Following the Chicago Bulls is like boarding a mystery plane. You know you’re going on a trip, but you have zero idea where you’ll land. Sometimes, it’s Rome and a glass of wine with all-you-can-eat paste is waiting for you.
Other times, it’s Cleveland.
- We landed in Italy last night. The Chicago Bulls completed the season sweep of a Western Conference juggernaut with the 109-101 victory. For the most part, they controlled the game since the opening tip-off. We watched them shoot a ridiculous 17-29 from downtown and dish 30 assists against the league’s top-ranked defense. They made things look borderline easy, which only made this week of basketball all the more frustrating.
- Indeed, the last four games describe the 2023-24 Chicago Bulls perfectly. They lost to the Washington Wizards and Brooklyn Nets in the same week they beat the Indiana Pacers by 26 and the Minnesota Timberwolves by 8 points. And, to be clear, both the Pacers and Timberwolves had every reason to be in full try-hard mode. The Pacers are trying to avoid falling into the Play-In Tournament. The Miami Heat are only a half-game behind in 7th. As for Minnesota, they have been in a fierce three-game race for the West’s top spot. The Thunder come into the day with the lead, but the Nuggets sit just a half-game behind in 2nd and the Timberwolves are in 3rd with just a 1.0 game deficit. The Bulls weren’t facing some relaxed playoff teams, folks. These were genuinely good wins.
- Still, the inconsistency says it all. The Bulls aren’t supposed to be this wishy-washy .500 team three years into their “win-now” experiment. This group is supposed to have a clear playoff-caliber identity by now. The lack of that tells us all we need to know about what the future should hold for this preexisting core. Even DeMar DeRozan understands the frustration narrative around this team. Of course, he still believes in what they’re “building,” but the guy couldn’t deny the painfully obvious after the game:
“It’s frustrating because we know our capabilities,” DeRozan told reporters (h/t Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune). We know we could beat anybody. So when we lose the games where – I see it all the time where Twitter goes crazy on us. [They] say we’re the most confusing team, whatever they say. It’s definitely frustrating because that’s not us. When we go out and perform like we did tonight, that’s who we are, and it’s all about being consistent … These last however many games, we have to play this way.”
- I hope Alex Caruso got the biggest orange slices and the first choice of Capri Sun flavor after the game. The Chicago Bulls do not win that game without his two-way impact. Not only did he finish the night with a career-high seven 3-pointers, but he snatched 5 steals and helped old Anthony Edwards to 9-20 shooting. His (bloody) fingerprints were all over that game, and he did this despite entering the day as questionable with an ankle sprain.
- We have the Minnesota Timberwolves’ DJ to thank for Caruso’s electric performance. According to the man himself, the bangers playing pre-game lit a fire under him. So how soon until the Timberwolves fire the in-game DJ?
- Rudy Gobert took offense to how Caruso approached a box out last night. The smaller defender tried to get under Gobert to keep him from securing the rebound, which led to the big man giving Caruso a shove and barking at the refs. He went on to say that he hopes the league takes a closer look at the incident after the game. Here is a look at the scuffle …
- Do I understand where some of Gobert’s frustration stems from? Sure. He’s a big guy and doesn’t want to be taken out by the leg. At the same time, Caruso isn’t really trying to do anything malicious here. While he checked him a little with the hip, the physicality is about trying to box out the center in hopes of avoiding an offensive rebound opportunity. If anything, Gobert’s reaction to whip him around was the more unnecessary move.
- Here is Gobert’s comment, by the way …
- Yes, Alex Caruso’s seventh 3-pointer was totally clutch and awesome. But we should give some credit to Nikola Vucevic here. The immediate feed off the PnR is super impressive. The relay may have been a bit off the mark, but his quick processing ability is what set up that open look.
- Speaking of clutch shots, Coby White hit a couple in the fourth quarter. He finished the night 6-10 shooting with 17 points. While it wasn’t exactly the explosive Coby White game we’ve grown accustomed to, it was a positive sign after a rough couple of weeks. Let’s hope this game helped him find his rhythm against before the Play-In Tournament.
- Coby White now belongs in the franchise record books!
- So … tonight is kind of a big deal. The Atlanta Hawks will come to town with a chance to bite into the Chicago Bulls’ lead for the No. 9 seed. A win over Minnesota certainly helps the Bulls’ chances of hosting the Round 1 Play-In game, but their lead over the Hawks is just 1.5 games. A victory this evening would also give Chicago a double advantage of sorts. Not only would they gain another game on Atlanta, but they would also officially lock in the tiebreaker advantage.
- I still love this Keenan Allen trade.
- If you need me, I’ll be at a rainy Wrigley Field!