Last night’s loss to the Lakers was just the Bulls loss to [INSERT LOTTERY TEAM HERE]. It included:
-A lazy start (L.A. had 59 points on 58.7% shooting in the first half), this time one they never really snapped out of, as they trailed by 15 in the second half and wouldn’t take a lead until the first OT
-Pau, in his Staples Center return (well, second return since they played the Clippers too), neglecting to do much of anything effort-related regarding defense or rebounding
-Derrick settling for awful threes on a night where they just weren’t falling. He was 1-7 from three and 7-26 overall.
-Kirk playing as a complete zero on offense for considerably longer than Thibs should have allowed him to
-Nikola Mirotic getting buried on the bench despite doing nothing to merit said treatment
-Random Opponent X going bonkers against a formerly-dominant defensive front line (Jordan Hill in this case, posting 26 and 12)
This one was worse for two reasons: After subbing Kirk out for Aaron Brooks with a minute and a half left, the Bulls promptly scored nine points in 70 seconds, thanks in part to the Lakers crumbling under ball pressure and coughing the ball up a couple times. That sent it into overtime, where the Bulls led by five midway through with the ball, then by three under a minute, until Noah, after grabbing an offensive rebound, panicked and threw a bad pass to Rose that went into the backcourt. They were still up one with under 45 seconds and the ball, but Pau split a pair at the line, opening the door for the Lakers to send it into double overtime, where the Bulls instantly fell behind and never recovered, becoming the third team (Spurs, Suns) to lose two multiple overtime games this season. So, while still tallying one in the loss column, they added enough minutes to push Butler to 49, Pau to 44, Rose to 42.5 and Noah to 42 on the first end of a road-road back-to-back.
The second: Jimmy injured his knee near the end of the game. He appeared to tell former teammate Carlos Boozer “I’m alright, man” after the game, but he admitted feeling pain after the game, per Nick Friedell.
The two bright spots: Noah again looked closer to his normal self (9/17/9) and Jimmy was terrific (35 points on 9-17, plus 16-18 from the line).
A smart team would take it easy tomorrow, especially for a non-conference opponent, but after the Warriors game, I predicted the Bulls would lose to L.A. and then win in Phoenix, and I’ll stick to that, because it’s just how this team operates.
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