Category: general

On the one hand, the Chicago Bulls deserved some grace as they suited up for their fifth game in seven days. This past week has been a sprint, so a start-to-finish blowout may have been too much to ask. On the other hand, the Washington Wizards came into the night 1-14 and have pretty comfortably looked like the worst team in the NBA. They are the exact kind of unit you’re supposed to take care of, no matter the circumstances. And the Bulls struggled to do that to a concerning degree. They allowed Washington to drop 41 points in the first quarter, which included a perfect 13-13 effort from the free-throw line. Eight of the nine players who took the floor in the opening frame found the bottom of the net. Now, in the Bulls’ defense, their offense was also finding plenty of its own success. They shot 50.0 percent from the field in the first 12 minutes and also posted double-digit free throws in the quarter. Even more importantly, they were heavily focused on the offensive glass, where they grabbed 8 rebounds alone and set up some helpful second-chance opportunities. Coby White was also a big help in his first start of the season. He shot 3-4 from the field in the first quarter for 10 points. The three he sank with 26 seconds left in the quarter cut the Wizards’ lead to just 41-40. The Bulls would soon grab the lead thanks to a Jalen Smith three-pointer. However, the lead was short-lived. Washington has very little trouble getting into their offense against the Bulls’ lackluster defense. They were especially able to take advantage of fastbreak situations, which included an ugly sequence for Chicago that turned the ball over on back-to-back possessions to set up a Vukcevic slam and Cam Whitmore alley-oop layup. About midway through the quarter, the Wizards found themselves up 65-49. As surprising as it should have been, the deficit felt on-brand for a Bulls team that has recently played up or down to its opponents. Nikola Vucevic helped close out the half by scoring 8 of the team’s last 13 points, helping shrink the deficit to a much more manageable 70-64. Still, the fact that Washington already had that many points on the board and doubled up Chicago from behind the arc (eight threes) made that a frustrating and disappointing half of basketball. The third quarter wasn’t much better. Any kind of offensive rhythm either team had vanished. The Wizards shot 11-26 from the field, whereas the Bulls went 10-24 and 3-11 from long range. While they did at least assist on nine of their ten made field goals, the Bulls just couldn’t seem to get over the hump. Washington would extend their lead to double digits again, only to let the Bulls creep back in right at the end of the quarter. It was here that we realized the Bulls were destined for another clutch game – their 11th of the season. Finally, with just under 6 minutes left to go, the Bulls put together the run they had been waiting for. Tre Jones drained a floating jumper before Vucevic followed that up with a triple. Then, Matas Buzelis drained his own bucket from long range, giving the Bulls a slim 112-110 lead. Chicago was able to push this to a 5-point advantage with under 3 minutes to go, but back-to-back threes by CJ McCollum and Kyshawn George had Washington back on top. What ended up proving to be the difference-maker came when Tre Jones forced his way to the free-throw line with 34.2 seconds left and drained both makes to take the lead. The guard came through once again in the final second of action. The Bulls were only up 121-120, and the Wizards had the ball after Coby White badly missed a three. Washington had a chance to go for the win, but Tre Jones put the pressure on George and forced a bad pass out of bounds. Jones finished the evening a +7, and you could feel that positive impact even if the numbers weren’t jaw-dropping. As I feel like I continue to say, a win is a win. They should be happy they closed out another tight one. At the same time, you have to sit down and really learn from this past week of action. There were some high highs and some low lows. Addressing the reasons for the latter sooner rather than later is a necessity. Player Grades Josh Giddey – B+Stats: 18 PTS, 12 REB, 11 AST, 3 STL I’m not giving anyone an A when things were THIS close against the Wizards. But Josh Giddey had a relatively strong night, which included a very good fourth quarter to help the Bulls seal the win. Nikola Vucevic – B+Stats: 28 PTS, 12 REB Obviously, Nikola Vucevic didn’t do much to help solve the Bulls’ defensive woes, but he tied his season-high from opening night with 28 points on 12-20 shooting! Coby White – BStats: 20 PTS, 6 AST, 3 REB Coby White finished his first start of the year as the team’s leader with a +8. Having said that, there is no question he struggled at times to carry this offense in the way they needed. He shot 6-16 from the field, went 3-11 from downtown, and had four turnovers. Matas Buzelis – C+Stats: 13 PTS, 6 REB, 3 BLK Would I have liked to see Matas Buzelis beat up more on this rebuilding team? Absolutely. But he at least came through with a big bucket and defensive play down the stretch. Tre Jones – CStats: 10 PTS, 2 REB, 1 AST Tre Jones came through in the end, but he’s struggled to look like his early-season self the last two games after coming off injury. Moving to the bench role might also come with a slight challenge. Jalen Smith – C-Stats: 9 PTS, 9 REB, 1 AST This was a strange game from Jalen Smith, who seemed a little too quick to let shots fly. He shot 4-13 from the field overall in just his 19 minutes of action. Chicago Bulls Box Score Check out the full box score here.