Bulls vs. Sixers, 11/07/21

 

 

Bulls vs. Sixers 11/06/21

The Bulls lost their second straight game against an even shorter-handed Sixers squad who were also without defensive ace, Matisse Thybulle, this time around due to Covid protocols.  The Bulls were once again led by Zach Lavine (32 points, 9 rebounds on 12-26 shooting), and DeMar DeRozan (26 points on 7-15 shooting and 10-12 from the line).  Nikola Vucevic struggled with his shot once again, and the Bulls shot just 40% as a team.  They kept the game close by taking care of the ball (only 9 turnovers) and getting to the line (24-30 compared to Philly's 15-19).  The Bulls dropped to 6-3 and the Sixers improved to 8-2 on the season.

Three Thoughts From Today's Game

1. Nikola Vucevic

Vucevic equalled his scoring total before the 8-minute mark of the first quarter, and it looked like maybe, just maybe, he would right the ship.  There seemed to be a concerted effort to get him more looks in the early going as Vucevic was fed the ball plenty of times, especially in the first half, and he had great looks, including several from inside of 10 feet.   But it was not to be.  He stayed ice cold, and finished the night 5-16 for 11 points.  That’s a combined 7-23 for 15 total points over the 2-game series with Philly.  Not all-star stuff.  So what’s going on? 

It really looks like he’s lost his confidence.  He’s frustrated, overthinking, and putting a lot of pressure on himself with every shot.  It has to be tough to go into a back-to-back against Embiid, a matchup nightmare for Vucevic, when he was already struggling going into this series.  The next game is against the Nets.  Whether it’s Jeff Green, Blake Griffin, or someone else, there is no one in Brooklyn’s rotation who should give Vucevic a problem on the offensive end.  It is the kind of matchup that should suit Vucevic perfectly.  If he can just string together 2-3 makes, especially from outside, I think we’ll see him have a strong game, and I still have the sense that one strong game might be all he needs to break himself out of the slump.  Vucevic is shooting about 25% from 3 and 38% from the field for the season, which is now 9 games long.  It’s very hard to imagine seeing those abysmal numbers hold steady for the next 73 games, given his track record of shooting just a shade under 50% for his career.

2. Effort 

The effort was much better from the start in this one.  The Bulls took command early but got destroyed on the 3-point line in the second quarter, led by Korkmaz.  We also saw good team work, player and ball movement with far fewer examples of overpassing or forcing up difficult shots without moving the ball first.  Philly played good defense but the Bulls were still able to create their fair share of open looks.  They simply couldn’t convert.  There were just too many loose balls that wound up as Philly points, and missed opportunities around the rim, primarily from Vucevic.  But it wasn’t all him.  Javonte |Green alone missed two point-blank tip-ins, a wide open three, and a wide open layup that he blew in embarrassing fashion by shooting it backward over his head toward the rim without a defender within 5 feet of him.  Stacy King mentioned inserting Derrick Jones Jr. into the starting lineup and I would be happy to give him the chance as well.  But I am missing Patrick Williams more and more by the day.  Anyhow, the Bulls lost, but it feels better that it was mainly due to Philly lighting it up from three (13-26 for 50%) and the Bulls failing to convert their open looks. 

3. Lavine

Lonzo Ball led a 3-0 break and rather than score the layup he threw it off the backboard for the trailing Lavine to throw it down.  Later, Javonte Green was ahead of Lavine by about 10 steps (well, 10 of my steps anyway), but Lavine opted to dribble it up himself and glide in for the dunk.  Maybe he felt he needed it to get himself going?  I don’t know.  But it came off as surprisingly selfish, especially given Lonzo’s earlier gift.  I don’t want to read too much into it, but it was something that felt bad and I can’t ignore.  The rest of the game, Lavine played very well.  He still never really got his outside game going the way he so often has, and his thumb injury once again led to a costly turnover, but his decision-making was better, and he was productive when he drove to the hoop.  2 straight losses stinks, but especially considering the competition, I still like this team and how they are developing.  We are 2-2 in the crazy difficult stretch now, including the wins over the Celtics and Jazz.  If we come out of this stretch above .500, I’ll consider it a win, and you should too.