NEWSLETTER
You can’t lose that game if you want to be taken seriously. Simple as that.
The Chicago Bulls decided the outcome of tonight in the first half. They scored just 17 points in the opening frame as they let the Sacramento Kings dominate the pace of play. Entirely out of sync on the offensive end and repeatedly a step low on the opposite side of the ball, the Bulls walked into the locker room down 20 while shooting 36.6 percent from the field.
The second half was full of life. Nikola Vucevic single-handedly dragged the Bulls back into the game with physical play on Domantas Sabonis and some timely shotmaking from behind the arc. He was throwing his body on the floor and providing the kind of effort that took far too long for his teammates to match. Once they did, we saw the Bulls almost easily carve a 20-point deficit all the way down to a one-score game. But it was too little too late.
Head coach Billy Donovan has harped all season long about playing the full 48 minutes. Tonight is why. No one will question the fact that the Bulls are the better basketball team than the Kings, but they didn’t win this game because they refused to play like it until the second half. This level of inconsistency is what truly terrifies me with just 14 games left to go in the regular season.
If I can’t trust them to recognize the opportunity in front of them and take full advantage of it, how can I trust them to make any noise at all come playoff time? Tonight is a win that great teams get 10 times out of 10, especially when they realize the 2nd-toughest remaining schedule rests ahead.
Check out the full box score here.
