NEWSLETTER
When do you y’all take down your Christmas decorations? I’m willing to leave them up for another week or so, that way I can milk that last ounce of holiday cheer. Meanwhile, my grinch girlfriend seems anxious to pack it all up this weekend.
She may have a point, though. Time can fly, and before you know it you’re one of the people who has their tree up on Valentine’s Day. And those who willingly do that need to go to HA (Holidayolics Anonymous).
• Bad news: The Chicago Bulls are nowhere near as talented as the Milwaukee Bucks. Good news: We already knew this. Last night’s game was simply a reminder that this Bulls team has a long way to go before they’re competing with the league’s best of the best. Plus, it sure didn’t help that these guys were on the backend of a back-to-back and had four players in another state due to NBA protocol. The game just wasn’t one this Bulls team was going to win, and that’s okay. Instead, what a matchup against arguably the best team in the Eastern Conference did for Chicago is provide another valuable learning experience, which is actually something this Billy Donovan-led squad has been able to use to their advantage.
• Unlike Jim Boylen who would choose to question his player’s soul and spirit after the game, Donovan has been much better about pinpointing key problems for the team this season. In the postgame last night, he spoke about how the Bucks’ physicality threw this young Bulls team off their tracks. Cutting lanes failed to open up all night, and thus several players ended up forcing things rather than looking for other options. The backcourt duo of Zach LaVine and Coby White combined for 10 of the team’s 20 turnovers. Thaddeus Young – who had 6 assists and played a solid playmaking role for the Bulls on Friday night – also turned the ball over four times. I commend the Bulls for trying to run through their offense when the going got tough, but they have to learn how to make smarter reads against smarter defenses (and, hey, when you’re not playing the most elite defense in practice, the only way to learn how to do that is in a game environment).
Billy Donovan on Coby White and Zach LaVine: "They're the ones that need to be the driving force" behind playing to the identity the Bulls want to play.
— Cody Westerlund (@CodyWesterlund) January 2, 2021
• If anything, this game emphasized the back-and-forth affair we’ll likely see from lead guard Coby White throughout the early portion of this season. As the second-year guard learns to run the offense, he’s going to have to learn how to adjust to tougher defenses. On Thursday night, he had a career-high 10 assists, but matchups against high-IQ defenders like Jrue Holiday and Donte DiVincenzo dropped him down to only 3 on Friday. He talked about the improvements he hopes to make before Sunday’s matchup against the Dallas Mavericks after the game, so check it out:
LIVE: Coby White postgame press conference following tonight’s loss to the Bucks https://t.co/ZgNO2sH27m
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) January 2, 2021
• I wonder how sore Patrick Williams is going to be this morning. The Chicago Bulls asked their 19-year-old to do arguably the hardest thing a player can do in the NBA – try to stop Giannis Antetokounmpo. To no one’s surprise, he failed. The Greek Freak finished with 29 points, 12 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. In other words, he played like the 2x MVP and 2019 DPOY that he is.
The tracking data is in!
According to https://t.co/qIw6Hycmry, Williams at least partially guarded Giannis for 17.2 possessions last night. 3:34 minutes.
Giannis in those possessions: 12 points (5-9 FG, 1-4 3P), 4 ast, 0 turnovers. Williams also committed 2 shooting fouls on GA https://t.co/A2ggi2n3Zm
— Rob Schaefer (@rob_schaef) January 2, 2021
• Williams may have gotten owned, but he didn’t back down. After the game, his reaction to the toughest matchup of his young NBA career was exactly what Bulls fans should want it to be:
This is why I am already on board big time with AK's pick of @patricklw4 @chicagobulls on guarding Giannis," I want to guard him again and hopefully I will do better. I want to guard the best player ever night." This young man is 19. He gets it. He competes. He's a winner.
— chuck swirsky (@ctsbulls) January 2, 2021
• If I’ve noticed one thing about the Bulls No. 4 draft pick this season, it’s that he’s a sponge. This guy has learned from every experience he’s had on the court thus far, and he pretty much only looks more and more comfortable as the games go by. Sure, last night could be considered an exception, but he still looked more than comfortable accepting the challenge the Bulls put in front of him. At the of the day, I’m just growing increasingly confident in this draft selection by Arturas Karnisovas. I understood some of the immediate hesitation, but Williams has already demonstrated why he became a top priority on many team’s draft boards around the league. He has the work ethic, confidence, raw talent, and ability to learn that any franchise would love to have. And I love that Donovan is giving him all the opportunities in the world to work through things this early in his career. In my opinion, that can only do him good.
Billy Donovan on having Patrick Williams guard Giannis: "Thought the matchup would be a good experience for him… Patrick can evolve into a two-way player for us and the only way to get that experience is to be thrust into that immediately." pic.twitter.com/EZGwKbdzpc
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) January 2, 2021
• Wendell Carter Jr. is definitely scared to shoot the 3 now that games count. I can’t blame him after how the experiment went in the preseason, but defenses have given him even better looks over these past couple of days. The team needs to push him to let it fly time and again, and I was very happy to see Garrett Temple do just that last night. The more he can bring defenders out onto the perimeter, the more his game will open up.
Appeared Garrett Temple barked at him to shoot it pic.twitter.com/6PQMtp3Wex
— Rob Schaefer (@rob_schaef) January 2, 2021
• The Bulls might dodge a bullet this weekend.
Mavericks list Luka Doncic as questionable vs. Bulls with left quad contusion.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) January 2, 2021
