Bulls vs. Sixers 11/03/21

For the second straight night, the Bulls lacked defensive intensity and mental sharpness to start the

game.  And for a second straight night they dug themselves a near-20-point hole.  And for a second

straight night, they made a big 4th quarter run to completely erase the deficit.  Unlike that last game

against the Celtics, however, the Bulls could not close the deal.  Philly's role players, including Seth

Curry, Niang, Korkmaz, and Thybulle proved to be potent enough to stave off the Bulls despite the

absence of mainstays like Tobias Harris, Danny Green, and Ben S-- er... He Who Shall Not Be Named.

My three thoughts tonight revolve around 3 players.

Three Thoughts From Today's Game

1. DeMar DeRozan

In Spanish, DeMar translates to "of the sea."  Maybe that's why he's had no trouble putting the

ball in the ocean.  DeMar carried the Bulls for most of the game (again), but despite his heroics,

the Bulls came up just a little short this time.  Still, he has been a joy to watch.  With all the talk

of high basketball IQ floating around the Bulls lately, he embodies that label better than anyone else.  He just excels at getting to his spots and there are few players better in the clutch. He relishes the late-game moments.  DeMar was the bright spot tonight.  So far, he was worth "over-paying" for.  I think it's fair to say that we would be 4-4 without him, at best, and the excitement for this team would not be the same.  I know this isn't a very bold thing to say at the moment, but... I'm glad we got him!

 

2. Nikola Vucevic

From the bright spot to the -- black hole?  Vucevic's line will stand out for the wrong reasons, though it wasn't unexpected.  In fact I wrote about how Vucevic struggles against bigger players with at least serviceable mobility - and Joel Embiid specifically - in the last post.  He relies so heavily on being bigger than his defender so that he can use that quick flip shot over smaller opponents.  And while he has a quick release on his jumper, his shooting motion begins from down low, not to mention his shooting touch has been off to start the season. So Vucevic scored 4 points on 2-7 shooting.  He at least worked hard on defense and prevented Embiid from going off (though he definitely owes some thanks to the Bulls guards who swarmed Embiid in the second half any time he put the ball on the ground.  You also have to like how unselfish Vucevic is, and let's appreciate his ability to find the open man with quick bullet passes.  Aside from his scoring, he played well.  But you need him to score.  You can't have the #3 scorer on the team go out and get you 4 against a good team.  He's an all-star.  He can't get dominated by the opposing player at his position like that, no matter who it is.  The Bulls need to get him going.  Maybe next game.  Let's look at the schedule and see who he'll be facing... I'll just flip through the calendar, and... ah. Joel Embiid and the Sixers.  Saturday.  Hunh.

 

3. Zach Lavine

Lavine's box score will look better than how he will be remembered by those who watched.  He did basically all of his damage through 3 quarters.  The 4th was disastrous.  Turnovers.  Bad shots.  Missed teammates.  Over-dribbling while trying to play hero ball.  And constant complaining to the refs.  On that last point, Zach seems to be taking himself out of the flow in recent games because he's getting too caught up in looking for calls from the refs.  He doesn't seem to be having fun out there a lot of the time.  Part of the trouble stems from the fact that he is now on everyone's radar more than ever before thanks to last year’s performance coupled with his US Olympic team showing, as well as his team’s newfound success.  So opposing teams are better prepared for him.  If Vucevic starts heating up he can relieve a lot of pressure for Zach and open things up again.  But Zach can help himself by helping Vooch.  He missed Vucevic at least twice down the stretch in this game, resulting instead in a difficult missed shot and a turnover.  In fact, between Lavine and DeRozan, the two combined for 2 assists.  Considering how much of the time the ball was in one of their hands, this is perhaps the singularly most telling stat for why the Bulls lost.  I just hope Vucevic doesn’t go “Marcus Smart” on them to the media.

 

Bonus Thought!

I'm breaking the rules and sneaking in a 4th thought.  I think it's okay as long as I don't put a number next to it.  Javonte Green.  I wrote about how I liked him over Patrick Williams in the short-term because of his decisiveness and energy.  However, after seeing a little more of him and his ability, or rather inability, to finish around the hoop outside of a dunk opportunity, I am now realizing what we are missing in Patrick Williams besides just his size and defense.  His ability to slash and finish over traffic or pull up for a reliable mid-range jumper was missing in this game. I think this was Javonte's worst game.  I wonder if we'll see a rotation change in the next one to give Troy Brown or Alize Johnson another chance.  We'll see.  I'm sure it will depend on how Billy Donovan determines the matchups work out.  Whatever happens, the Bulls need to bring the energy from the tip!