Right when you think the Chicago Bulls’ offense can’t look worse, they go and shoot 17-47 in the first half.
I’m typing this postgame from my seat at the Fiserv Forum, so you can trust me when I tell you I was BAFFLED the Bulls were only down 10 at the half. Perhaps it was the raucous Bucks fans that made things feel worse than they were, but I tend to believe my eyes didn’t deceive me, especially knowing this group’s track record.
One night after beginning the game 0-8 from the field, the team did it again. Even worse, after matching their season low in first-quarter points against Detroit with 22, they locked in a new season low with just 18 points in the opening frame. Then, to add insult to atrocious shooting, Giannis Antetokounmpo nailed a buzzer-beater 3-pointer. As the Bucks fans screamed, a single angry tear rolled down my cheek and into my Spotted Cow draft.
The only redeeming thing I can say about the team’s first-half performance was that they at least chucked up 21 threes. The shot selection wasn’t particularly awful, but watching them clank the back of the rim from downtown and simply roll layups off the rim was.
The Bulls proceeded to do what they do best in the 3rd quarter … give us false hope. Thanks to their ability to force turnovers, as well as the two-man game of Nikola Vucevic and Coby White, we watched the Bulls go on a 7-0 run. A Vooch dunk later in the frame shockingly tied things up, which was followed by an insane pass from DeMar DeRozan to Coby White for — what felt like — a massive swing of momentum.
Seriously, if you haven’t seen the DeRozan assist, you must. It might prove to be the best of the season.
DeMar DeRozan Just Had the ASSIST OF THE SEASON!
So what happened next? I don’t even have to tell you, right? The Bucks went on a 13-4 run to end the quarter and take a 9-point lead into the last 12 minutes.
While both White and Vucevic did their best to chip away at the lead again, the Bulls ultimately weren’t going anywhere. Milwaukee ran away with things in a familiar fashion, and the loss felt like another one that spoke volumes about this ugly roster construction.
Not only did we watch the Bulls go 14-42 behind the arc, but the Bulls shot an abysmal 38-100 from he field. Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan combined for 8-33 shooting. Once again, the team’s two best players looked completely incapable of finding a rhythm alongside one another.
As we all know, I’ve watched or been to every single Bulls basketball game in the past three years. I want to say — other than this core’s ugly Game 3 playoff loss to the Bucks — this was one of the worst shooting displays I’ve seen since this core’s inception. And it just serves as another painful reminder that this thing is broken beyond repair. Finding the bottom of the net isn’t supposed to be this hard, especially for two All-Stars who built their entire career on doing so.
What. A. Disaster.
Check out the full box score here.
