One night after losing to the West-worst New Orleans Pelicans, the Chicago Bulls were ready to right their wrongs … or so we thought!
The Bulls followed up one of their most disappointing performances of the season with an even more grimace-inducing loss. Atlanta came into tonight missing Trae Young, Jalen Johnson, and DeAndre Hunter – aka the team’s Top 3 scorers. No. 1 overall pick Zacchaire Risacher was also stuck in street clothes for the first time this season. Once again, for a franchise that prides itself on honoring the integrity of the game, this should have been a dominant W.
Instead, Chicago did what they do best. They came out looking like they already had the game in the bag only to be blindsided by the maximum effort of the Atlanta scrubs. While Chicago shot upwards of 50 percent from the field in the first quarter, they still managed only 25 points due to their seven turnovers.
The sloppiness only continued into the second quarter, which featured a 15-0 run early in the frame that put the Hawks up 42-27. The Bulls would find a little bit of life thanks to some solid minutes from their second unit, but the moment they surprisingly cut it to a 4-point game was the moment the Hawks rattled off another run. Atlanta would outscore Chicago 13-0 to put them back up 59-42 with 1:30 to go before halftime. The Bulls’ defense suffered breakdown after breakdown to round out what was an embarrassing second quarter.
Nobody in the league scores more points per game in the third quarter than the Bulls, and they kept up their reputation. Zach LaVine helped the Bulls score a couple of easy buckets in transition, while the team as a whole did a nice job putting more consistent pressure on the paint. The Bulls went 7-10 in the restricted area and 7-7 from the free-throw line in the quarter. Still, the Hawks’ ragtag team going cold from the field is what I’d attribute the more manageable score of 86-78 to going into the fourth quarter.
Look, the basketball gods weren’t going to let the Bulls win this game. While they fooled around with the idea to begin the final frame, the shorthanded Hawks eventually put them away in the exact embarrassing way they should have. No Trae Young. No Jalen Johnson. No DeAndre Hunter. And a 110-94 victory. Atlanta finished the night with a +12 advantage in points off turnovers AND a +14 advantage in second-chance points. Sound familiar? These are the exact two categories the Bulls allowed the Pelicans to dominate 24 hours earlier in another disheartening loss.
I can’t necessarily sit here and say I’m happy this happened. I still lost hair watching this appalling effort. But the truth is the more ugly losses the Bulls stack up now, the more unavoidable a trade deadline sell-off becomes. The last thing we need is for this front office to have an excuse to push for a third-straight Play-In Tournament in lieu of keeping their 2025 first-round pick.
Player Grades
Matas Buzelis – A-
Stats: 8 PTS, 5 REB, 3 BLK
Matas Buzelis was one of the most energetic players on the floor tonight. His first-half run pumped some life into a team that was on the brink of an even uglier blowout. What more does this guy need to do to show Billy Donovan he deserves more minutes?
Julian Phillips – B+
Stats: 10 PTS, 4 REB
Julian Phillips was another bright spot who Donovan should have had on the floor a lot more than 14 minutes. He was one of the only Bulls to crash the glass consistently and look for scoring opportunities off the ball.
Nikola Vucevic – C+
Stats: 14 PTS, 16 REB, 4 AST
Nikola Vucevic actually had one of the tougher matchups tonight. Facing off against Clint Capela, the big man held his own on the boards and finished with a -3 … which was shockingly the best mark of any starter.
Everyone in the Backcourt – D
The defense was as bad as it gets. LaVine and White at least adjusted as the game went along and tried to attack more off the dribble, but it was too little too late.
Box Score
Check out the full box score here.