Relying on LaVine, Re-Living Rose, Trading Dunn and His Defense, and Other Bulls Bullets

Elias Schuster

Dec 20, 2019

I didn’t necessarily think this was where my Thursday would take me, but I wrote a hate-piece about a goat yesterday.

Stupid Goat Makes Stupid Choice About Real GOAThttps://t.co/dzODd3RxTR

— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) December 19, 2019

You know what Ma always says: “Never trust a goat to correctly choose the G.O.A.T.”

Five Thirty-Eight’s Chris Herring decided to ask the painful question, Why Aren’t the Chicago Bulls Better? Let’s check the board. Survey says … Jim Boylen! The internet let Herring know how they felt about the head coach almost immediately after the article was shared, but let’s not be so reductive – the real answer stretches far beyond Boylen, even if he is an obvious choice. Of course, the front office management and general ownership decisions need to be considered, and we can’t ignore the shortcomings of the team’s actual talent, either.

Herring focuses a bit more on how the players have simply underachieved, calling out their 30th offensive rating in the NBA and the sheer lack of a real consistent offensive presence outside Zach LaVine or Lauri Markkanen (when he’s on his game). At this point in the season, the hope would be the Bulls would find at least a third go-to scorer. Coby White has been the definition of inconsistent and Wendell Carter Jr. could be that figure, in my opinion, but we still haven’t seen the Bulls work hard enough to find him a bucket (not to mention, he still will not shoot the darn ball).

Anyway, Herring mentions how Zach LaVine probably feels like he HAS to get the job done still. And to point this out, the article shares LaVine ‘s third-highest usage rate in the NBA and the fact that he’s played more than any NBA player in the clutch this season. As much as I wish this didn’t have to be the case, it’s necessary. The Bulls wouldn’t be in nearly as many of these games if it wasn’t for LaVine. The hope heading into this season was that, unlike last year, he’d have enough help to relieve some of the pressure. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case.

Who’s on your All-Decade team?

On the latest Bulls Talk Podcast @Jason1Goff, @KendallG13, @Bulls_Peck, and @BawlSports debate our Bulls all-decade team.

LISTEN: https://t.co/wPKN8iTAAf pic.twitter.com/hruIyPXCkD

— Bulls Talk (@NBCSBulls) December 20, 2019

Speaking of this last decade, Forbes contributor Jason Patt wrote about the Bulls journey to irrelevancy and the challenge of flipping the script. Check it out!

Why must the Basketball Gods treat us this way!?

It's not even Christmas & here's a partial list of NBA players who are out with injuries:
Eastern Conference
M. Smart
R. Williams
K. Irving
C. LeVert
M. Gasol
P. Siakam
N. Powell
F. VanVleet
O. Porter
R. Jackson
V. Oladipo
E. Bledsoe
P. Washington
A. Aminu
T. Bryant
R. Hachimura
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) December 20, 2019

If you’re more of a visual learner, here’s a look at how bad the Bulls are:

Through games on Dec. 18, how has your favorite #NBA team fared on both ends of the floor during the 2019-20 season? Has it overcome a tough schedule or capitalized on an easy one?
(The larger the logo, the tougher the schedule.) pic.twitter.com/zvcgVSNmN0

— NBA Math (@NBA_Math) December 19, 2019

Hey, at least they’re not in the bad offense AND bad defense section! In fact, they are apparently the 8th best defense, by my quick count. Who saw that coming?

Speaking of defense, Kris Dunn has been one of the Bulls better defenders this season, but Bleacher Report came up with a trade for each team, and in their world, the Bulls trade Dunn to the Atlanta Hawks for DeAndre’ Bembry (F) and Bruno Fernando (C). While the trade might add a promising young big and another reserve piece at the wing, I’m conflicted about whether that return is better than just keeping Dunn.

D-ROSE MIXTAPE LET’S GOOOOOOO

D-Rose immediately put the league on notice. Some of these rookie highlights are just disgusting.

Bulls Mixtape Vol. VIII | @ChevyDrivesChi pic.twitter.com/MBTt2CU7vD

— Bulls Talk (@NBCSBulls) December 20, 2019

Woah, this is insanely dope.

https://twitter.com/NBCSBulls/status/1207811449587994634?s=20

Aw, Lauri’s being all motivational and stuff.

Whatever it takes #BullsNation pic.twitter.com/XALFSpkAEv

— Lauri Markkanen (@MarkkanenLauri) December 19, 2019

“When every father, mayor, rapper jump ship!”

https://twitter.com/chicagobulls/status/1207876265816014849?s=20

Giannis drilling 3’s with ease is utterly terrifying. If he gets anywhere near shooting 34 percent, just end the league.

https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1207868066475855872?s=20

written by

Elias Schuster

Elias Schuster is the Lead Bulls Writer at Bleacher Nation. You can follow him on Twitter @Schuster_Elias.

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