The Win Over the Hornets Was Fun and All, But the Bulls Play-in Chances Are Still Very Bad
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The Win Over the Hornets Was Fun and All, But the Bulls Play-in Chances Are Still Very Bad
Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic returned to the floor on Thursday night to help the Bulls snap a four-game skid. Considering how dominant the team looked in that 120-99 victory, I don’t blame anyone for having a revitalized interest in a potential postseason berth. But don’t hold your breath.
While the Bulls had a shot to gain ground on in the play-in tournament race last night, the Indiana Pacers and Washington Wizards had other plans. The two teams who sit with the 9th and 10th seeds won both their games. The Pacers now hold a 4.5 game lead over the Bulls for the 9th seed, while the Wizards are 4.0 games in front in the 10th spot. With that being the case, 670 The Score’s Jeff Mangurten pointed out the very difficult equation the Bulls will have to solve to crack the play-in t
• Yup, that’s right, Patrick Williams showed emotion. In the first quarter after sinking an off-balance and-one reverse layup, Williams appeared to leave the ground for a little awkward leap of glee. Maybe he thought he was far enough along the baseline where the cameras wouldn’t pick him up, but he was mistaken. The jig is up, Pat. We know you can feel happiness.
• Williams scored seven of the team’s first 17 points in their 120-99 win over the Hornets last night, all of which came within 4ft of the basket. His aggressive start paced the Bulls to their first 30-point first quarter since playing the Hornets on April 22nd. The team shot 13-25 from the field and 5-9 from downtown to start the game, and that efficient performance set the tone for the remainder of the night. When the final buzzer sounded, the Bulls finished 50.8 percent from the field and 48.6 from three. The Bulls’ 18 makes from behind the arc were their most since February 10th.
• Thanks to this Turducken-stuffed second-half schedule, the Bulls have been depleted of pretty much any and all practice time. And while we can’t (and won’t!) point to that as
the reason the team has failed to reach post-trade deadline expectations, it sure hasn’t helped. Adding a high-usage player like Nikola Vucevic into the mix comes with a learning curve, especially when the team’s pre-existing best player has struggled to stay on the floor. Not to mention, numerous other players saw their roles change while the style of plays took a drastic turn. The Bulls saw their PACE go from 8th in the league before the deadline to 25th. That’s a massive change.
Today is the day my fully vaccinated body attends its first sporting event in well over a year. Unfortunately, it’s not in Chicago, but I wasn’t going to turn down an opportunity to see a big-time matchup between the Nets and Bucks. The best part? I don’t really care who wins! I’m just excited to see some superstars in action (and celebrate my girlfriend’s birthday in style, of course).
See ya on ABC!
• FINALLY. In last night’s 108-97 loss to the Atlanta Hawks, Patrick Williams showed up. The Bulls rookie had scored in single-digits in 12 of the previous 13 games. Meanwhile, the last time he took more than 10 shot attempts in a game came on March 31st against the Phoenix Suns. With the Bulls season in a downward spiral, and the team struggling to make do without Zach LaVine, all fans have wanted to see is Williams play a more aggressive game on the offensive end, and they haven’t been alone. Head coach Billy Donovan and Thaddeus Young both said they have been
The Bears got Justin Fields. The Bears got Justin Fields. The Bears got Justin Fields. The Bears got Justin Fields. The Bears got Justin Fields. The Bears got Justin Fields. The Bears got Justin Fields. The Bears got Justin Fields.
Ok. I’m in a better mood. Now, we can talk about the Bulls.
• Let’s start this Saturday with some good news. Zach LaVine unexpectedly appeared on the Bulls bench last night after being away from the team for the previous eight games. According to head coach Billy Donovan, LaVine has still not checked all the boxes to return to on-court activity (typically, after an extended absence, players need to make sure their conditioning is back to an appropriate level), but seeing him back around the team is certainly a good sign. Hopefully, this means the star player can take a big step in the right direction this weekend and get back on the court to further build his chemistry with Nikola Vucevic. Notice how I didn’t type, “get back on the court to