NEWSLETTER
Is anyone else still full from Thanksgiving? I swear my stomach remains stuffed, and that is really impacting my football Sunday snack selection.
CURSE YOU, STUFFING AND GRAVY!
• As far as losses go, dropping a one-score game to the Miami Heat is about as acceptable as they come. Not only are they the more experienced team, but they sit right on top of the Bulls with the 4th-best net rating in the league. In fact, and I pointed this out in yesterday’s pre-game post, the Bulls and Heat sit right beside each other in a number of key statistical categories. They score a similar amount of points, they shoot a similar clip from the field, and they force their opponents into a similar amount of turnovers. All of this became abundantly clear during last night’s game, and I’d consider that an encouraging sign. Most around the league would quickly agree the Miami Heat are a top-6 squad in the Eastern Conference (currently 2nd), so by competing the way they did on Saturday night, the Bulls only further cemented themselves as part of that conversation.
Jimmy Butler on the new-look Bulls: "They’re a really good team. It’s always great to see Chicago winning, and they’re having fun out there in the stands. The organization, the city deserves that. I think they’re gonna do extremely well this year."
— Rob Schaefer (@rob_schaef) November 28, 2021
• I’d also consider it rather encouraging the Bulls kept things that close despite lackluster play from several top offensive weapons. DeMar DeRozan continued to look like one of the best players in the league with an efficient 28 points in an 11-19 performance from the field, but Zach LaVine, Nikola Vucevic, and Coby White all struggled mightily to find their shot. Unfortunately, this was not anything new for Vucevic or White – two players who are still trying to find their footing on this re-invented roster. But it was surely a surprise to see LaVine fail to reach double-figures until the 4th quarter and fail to get to the free-throw line for only the fourth time this season. The good news for Chicago, however, is it’s hard to imagine these three players share many cold nights. Get even one of them to play to the level we know they’re capable of, and Chicago likely walks out of last night with a win.
• In general, I think Alex Caruso summed up my thoughts on the loss quite well:
Alex Caruso, on whether this was a measuring stick game: "They're a good team. They're going to get better. We're a good team. We're going to get better."
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) November 28, 2021
• Ok, now that we’ve looked on the bright side, let’s go hang with Darth Vader. The Bulls’ 23 turnovers last night were not only uncharacteristic but pretty unacceptable. If they want any chance at beating a crisp and experienced team like the Heat, they simply can’t lose this battle by 13. Coby White, specifically, hurt the Bulls by adding more turnovers (5) to the box score than points (4). I’ve been a White advocate since he arrived in Chicago, and I will continue to be, but there is no denying a performance like that is the exact opposite of what Donovan needs. Anyway, I don’t expect this team-wide sloppiness to become a problem moving forward – especially because not every team can execute on defense as well as Miami can – but last night did show how messy the Bulls can be when they fail to control the pace of play and get out in transition.
• Miami forced Chicago to play their game, and one way they did that is through flashes of zone defense. By taking away the midrange game, this midrange-heavy Bulls started to settle for outside jumpers that refused to fall (shot 28.2 percent from downtown). Chucking up these 3’s instead of trying to get downhill ate into exactly what the Heat wanted, and DeRozan practically said as much after the game: “Just us hesitating, not being aggressive,” DeRozan said of the zone’s impact. “We settled for a lot of jump shots, that gave them an opportunity, offensively, to go down and catch a rhythm.”
Bulls against man to man defense: 0.96 points per possession (10th)
Against zone: 0.81 against zone (24th)
Caruso broke up some zone from the middle of the floor last night, but the Bulls offense is so mid range heavy that it will always be really tough to score against
— Will Gottlieb (@wontgottlieb) November 28, 2021
• The Bulls are not a poor long-range shooting team, holding the 5th-highest 3-points field goal percentage in the league. However, they also shoot the 2nd-fewest shots from downtown per game, so it’s hard to necessarily label this as a comfortable part of their game. Miami rushed Chicago into playing a style of offense at key points of the game they are just not too familiar with, and all we can do is hope that changes the more this team sees the zone.
• Stephen Noh had a lot more good stuff on this, and I recommend you give it a read:
https://twitter.com/StephNoh/status/1464992153613086727?s=20
• We can certainly criticize Nikola Vucevic for missing shots, but I agree with Billy Donovan, the Bulls need to do a better job of putting him in a position to succeed. Whether that’s allowing him more post-up opportunities or finding him in more pick-and-pop situations, the team does need to prioritize getting him the ball in his spots. We’ve seen them do this in stints throughout the game, but I think it needs to be a more balanced effort. In other words, mix up Vucevic’s opportunities rather than just hope he gets it going early.
Billy Donovan doesn't think the #Bulls utilized Nikola Vucevic well enough tonight.
Vucevic had 7 points on 3-9 FGs. He felt his team stared Vooch down too much and gave Heat time to react defensively. Donovan calls it his job to fix that.
— Cody Westerlund (@CodyWesterlund) November 28, 2021
• Erik Spoelstra is one of the best head coaches in the NBA, and an ATO like the one below is why. What a genius call.
Awesome ATO from the ATO master himself pic.twitter.com/S1zUAgrmQB
— Will Gottlieb (@wontgottlieb) November 28, 2021
• A new name has entered the mix for the Blackhawks front office:
Blackhawks Could Go After Canadiens Assistant GM Scott Mellanby (Who Just Resigned)https://t.co/Ym0KoRRwum pic.twitter.com/0BQHWt4snq
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) November 28, 2021
