No one is going to mistake this game for an all-time classic,
It was a solid start for the Chicago Bulls led by their big man Nikola Vucevic. He had 13 & 7 in the 1st Quarter alone which was productive offensively. As a team, the Bulls shot 5-12 from deep, 13-25 from the field, and scored 33 points. But still, they only left the opening frame up by four. A few defensive lapses, highlighted by losing track of Zion Williamson for a last-second slam to make it a four-point game to close the quarter, let New Orleans hang around.
Josh Giddey also had a very active first quarter with 5 points, 5 boards, 3 assists, and 2 steals, but he also turned over the ball twice which led to points the other way.
Vooch wasn’t on the floor to start the second quarter, and it seemed like with that being the case they stopped attacking the paint. Part of the reason Chicago had success from deep in the opening frame was their success down low early opening things up outside. In the second, they got away from attacking in the paint and started out slow from beyond the arc.
The offense heated up a little bit as the quarter went on, but the Bulls took a 59-53 lead into the half, not bad considering Coby White and Zach LaVine combined for just eight points in the first two quarters.
The third quarter saw New Orleans heat up a bit from three. The Pelicans shot 6-11 from deep in that third frame. In addition to that, while Zach LaVine heated up, the Bulls offense got a little more stagnant. Ball movement died down a bit and it led to some forced looks from three. However, Zach’s big quarter kept the frame close and it was 86-86 headed into the fourth.
The fourth quarter though was all Pelicans early. They jumped out to a 98-90 lead thanks to a 12-4 run to begin the final frame. Defense really let Chicago down in the fourth quarter and that allowed the Pelicans to get out to that run grab the lead and hold onto it as the game came to a close. This game just kind of felt like if New Orleans was able to get hot from deep they would be able to pull away, and that’s exactly what happened.
As has been the story entirely too often with the Bulls this season, defense and turnovers let them down when it mattered. New Orleans also dominated on the offensive glass which led to a big advantage in second-chance points. Once the Pelicans started hitting their threes, the game was pretty much over.
Oh well, we’re onto Atlanta I guess.
Bulls Player Grades
Josh Giddey – B (Ankin Law: “Making it Personal” Player of the Game)
Stats: 7 PTS, 13 REB, 12 AST
Man, if Giddey can learn to just somewhat consistently hit open looks from three he’s going to be a dangerous, dangerous player. Until then, he’s just going to be limited. He did a good job limiting the turnovers tonight, his two came early. He had three steals and a block defensively too. He’s getting better all around, but 2-12 from the field and 1-6 from three (with a lot of good looks) doesn’t cut it.
Nikola Vucevic – B-
Stats: 22 PTS, 15 REB, 2 AST
The numbers look really nice, but after the opening quarter, we didn’t really hear a ton from Vooch. It was 13 points and 7 boards from him in that first quarter, but only 9 points the rest of the way.
Coby White – C
Stats: 22 PTS, 4 AST, 3 REB, 1-8 3PT
Coby looked fine in his return to the lineup from a neck injury, but he struggled from deep. It was one of his off nights shooting the ball. While I appreciate he does try and shoot through his struggles, he’s got to be better than 1-8.
Zach LaVine – C-
Stats: 25 PTS, 7 REB, 5 AST, 5 TO
It wasn’t Zach’s best night. And that’s how you know he’s so good. On an off night, he still had 25, 7 and 5. The big problem in this one was those turnovers. Granted, the Bulls were chasing in the second half and he was trying to make some things happen, but that’s just too many turnovers.
Check out the full box score here.