2 Game Skid

The Chicago Bulls played & lost to the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday followed by another loss on Saturday against the same team. I wanted to wait for the second game to be played before I made this post. I mentioned in my last post that a matchup I’d be monitoring closely would be the matchup against Vooch & Embiid; two all-start centers with great skill sets on two very good teams. Embiid is no doubt the better player, he’s a defensive powerhouse with an excellent offensive arsenal; Vooch is your classic international player with great shooting & touch but not as great defensively. Vooch has had a rough start to this season, averaging almost 14 points per game on 14 shots with a 39% shooting percentage—for a center, that is terrible. His woes are impacting the Bulls in a way I had not anticipated, I thought even if he had average games that the Bulls would be okay but he does need to be an effective 3rd scorer. He’s missing very easy shots & the three ball is not falling but what makes his offensive inefficiency so bad is that if he’s not scoring, he’s just a straight up liability on the court due to his below average defense. His defensive share percentage dropped exponentially recently; he was coasting at a top 10 & now suddenly dropping to the 40s. Even though Vooch hasn’t looked like his all-star self, I don’t want to blame him entirely, this is where the coach needs to step in & change the game plan or make adjustments—something that Billy Donovan has not really done. Two games down double digits & trying to make a comeback, the Bulls failed.

Surprise! The game on Wednesday, the Bulls came out just flat; they trailed by 10 at the end of the first quarter & only scored 19 points. The defense was atrocious & we simply cannot guard the deep ball. Once again, DeMar helped push the Bulls & come out with a lead halfway through the second quarter but our defense folded. The 76ers went on a run to claim the lead once again. We let Georges Niang & Furkan Korkmaz look like the second coming of the splash brothers & let them hit threes however they pleased—the defense was just abysmal. Embiid didn’t have a great outing his first time around but he did have an excellent all-around game with a near triple double. With the Bulls not feeding the ball to Vooch, he didn’t put any strain on Embiid to play defense on him one-on-one—something that could’ve tired him out. DeMar kept the Bulls in the game throughout with a whopping 37-point outing & Zach played okay with 27 points but he did have 4 turnovers. Zach looked lost in the fourth quarter & had crucial turnovers & looked at the ref any time he bullied his way down the lane. Zach needs to learn that the NBA & its referees are calling games differently this year. Zach also seems inconsistent in his defense & coming around screens; he’s got to stay aggressive on defense—he's to athletic not to. Vooch looked flat out bad & the Bulls didn’t really do anything to get him going. Seems like this might be an issue for quite some time. The final thing I have to say about that loss is the bench play. The Bulls were outscored 30-13 in bench points—something that is happening consistently. I believe that Caruso & Ayo should be more aggressive or try to switch up the rotations since those looked pretty bad too.

Honestly, I did not see the second loss coming. I expected the Bulls to come out at home & play with a sort of revenge. They came out okay in the first quarter but just looked out of sorts. Their deficiencies were practically the same as the game prior. Defending the three ball was bad, lineup rotations looked horrible & Vooch had yet another slow game. Embiid basically had it his way the entire game as Vooch played downright horrible defense. He looked slow & barely got a hand up on Embiid’s jumpers. Even the last triple by Embiid, the dagger, was so poorly defended by Vooch that I wanted to punch the screen. This is a loss I blame enitrely on the coach though. There didn’t seem to be any adjustments made even with the Sixers playing without their defensive stud, Matisse Thybulle. I really like Javonte Green & don’t get me wrong but starting him is a mistake. Yes, he’s super athletic & provides great energy & defense but the Bulls are already a small team. Starting DJJ would be a much better move, in my humble opinion. He’s got much more length, plays solid defense & is a great rebounder. The bench played a little bit better this game with 27 points but it wasn’t enough. Billy Donovan has to find a way to get Vooch going or this is an issue that will plague the Bulls for the rest of the season. The front office also has to find a way to get a solid forward to replace the significant loss of Patrick Williams. I don’t have much to say about the second loss since it shouldn’t have happened. Lavine is struggling somewhat but I can’t help to think his thumb is bothering him & this is where Vooch has to step in & get his shots. He recently said in the post-game interview that he is okay with his new role but it seems like it still might be bothering him. For the first time in his career, he is the third scoring option on a team. Even though I said it once, I’ll say it again, Coach Donovan has got to figure out better rotations & make adjustments otherwise he will be in the hot seat.

The Bulls continue their difficult 12 game stretch with Brooklyn coming into town on Monday. This is a game where Vooch will have a mismatch all game, with Blake Griffin & LaMarcus Aldridge playing the five. KD will probably torch us since we don’t have anyone that could even slow him down but I anticipate Zo to slow down Harden, who is already having a difficult season adjusting to the new foul rules. I hope that the Bulls come out strong & aggressive, showing a sense of urgency & refusing to continue a losing skid. The Nets play relatively small too so the matchups are going to be fairly even; The Bulls just need Vooch to get going & the bench to come out & score some points. Caruso has got to be more aggressive as we know he has a great offensive arsenal. Hopefully, Coach Donovan has made adjustments & figured out a way to get the offense going more smoothly. I expect the Bulls to come out on top in this one & get back into winning form.