Bulls React to Luka, Bucks Come to Town, Still Waiting on the Front Office, and Other Bulls Bullets

First thing first … DID YOU SEE WHAT LUKA DONCIC DID LAST NIGHT!? The Dallas Mavericks’ superstar went completely berserk against the New York Knicks, dropping 60 points, 21 rebounds, and 10 assists in an OT win at home.

It’s one of the most insane and dominant individual performances you’ll ever see, and it caught the eye of some players in Chicago.

  • Nikola Vucevic, DeMar DeRozan, and Andre Drummond all couldn’t believe their eyes when they got the notification on their phone:
  • We all knew that Doncic had the potential to be truly special when he was owning grown men overseas at just 16 years old. But this stat line suggests that his ceiling is even higher than it once thought. I mean, the guy is just 23 years old and just put up one of the most amazing box scores in NBA history. If he’s doing this during his fifth season in the NBA … what will he be doing when he hits his prime!?
  • Nothing would be more Bulls than losing to the Rockets before beating the Bucks for a second time this season. Their last performance against Milwaukee was arguably their most impressive of the year. They played some of their best defensive basketball of the past two seasons, forcing the Bucks into 20 turnovers and scoring 17 points off those turnovers. They also managed to hold Giannis and Co. to just a 31.6 performance from behind the arc, while they put together a surprising 18-42 showing.
  • If they want any chance at stealing another game, the recipe will have to be exactly the same. Not only are they going to have to play one of their more physical games on the defensive end, but they’re going to have to knock down a lot of shots they don’t normally make. They also can’t fall into a trap of thinking that the Bucks’ recent struggles will carry over into this game. Milwaukee has shockingly lost three in a row, averaging just 108 points over those games. While it can oftentimes feel like a good thing to have a reeling team come into your house, I have no question Milwaukee views this specific game as a way to get back on track. They’ll be no lack of motivation to come out and dominate.
  • The Athletic’s Darnell Mayberry said what needed to be said. After the 10-win Houston Rockets blew the doors off the Chicago Bulls *at the United Center,* Mayberry officially declared the Bulls’ “Big 3” dead. If you haven’t given his scathing review a read, I recommend you do so here.
  • Look, I don’t necessarily believe the Bulls are broken behind repair. But I do believe it will take a lot of manpower to fix the mess that has been made. The fact of the matter is this roster isn’t built to win at a consistent level. The team’s three-best players simply do not complement each other at the level that is needed to be taken seriously, and the supporting cast also isn’t strong enough to regularly make up for their deficiencies. Whether it be the egregious lack of shooting or blatant issues protecting the paint, many tweaks need to be made to give this team any semblance of hope.
  • And, to be precise, those tweaks must be made … like … now. The longer this front office sits on their hands, the longer they delay the inevitable. If you aren’t planning to continue a future with Nikola Vucevic, you have to trade him now. If the goal is still to win in the short term, you have to start adding players who can help for next season now. If you’re having doubts about the compatibility of DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine, you have to start picking up the phone. We were reminded this summer that the NBA is an ever-changing game. Teams are always improving and one successful season doesn’t guarantee another. A successful front office is a flexible front office – not a quiet one.
  • Your monthly reminder that Marko Simonovic is currently on a three-year deal and taking up one full-time roster spot. I mean no disrespect to the big man, but this has turned out to be a massive waste of a contract for a team that is trying to compete. I guess we should just add it to the list of moves that simply haven’t panned out for this front office.
  • I can’t wait to trade the 1st or 2nd pick for a HAUL.
  • Heyward is going to have some kind of crazy bounce-back season, isn’t he?
  • written by

    Elias Schuster is the Lead Chicago Bulls writer at Bleacher Nation. He started with BN full-time in 2019 immediately after graduating from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign with a degree in Journalism (yes, he started with the Jim Boylen Era). Since joining, Elias has been the driving force behind Bulls and NBA content for both the site and social accounts. You can follow him on Twitter/X @Schuster_Elias.

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