Lather, grab a lead, make a dumb mistake, rinse, hang your head, blow that lead, repeat.
• For the second-straight game – and what feels like the gazillionth time this season – the Bulls suffered a complete collapse in the final frame of action. For three quarters, they played above-average basketball against one of the better teams in the entire league. They shared the ball, played off each other, and out-hustled their opponent. All 10 players who touched the court scored, and collectively, they passed the 30 assist mark for the 9th time this season. None of that matters, however, because they didn’t do it for a full 48 minutes. In this league, you can’t take a quarter off, but the Bulls have not learned that yet.
• How bad are the Bulls in the 4th quarter really? I’ll show you:
Some Bulls 4th Quarter Stats:
Net Rating: -7.3 (29th)
Personal Fouls: 6.0 (25th)
OPP PTS: 28.8 (28th)
OPP FG%: 48.7 (29th)Other teams can do pretty much whatever they want against the Bulls at the end of games.
— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) March 20, 2021
Bulls’ Net Rating by quarter, 2020-21 season:
1st: -0.3 (16th)
2nd: -1.2 (15th)
3rd: +5.7 (4th)
4th: -7.3 (29th)— Rob Schaefer (@rob_schaef) March 20, 2021
4Q points during Bulls games past month:
CHI 28 LAC 35
CHI 26 IND 35
CHI 35 DET 29
CHI 26 PHI 27
CHI 27 SAC 31
CHI 20 HOU 26
CHI 23 MIN 29
CHI 16 PHX 32
CHI 25 DEN 29
CHI 32 NOP 45
CHI 20 PHI 30
CHI 22 MIA 31
CHI 33 TOR 22
CHI 21 OKC 23
CHI 19 SAS 39
CHI 27 DEN 35Record: 2-14
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) March 20, 2021
• The Boston Celtics are the only team to have a worse Net Rating than the Bulls in the 4th quarter. Chicago does absolutely none of the necessary things to pull off a win. They send their opponent to the free-throw line, they allow their opponent to shoot the 2nd-highest clip in the league, and they turn the ball over the third-most. Sure, some of these things might be reoccurring issues throughout the game, but they are only heightened at the end when it should be the opposite. Billy Donovan said it best himself in his frustrated postgame press conference last night: “We play like a self-fulfilling prophecy.”
• We can walk through Donovan’s comments all we want, but I think it’s just better if you hear them for yourself. Last night was easily the most fiery and fed-up he has been yet.
LIVE: Head Coach Billy Donovan takes questions from the media after tonight's overtime loss to the Nuggets https://t.co/zgstIjhKs9
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) March 20, 2021
• Look, I know that Donovan probably deserves some of the blame. His rotation has been questionable at times, and one would think he can inspire more discipline in his team at the end of games. However, I have a hard time really pinning any of this on him. We have seen the positive impact he’s had on this roster. He has already proven himself to be a more than qualified head coach (past and present). Meanwhile, this roster has done anything but prove itself. Donovan would never say this, but there is only so much he can do.
• Think about the broken phone charger we’ve all used at one point or another. We know there is a certain way to position the cord and phone to ensure a full charge. However, because of that, it can’t be trusted. We can’t take it over to the couch or in the car because we know it will come up short. We know it has a ceiling. Does the thing work to an extent? Yes. But is it doing the job consistently enough? No. Eventually, it’s just time to get a new charger. This Bulls roster can get the job done against depleted or lesser opponents, but when it’s time to rely on them in a greater situation, they can’t come through. Some might argue it can be fixed with electrical tape Billy Donovan, but that still doesn’t change the fact it is fundamentally broken.
• This analogy may not work perfectly because I do think there are several parts of this Bulls roster that can be salvaged, but as a whole … it’s broken. More time just isn’t going to change the fact that an upgrade is needed, and the deadline poses the first opportunity to start that upgrade. I’m not even saying they need to blow it up or go all-in. That’s not my decision to make. I’m simply saying that it is time to accept that mixing up the “young core” to some extent is the next step.
Is Lauri Markkanen in the Bulls long-term plans? https://t.co/W8Lg4C1YKG
— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) March 20, 2021
• Now, does this mean we should be furious at the trade deadline if nothing is done? Absolutely not. It’s no secret that this deadline lacks a lot of impact talent and that there could be a severe lack of interest to acquire or sell pieces due to the expanded playoffs. I can want the Bulls to pull off some kind of big move or acquire some significant draft compensation all I want, but I also have to remember it takes two sides to strike a deal. So all I’m really looking for is an indication that the Bulls are sniffing around. I want to know that this front office is interested in shaking things up.
• Anyway, I’m going to try to enjoy some March Madness. Here are some fun highlights from around the league to close things out.
That Wall-to-Wood connection back for the @HoustonRockets!
Wood: 13 PTS in 1Q
Wall: 5 AST in 1Q pic.twitter.com/qgXKn4GSI3— NBA (@NBA) March 20, 2021
Oh my, Ja
(via @NBATV)pic.twitter.com/3qEdJOkgqd
— Stadium (@Stadium) March 20, 2021
https://twitter.com/clutchpointsapp/status/1373107308041965568?s=21