LaVine Rises in the Mile High

If you want to be a good, successful team in the NBA, it is crucial for you to win games that should be won—exactly what the Chicago Bulls did on Friday night. With last minute news that the Denver Nuggets will be without the reigning MVP, Nikola Jokić, I anticipated it to be a relatively easy win. With the Denver Nuggets strong home court advantage (due to the elevation), teams tend to struggle out in the mile high. Chicago hadn’t won in Denver since 2006 & finally ended that terrible streak. This by no means was an easy win as the well-coached Nuggets stuck around majority of the game led by Will Barton & Aaron Gordon. The Nuggets were also on their second leg of a back-to-back game, an advantage for the Bulls, who had played on Wednesday night. I thought the Bulls would come out roaring but that wasn’t the case; although they did show some spurt of energy in the beginning of the third. The game was in Denver but as coach Mike Malone said, “I wasn't sure if we were at United Center or Ball Arena” & other Bulls players had tweeted about the arena booming with Bulls fans booming with Bulls fans & red colors everywhere. LaVine & The Bulls had to fight their way through this one but it was good to see a bounce back game after the devastating loss against Portland.

The Bulls were going to be matched up well against the Jokić-less Nuggets with Jeff Green starting at the five. Aaron Gordon came out on fire giving the Bulls a smooth 10 points in a variety of ways, as he did so all night. The Nuggets did get out to a 10-point lead about halfway through the first quarter as the Bulls seemed to struggle a little defensively but the Bulls stuck around with Lavine scoring 10 points ending the first quarter tied up. The Bulls took advantage of the pick & roll as Denver seemed to have no answer for the athleticism provided by Derrick Jones Jr. The Nuggets also switched between a 2-3 zone & man-to-man defense while the Bulls often took advantage of the zone. Ayo & Javonte came off the bench & provided immense energy, something we’ve become accustomed to. It was a back & forth first half with Zach & DJJ leading their team to a one-point first half lead.

The team came out with meaning in the third quarter starting it with a quick 8-0 run—helping control the remainder of the game. DeMar & Zach were getting to their spots & hitting their shots as the Bulls were just cruising throughout the third quarter. Caruso & Green also did their things, things that aren’t seen on a stat sheet; a lot of hustle plays & excellent defense leading to easy points. The highlight of the third quarter was the show the Bulls were putting on; with a dunk seemingly on every possession, the arena sounded deafening. Zach had a couple nice dunks & a blow by layup for an and-one along with DJJ having an absolute highlight of a dunk off a pick & roll, where he looked like he was just levitating. The energy was there for the Bulls & the crowd was definitely a catalyst. Although the Bulls did seem to have control of the game, Denver just hung around starting with a 6-0 run at the start of the fourth quarter. Aaron Gordon continued to make tough shots & Will Barton helped as well. Once it seemed like the lead was beginning to slip, Zach LaVine took over. It was exciting to see since most of the season DeMar has been the main guy in the fourth while Zach aided—this time it was the other way around. Zach just ascended to a different level hitting tough jumpers, deep threes & tough buckets inside the paint—an absolute scoring clinic. This could not have happened without the unlimited energy provided by Javonte Green, who has continued to play beyond his size. DeMar got to the line eight times as well in the fourth, giving him 8 points in the quarter; the Chicago Bulls were 24-24 from the charity stripe, exhibiting their physical play. Zach scored 12 of his 36 points in the quarter & the best duo in the NBA combined for 20 of the teams 26 fourth quarter points.

The Chicago Bulls put on a show but it still wasn’t a great win. The win should’ve been easier considering the Nuggets were without three of their star players, but a win is a win. It’s great to see Bulls fans throughout the country & the strong comradery of the Bulls team. They faced adversity head on without their starting center & having to adjust to different lineups & rotations, completing their west coast trip with a 3-2 record. The Chicago Bulls head back home to the United Center to take on the New York Knicks tonight—a much anticipated rematch from their game earlier this season. I expect the Bulls to continue their excellent play & have a sort of revenge tonight. Another game without Vooch, the Bulls will struggle with the size of the New York Knicks but the small ball lineup has been effective throughout the west coast trip. Expect the Knicks to play tough, physical defense to disrupt the Bulls high-paced offense. The Knicks have been playing pretty poor, especially their starting lineup as Thibs has been very critical of their play. Hopefully the Bulls can take advantage of this & continue to build off their momentum.