It’s a reasonable conclusion to come to, especially after watching Kevin Durant (24 points, 11-for-19, 4 rebounds) rip off 8 critical points in the final 3:16, a scoring spree that included two exceptionally high-degree-of-difficulty jump shots in the final minute .

Meanwhile, minus their superstar scorer/playmaker, the Bulls’ crunch time possessions (final five minutes) went as follows. Successful plays are in bold.

4:54: Taj Gibson turnover
4:37: Kirk Hinrich missed 21-footer
4:16: Richard Hamilton 2-for-2 from the line
3:46: Luol Deng missed three-pointer
3:31: Kirk Hinrich missed 23-footer
3:30: Joakim Noah offensive rebound and missed tip shot
2:55: Noah missed hook shot (blocked by Serge Ibaka)
2:51: Hamilton made 22-footer
2:18: Noah missed 18-footer
1:47: Deng turnover
1:08: Hamilton missed 19-footer
0:35: Gibson made 20-footer
0:15: Noah made layup
0:03: Vladimir Radmanovic missed three-pointer
0:01: Richard Hamilton missed 17-footer

In case you didn’t notice, Chicago’s clutch plays included an awful lot of long jumpers. Oklahoma City’s defense forced them outside. Two attempts to get a closer look ended in a blocked shot (when Noah attempted a hook with 2:55 to go) and a turnover (when Deng drove awkwardly into traffic and got the ball stripped by Thabo Sefolosha with 1:47 on the clock).

And, yeah, Noah made a layup with 15 seconds left, but that was one of those end-of-game concession baskets.

To me, Chicago’s end-of-game scoring issues were epitomized by this play: With 2:18 left and the score tied 87-87, Noah launched a baseline jumper from 18 feet.

Was Noah open? Yes.

Was that really the shot the Bulls wanted from that possession? Probably not.

Don’t get me wrong. Noah can hit that shot. But it’s not his shot.

Look, I know that Durant hit some really tough clutch shots, but it’s also true that the Bulls 1) weren’t drawing fouls and 2) couldn’t get anything going toward the basket in the final five minutes. And the former was largely due to the latter.

OKC’s defense and the absence of Rose both played a part in that. But it’s not wholly (and simply) an issue of “the Bulls didn’t have a finisher.”

In fact, there were two factors in this loss much bigger than Durant and Rose.

The first factor was turnovers. The Bulls lost the ball 21 times for a total of 20 points going the other way.

Of course, the Thunder had 22 turnovers that were converted into 19 points for the Bulls, so some people might say that category was a wash. But I say that, when playing a superior team, the lesser team absolutely must take care of the basketball because there is almost no margin for error.

Said Noah: “We turned the ball over too much. It was a frustrating loss. We really had a chance to win this game. They’re obviously very talented, but a couple of our shots down the stretch just went in and out. Overall, I felt we played hard, but those turnovers definitely haunted us.”

Did they ever.

The other factor was, frankly, poor bench play. Let’s look at Chicago’s plus-minus numbers:

Bulls starters:
Richard Hamilton: +9
Joakim Noah: +5
Carlos Boozer: +4
Kirk Hinrich: +3
Luol Deng: -2

Bulls bench:
Marco Belinelli: -18
Taj Gibson: -12
Nate Robinson: -9
Nazr Mohammed: -5
Vladimir Radmanovic: -4
Jimmy Butler: -1

Now let’s look at Oklahoma City’s plus-minus stats:

Thunder starters:
Kendrick Perkins: -14
Russell Westbrook: -4
Kevin Durant: -3
Serge Ibaka: -2
Thabo Sefolosha: +13

Thunder bench:
Nick Collison: +15
Eric Maynor: +10
Kevin Martin: +10
Hasheem Thabeet: +5

Despite his clutch performance, the Thunder were outscored when Durant was on the floor. Ditto for Westbrook (16 points, 12 assists, 2 reboundss) and Serge Ibaka (21 points, 9 rebounds, 4 blocks). And of course Kendrick Perkins (5 rebounds, 2 turnovers, 0 points) was dreadful.

Meanwhile, the Bulls starting unit — minus Deng — were all on the plus side of the ledger. Even Boozer, who shot poorly (3-for-9), committed 5 turnovers, and had several defensive slips.

The fact remains that, in terms of plus-minus, Chicago’s starters outperformed their Oklahoma City counterparts (the exceptions being Deng and Sefolosha), while OKC’s bench vastly outperformed the Bulls’ reserves in terms of points (29-14), rebounds (11-5) and plus-minus (+40 to -49).

So, Durant’s greatness aside, the Bulls could have won this game had they taken better car of the ball and/or gotten a little better production out of their bench.

Or, heck, done a better job putting some D on OKC’s reserves. Martin (15 points, 3-for-5 from the field, 1-for-1 on threes, 8-for-9 from the line) and Maynor (10 points, 2-for-4, 1-for-1 on threes, 5-for-5 from the line) had incredibly efficient scoring nights, with True Shooting Percentages of 83.7 and 80.6, respectively.

That said, I suppose you could list defense as a factor two, considering the Thunder finished with an Offensive Rating of 101.5 and an Effective Field Goal Percentage of 52.7, both higher than the Bulls’ opponent season averages of 96.4 and 46.9.

Or maybe it’s a combination of all these things: The clutchness of Durant, the absence of Rose, turnovers, lack of bench production and defense.

But on the bright side, despite the several things that didn’t go their way, the Bulls stood up to one of the league’s elite teams and nearly beat them without Rose.

Said Deng: “No one has to change the way they play. We just got to keep playing. … We’re right there in the game. We got to have a better fourth. That’s what we normally do, and that’s what we got to get back to.”

Bulls Player of the Game:
It was very clearly Deng, who had game-highs in minutes (42) and points (27), in addition to good shooting (11-for-21 overall, 3-for-6 on threes, 2-for-2 from the line).

Bulls goat of the game:
Marco Belinelli played six minutes. The Bulls were outscored by 18 points during those six minutes. And although that’s obviously not all on Belinelli, I’m already coming to associate his presence on the floor with bad things happening for the Bulls. He’s like the anti-Kyle Korver.

Good sign:
Hinrich had a reasonably strong game (12 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds) and helped harass Westbrook into a 7-for-22 shooting night. What’s more, Captain Kirk drew fouls on two aggressive drives in which the refs should have called continuation but didn’t.

Bad sign:
Deng sprained his left thumb during the fourth quarter.

More key stats:
Yes, there are plenty of key stats above. Here are two more: The Bulls were outscored 31-19 in the fourth quarter and 46-34 in the paint.

Extras:
Recap, Box Score, Advanced Box Score, Play-by-Play, Shot Chart.

The post Game Recap: Thunder 97, Bulls 91 appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

Bulls bench:
Kyle Korver (+5)
C.J. Watson (-3)
Omer Asik (-3)
Taj Gibson (-4)
Kurt Thomas (-7)
Ronnie Brewer (-14)

Pacers starters:
Darren Collison (+6)
Tyler Hansbrough (-6)
Paul George (-11)
Danny Granger (-12)
Roy Hibbert (-16)

Pacers bench:
Jeff Foster (+12)
Mike Dunleavy Jr. (+9)
T.J. Ford (+7)
Brandon Rush (0)
Josh McRoberts (-2)
A.J. Price (-17)

As you can see, the Bulls outscored the Pacers by double digits when their top four players were in the game. Conversly, Indy was outscored by double digits with three of their starters on the floor (George, Granger, Hibbert).

What jumps out at me is that the Pacers got good plus-minus production from some of their reserves (Dunleavy, Ford, Foster) while the Bulls bench underperformed by their standards (especially Brewer).

I don’t mean to oversimplify things. However, one of the defining characteristics of this year’s squad was that the Bench Mob was typically able to come in a really put the squeeze (particularly defensively) on the other team.

That didn’t happen last night.

The post Game 2 Plus-Minus Numbers appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

The Bulls dominated pretty much every meaningful statistical category. They shot 53 percent from the field. They won the rebounding battle 44-33 (including a 13-8 advantage on the offensive glass). They had 20 fast break points. They outscored the Raptors 58-38 in the paint. Chicago’s bench outscored Toronto’s reserves 52-22.

If you check the Basketball-Reference box score, you’ll see that the Bulls swept the Four Factors and finished with an Offensive Rating of 118 and a Defensive Rating of 96.8.

Coach Tom Thibodeau got strong play out of the usual suspects, by which I mean Derrick Rose (19 points, 7-for-11, 6 assists), Carlos Boozer (12 points and 13 rebounds) and Luol Deng (a game-high 24 points). But the bench made the biggest difference.

Chicago’s reserves actually had a triple-double of 52 points, 26 rebounds and 11 assists. Ronnie Brewer had a strong game (12 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals) and Taj Gibson finally broke out of his post-concussion slump (16 points, 8-for-11, a game-high 14 rebounds). Gibson attacked the boards and the rim in addition to playing great defense. And then there was Omer Asik (career-high 13 points, 5-for-6, 7 rebounds, 5 blocked shots).

Asik’s numbers only tell part of the story. He came up huge during the pivotal second quarter, during which the Bulls outscored the Raptors 30-14. Omer took advantage of a mismatch against Leandro Barbosa and hit a layup. He fed Luol Deng for a layup that just beat the shot clock. He grabbed rebounds at both ends. He blocked and intimidated shots. And even when Asik wasn’t making plays around the ball, he was moving, setting picks, getting into excellent position.

Asik is a smart basketball player and he works hard. He played great last night. Almost everybody on the bench did.

Said Boozer: “Most times, games are close and they don’t get a chance to play like this. But in games like this, you see just how talented they are. You see how talented Taj is, you see how talented O is. The more time you get, the better you become. These guys are stud players.”

The best part is that the Bulls — who play tonight in New Jersey as part of four games in five nights — were able to rest Rose and Boozer during the fourth quarter.

Or maybe the best part is Chicago’s record (23-10). The Bulls have now won five straight and 14 of their last 16 games. They are now 18-1 against sub-.500 teams.

And here’s more good news if you can believe it: According to ESPNChicago’s Nick Friedell, Joakim Noah has started working out with the team. Noah’s cast will come off next week.

Said Noah: “I’ve been running. I’ve been doing some conditioning and doing some lifting. A lot of core work. A lot of leg strengthening. It’s hard to make everything game-like. There’s nothing like playing in a basketball game. There’s nothing you can do to simulate a basketball game. But I’m doing the best I can, even with a cast on.”

Things just keep getting better.

Extras:
Recap, Box Score, Play-By-Play, Shot Chart, Photos.

The post Game 33 Recap: Bulls 111, Raptors 91 appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

That said, it was still a pretty gratifying victory. Here’s why:

1. The Bulls withstood adversity:
In the first half, they couldn’t have lobbed a beach ball into the ocean. Meanwhile, the Spurs were shooting lights out and Tim Duncan (28 points, 13-for-18, 16 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 3 blocks) was blistering any Bull who dared to guard him. But Chicago did what teams have to do on bad shooting nights: they crashed the boards. For the half, the Bulls had 10 offensive rebounds and 19 second-chance points…not to mention a 47-46 lead going into the break.

Joakim Noah was Chicago’s best player in the first half. He grabbed four offensive rebounds. He blocked two of Tim Duncan’s shots. He hit one of his patented ugly-as-hell jumpers from 17 feet out. He played with the kind of energy and intensity you won’t see in a box score. Trust me, his final stats (10 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks) may not knock your socks off, but the Bulls would have gotten blown out in that first half without Joakim.

2. Tyrus Thomas came alive:
Let me put this bluntly: Tyrus sucked in the first half. After two quarters, Ty’s line was: 11 minutes, zero points on 0-for-3 shooting, 2 rebounds, 2 fouls. He was outplayed by his potential replacement, Taj Gibson, whose shooting was off but who grabbed three offensive rebounds and was aggressive enough to earn some free throws during the Bulls’ frigid first half. Heck, little Jannero Pargo finished those first 24 minutes with more blocks (1) than Thomas (0).

But T-Rise was the player of the second half. He led the charge coming out of the break, hitting back-to-back jumpers from 17 and 16 feet out. He blocked a Tony Parker layup. He blocked anotherParker layup. He swooped to the basket on a fast break and drew the foul from Matt Bonner. He grabbed some rebounds. He drilled another 17-footer. He blocked a Duncan layup. He threw down a vicious dunk (off a sweet assist from Brad Miller) and drew the “And one!” from Richard Jefferson. Chicago’s first two scores of the fourth quarter were a Thomas free throw (Antonio McDyess fouled him on a drive) and 17-footer.

Like Noah, Thomas’ final line (13 points, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks) doesn’t leap out of the box score, but he lit a fire under the Bulls in the second half. No question about it.

3. Luol Deng looked pretty good:
Deng shot so poorly in the preseason that I was starting to sweat. Fortunately, he didn’t stop believing in himself. He was never spectacular last night — not the way Jo and Ty were, anyway — but he was solid throughout, finishing with a team-high 17 points on 8-for-13 shooting to go along with 9 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal. Those aren’t All-Star numbers, perhaps, but would Bulls fans be happy if Deng played like that all season? Abso-freaking-lutely.

4. Derrick Rose’s ankle injury was a non-issue:
Rose still played a little tentatively at times — or maybe the Spurs defense just made it seem that way — but he was still dynamic. Derrick scored 13 points on 5-for-12 shooting, which included three jumpers from 20 feet. But his best contributions came from creating shots for his teammates (7 assists) and — believe it or not — on the boards (7 rebounds). He also had a spectacular block of a Richard Jefferson layup in the first quarter. In fact, his defense wasn’t too shabby. You’ll notice his Spurs counterpart, former Finals MVP Tony Parker, finished with only 8 points on 4-for-11 shooting.

5. It was a total team effort:
This was definitely one of those “The Whole Is Greater Than The Sum of the Parts” wins for Chicago. This team doesn’t have a LeBron James, so don’t expect many 40-point explosions or out-of-this-world triple-doubles. But six Bulls scored in double figures (all five starters and Kirk Hinrich). Chicago’s reserves outscored the San Antonio bench 29-27, but the disparity was actually greater than that during the meaningful parts of the game (Gregg Popovich cleared his bench in the final minutes while Vinny De Negro mysteriously left most of his starters in until the final buzzer). The Bulls out-rebounded the Spurs 52-44 (including a 15-8 edge on the offensive glass) and had a 22-13 advantage in second-chance points.

Everybody chipped in. Everybody played their role. Guys were slappng palms and rooting for each other. The chemistry looked great. There was just good stuff all around.

6. The Bulls…played defense:
How ’bout that defense, huh? Holding the new-look (and supposedly super-deep) Spurs to only 85 points on 42 percent shooting was pretty sweet (even if Chicago’s 41 percent shooting was pretty sour). Sure, the Bulls had no answer whatsoever for Duncan, but Parker and Manu Ginobili combined to shoot 7-for-22 from the field, and Parker earned only one free throw attempt.

7. They also took care of the ball:
Last season and even during this year’s preseason, the Bulls were sometimes guilty of careless ball-handling. Not last night. Chicago committed only nine turnovers — four fewer than the ball-control Spurs — and surrendered only nine points off those turnovers. Two major keys to winning are rebounding and ball control (just ask the Spurs). The Bulls won both of those battles last night…and the game. Go figure.

Reasons for concern:
There were a few. Like how the Bulls were (just like last year) badly exploited by an opposing big man. Like John Salmons’ misguided shooting (3-for-15 overall, 1-for-9 from downtown). Like the terrible three-point shooting (3-for-16). Like the nine missed free throws. Like the fact that the Bulls have to face the Celtics in Boston tonight after beating the Spurs in Chicago last night, a game that threatens to kill all the good mojo created by their game-opening win…

TrueHoop Network:
Graydon Gordion of 48 Minutes of Hell: “First and foremost, games that look something along the lines of tonight’s are gonna happen and they are gonna happen on the second night of back-to-backs when we’re on the road against young, athletic teams like the Bulls. I can only assume Vinny Del Negro happily handed the game ball to Joakim Noah, whose six offensive rebounds are one of the game’s most telling statistics.”

Extras:
Recap, Box Score, Play-By-Play, Shot Chart, Photos.

The post Bulls open the season with a sweet win over the Spurs appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.