The Chicago Bulls are still off to one of the hottest starts in the NBA, but Friday night was a reminder that they still have a long way to go to truly be considered "elite."
The Chicago Bulls are still off to one of the hottest starts in the NBA, but Friday night was a reminder that they still have a long way to go to truly be considered "elite," but getting to full strength would be a great way to test that. Billy Donovan surely would hear no excuses for their loss, but the Bulls bench didn't look it's usual self with a minute-restricted Ayo Dosunmu returning to the rotation.
Dosunmu came into the night the third-leading scorer on the Bulls at 16 PPG, and one of the better 3-point shooters on the team. He was 1-3 from 3-point range in his 30-minute stint on Friday. The Bulls "everybody eats" approach to offense means, of course, no one player is to blame for any loss. I only started with Ayo's 33% night shooting from 3-point range because it was indicative of the Bulls as a whole for the evening.
Patrick Williams was solid off the bench defensively, appearing to be comfortable as one can be guarding Milwaukee's two-time MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo. But offensively, Williams was 2-6 from the field and 2-4 on 3-point FGs. His 50% shooting from deep on low-volume was among the best marks on Chicago, which was a major part of the problem on the night. Chicago shot 30.3% from the 3-point line on the night, stymied at times by the Bucks zone defense.
Bucks head coach Doc Rivers called out Kyle Kuzma specifically for his defensive effort and for being "phenomenal in his role," postgame. Rivers said of Kuzma, "He's not going to be on the point guard most nights....there are not a lot 6-[foot]-8 PGs in this league other than [Josh] Giddey, ya know, there are a few others." Giddey--who averages over 23 PPG on the year--scored 16 points on 40% shooting, bottled up by the Bucks length. Giddey still found a way to make a huge impact with 14 assists vs. 4 turnovers on a night Chicago just couldn't buy a bucket from the perimeter.
Matas Buzelis was unafraid of the Bucks shot-blocking tandem of Antetokounmpo and Myles Turner, getting downhill repeatedly en route to an efficient night that saw him start 6-6 from the field. He finished the night with a Bulls-leading 20 points (8-13 FGs), 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and a block, continuing to look like a future All-Star for Chicago, especially on a night where the offense as a whole was struggling.
The story of the game was, of course, Antetokounmpo, who knocked down a 26-foot 3-pointer to stretch the Bucks 4th quarter lead to 107-99 with just over five minutes left in the game. It was a critical stretch, and the triple got Antetokounmpo up to 35 points. He would finish the night with 41 points, 15 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 blocks, and 2 steals. Antetokounmpo's new frontcourt mate Myles Turner was also instrumental in the Bulls loss. Turner finished with 23 points (5-8 3-PT FG), 8 rebounds, 4 steals, and a block. He didn't give up much to Vucevic or anyone else at the rim, while torching the Bulls pick-and-pop defense.
It would've been great if the Bulls did a better job of handling Milwaukee's zone, or if Giddey could've generated more offense for himself against Kyle Kuzma, but Donovan and the coaching staff will surely be locked in on improving the effort level defensively. The Bucks scored 73 points in the second half of the Bulls 16-point loss. A Chicago team that gets by defensively by crashing the defensive glass allowed 14 offensive rebounds to the Bucks.
Milwaukee finished with a 53-45 rebound advantage, a 18-16 free throw advantage, and +6 advantage in 3-pointers made. The Bulls impressive 34 assists and surprising two-point advantage in points in the paint wasn't enough on a night were the 3-pointers just weren't falling.
Losses like Friday night surely have the coaching staff eagerly awaiting the positive floor-spacing element that a healthy Coby White would add to the rotation. The Bulls suffered their first NBA Cup loss on Friday night, but get a chance to bounce back on Saturday against the Cleveland Cavaliers and old friend Lonzo Ball.
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