A Breakdown by the Bulls

The losses that hurt the most are the ones that you brought upon yourself. When you blow a twenty-point lead, it hurts way more than just a regular loss. The first half of the game was thriller & enjoyable to watch but the second half was just ugly & difficult to watch. The Bulls got out quick & played both great offense & defense until they kind of just slowed down. Allowing the Trailblazers to go on multiple runs led to a blown lead & most importantly—a loss. Winning the games that can be won is a very important part of your season, especially when you’re missing a couple of starters. These things happen though as we’ve seen the Los Angeles Lakers blow double digit leads to the Oklahoma City Thunder couple times this season but, winning teams generally don’t let this happen. It was a tough loss & even with a few moments left the game could’ve been ours but some things just aren’t meant to happen. Coach Billy Donovan, in my opinion, did not call a great game but the players should’ve been better in the second half. The Chicago Bulls are still on a learning curve & this can only make them better & give them a source of teaching for the future.

The Chicago Bulls came out hot in the first quarter with Zach hitting a three & Zo hitting a couple threes. They then quickly got out to a 14-2 run really early & continued their excellent play. Their defensive rotations looked almost flawless with deflections everywhere & a few offensive rebounds by Caruso. They really slowed down both Dame & CJ, forcing others on the team to make shots. Up seven at the end of the first quarter, things were looking really smooth. Then the head coach of the Trailblazers, Chauncey Billups, changed up the defensive scheme to a zone—something the Bulls have struggled with since the exit of Vooch. This stopped DeMar from getting to his sweet spots & forcing others on the team to play plays & hit shots. The Chicago Bulls, as an issue I’ve mentioned many times, got sloppy & didn’t keep up the intensity resulting in the Blazers to stick around. DJJ caught 4 quick fouls impacting the game more than anticipated. The small lineup returned & gave the Bulls the advantage to get their hands in the passing lanes & get out quick in transition. Norman Powell got going a little bit for the Blazers but the Bulls continued to play tough defense on Dame & CJ causing them to be up 15 at the half.

Then came the absolute breakdown of the Bulls in the second half. With very sloppy play & turnovers followed by the inability to rebound the basketball, the Blazers went on a small run to cut the lead to nine points. The Blazers got really aggressive on offensive, sending them to the free throw line quite a bit. This slowed down the pace for the Bulls, who like to play quick basketball & get easy transition points. The halfcourt offense for the Bulls then came to a strange stop & giving up 10 turnovers gave the Blazers the opportunity to go on a 13-3 run to make the lead 4 at the end of the third. If you think it couldn’t get any worse, you were wrong. This is where I thought Billy Donovan didn’t make the right adjustments, Zach & Caruso seemed to be on the bench a little longer than they probably should’ve & the offensive scheme just didn’t work. The Bulls continued to play sloppy by forcing shots & passes that just weren’t there; they couldn’t buy any buckets & Dame could by hitting a big three to tie the game up with seven & a half left to play. CJ then got going a little as well hitting some shots resulting in a crazy turn of events—Blazers taking the lead. The Bulls continued to struggle but Zach hit a three immediately followed by a terrible technical foul being called on him; Zach was appearing to show frustration regarding a no call on the possession before. I’ve had this issue with Zach this season where he argues calls, although many times he does get fouled. Zo stopped the bleeding late in the fourth with a couple blow by layup followed by Zach’s great defense on CJ that led to a shot clock violation. With the Bulls struggling to get shots off, both Zach & DeMar seemed to be forcing bad shots; Zach & DeMar are no doubt shot makers but they have to be aware of the game situation. Caruso had a huge offensive rebound & passed it to Zach, who had a clutch layup. The Bulls had a chance to the tie the game with Zach having a wide-open three with 6.5 seconds left but he missed—a shot Zach himself said he was surprised he missed.

As I said before, this game wasn’t out of reach, not even at the end. Just a complete breakdown by the Bulls. Great teams know how to put the game away & this is something that the new look Bulls will have to learn. This game was extremely reminiscent of games we’d see from the Bulls last year—which is not a good thing. I don’t anticipate this to be a continuous issue especially since Vooch will be back soon which won’t allow other teams to trap either Zach or DeMar. Their west coast trip record comes to 2-2 with a matchup against the Denver Nuggets, who are 10-4, tonight. We hope that the Bulls come out on top & finish their road trip with a record of 3-2. With Jokic playing at an MVP level & the Bulls struggling at the center position, by no means is this going to be an easy game. Jokic leads the NBA in PER, player efficiency rating, even without Michael Porter Jr & Jamal Murray. With the recent news of Jokic being questionable & Mike Malone not coaching tonight, this is a game that can be snagged. Let’s hope the Bulls can come out with some offensive & defensive tenacity to slow down Jokic & the Nuggets. Let’s try to keep the pedal to the metal this game, Chicago Bulls.