NEWSLETTER
*Oprah Winfrey voice*
You get a cookie, and you get a cookie, and you get a cookie! EVERYONE GETS A COOKIE!
The entire Chicago Bulls team has taken after Alex Caruso and Patrick Beverley over the past handful of games, generating turnovers at a truly elite rate. More specifically, over their last five contests, the Bulls have forced at least 15 turnovers each game and have tied the Raptors for the league lead in opponent turnovers at 92.
What’s made this even more meaningful is they have turned these turnovers into offense better than anyone in the NBA. The Bulls have averaged a league-high 28.8 points off turnovers dating back to their matchup with the Lakers on March 26, per NBA Stats. They have scored 144 total points off the opposing team’s mistakes, which is well ahead of the second-place Thunder (123) and third-place Raptors (121).
“I think we’re doing a better job spacing the floor,” Donovan said about the boost in scoring off turnovers. “There were times where we get these steals and we run to the basket. We have got to understand giving each other room and space to breath a little bit and play. And I think guys are doing a good job of getting out wide and knowing, ‘I need to run to the 3-point line because I don’t have the advantage.’ And then other times guys are just running to the rim and getting layups.”
Conversely, the Bulls have done an increasingly better job at taking care of the basketball themselves. The Bulls hold the lowest TOV% in the NBA over the past five games. They have also allowed the 7th-fewest points off their turnovers during this stretch. Chicago now has the 9th-lowest TOV% on the season.
Easily their most impressive display of both forcing turnovers and taking care of the basketball came on Sunday afternoon. In their 23-point comeback victory over the Grizzlies, the Bulls forced 18 turnovers and won the points off turnovers battle an eye-popping 31-0. Memphis forced Chicago into just one legitimate turnover all night, per Basketball Reference.
A look into the Stathead database shows that this set a record for the fewest TOVs in Bulls franchise history. Even if we were to include the Bulls’ two shot clock violations (which aren’t counted on the box score as a traditional turnover), the Bulls would match their franchise record with just three total turnovers (which they’ve done just three other times before).
Arguably the most encouraging thing about all of this is that everyone has contributed. For example, against the Grizzlies, a total of seven players recorded at least one steal. Alex Caruso had three. Against the Charlotte Hornets, a total of nine players recorded a steal and at least three had multiple. Overall, their active hands have been a fundamental part of turning this season around. They’ve now recorded the fifth-most steals and third-most deflections since the All-Star break.
I also went through each of NBA dot com’s advanced box scores for the past five games, and I counted the Bulls drawing at least 20 offensive fouls. Per NBA Stats, nine of those were charges. At the top of my head, I remember Caruso, White, and DeRozan all taking a hit.
This group buy-in on the defensive end is the primary reason why the Bulls have re-entered the Play-In mix. And it could very well end up being the primary reason they fight their way into another first-round series. Before we can go down that rabbit hole, however, they have four more regular-season games left to keep this up.
More on that here:
