OT loss to the Miami Heat last night, the Bulls dropped a one-point game on their home court to the Toronto Raptors tonight.
How did they manage to lose this one, you ask?
The same old poor, crunch-time decision-making.
How did the Bulls decision-making lose them this one?
Here ya go: https://t.co/rS8uKB7ey1
— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) December 10, 2019
Zach LaVine had the ball in his hands with a chance to win the game, and while he wisely drove to the basket, he missed a wide-open opportunity to lob up the ball for a potential Daniel Gafford game-winning dunk.
In hindsight, he wishes he did things differently. That makes two of us.
Of final empty possession and missed shot in traffic, Zach LaVine explained he was trying to attack and draw the foul. In hindsight, he wishes he had taken one more dribble and then looked for Daniel Gafford or someone else on a pass. pic.twitter.com/74OnVaOBns
— Cody Westerlund (@CodyWesterlund) December 10, 2019
At first, it looks like this game had all the makings of another special LaVine performance. He had 20 points with 5 rebounds and 5 assists in the first half. LaVine went on to finish the game with his first double-double of the season, grabbing six more boards, but he failed to score a single point in the second half. Ouch.
Meanwhile, Denzel Valentine (13 points) and Daniel Gafford (14 points, 3 blocks) carried a bulk of the team’s weight. The two played solid basketball off the bench to keep the Bulls alive down the stretch, and it’s only becoming increasingly funny to think Jim Boylen refused to give both of these guys legitimate minutes for the first several weeks of the season.
A big game from Gafford and Valentine doesn’t feel like the winning formula though, and it all just led to yet another impressive 4th quarter collapse.
The Bulls led the Raptors by 8 points with 6:30 left, and less than three minutes later the Raptors regained the lead.
Tonight marked the 5th time (by my count) the #Bulls have coughed up a 4th-quarter lead of 8 points or more and lost (at Hornets, at Knicks, vs. Lakers, vs. Warriors, vs. Raptors).
They're 8-17.
— Cody Westerlund (@CodyWesterlund) December 10, 2019
How many times can the Bulls play the same freaking game?
In other news, the fans continued to send this team a message tonight:
There appear to be a few empty seats tonight at the UC. https://t.co/susofPPnAE
— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) December 10, 2019
I guess we’ll wait and see if they received it.
