2nd quarter woes continue as Bulls lose by 32 to OKC
Silver lining is…Lauri Markkanen looks legit with 15 points and 8 rebounds
I will start off the update on how Fred Hoiberg’s offense is meshing with this young group. In the loss to Oklahoma City, Chicago scored 69 points — despite attempting 34 3-pointers — and shot 28.2 percent from the field. No of course only so much can be blamed on Hoiberg, but even he agreed that the effort was unacceptable.
Hoiberg: “We took a huge step in the wrong direction tonight. We did not compete … our body language sucked.”
— From ESPNChicago’s Nick Friedell
At the end of the first quarter the bulls were only down by three points. OKC’s weapon of choice on the night was Carmelo Anthony post ups. The Bulls are, um, a little bit short on wing talent and/or depth. So Anthony repeatedly parked himself down on the low block and directed traffic from there. He only finished with two assists, but he scored with ease as the Bulls don’t have anyone capable of handling him in the post. The Thunder out rebounded the Bulls and held Chicago to 38 percent shooting in the first. The Bulls were hanging on due to 3-pointers. Chicago shot 6-for-11 from 3-point range in the opening period.
Lauri Markkanen looked legit, and shot 50 percent from the 3-point line while also grabbing eight rebounds. Three of Markkanenn rebounds were offensive. He looked more willing to get physical in the paint, even if was just one game. He finished six-for-six from the free throw line as well, showing that he will not simply settle for perimeter shots. His team-leading 15 points were another bright spot in a solid year so far for Markkanen, but his most impressive play easily came in pregame warm-ups.
So after trailing by 3 to end the first, the Bulls got decimated 24–8 in the second quarter. The group that started the second quarter for Chicago was Kris Dunn, Quincy Pondexter, Cristiano Felicio, and David Nwaba. The Bulls stalled at 25 points for quite some time as OKC blazed pass the Bulls with (Surprisingly) crisp ball movement. Dunn looked decent defensively, but his shot is far from ready, and the finger injury could make things worse in the short term.
The Bulls next practice should be all about close outs, as many of the Thunder’s 3-pointers were a result of defenders being nowhere near the shooter. Chicago’s youngsters aren’t playing smart right now, so playing hard won’t help. The huge increase in 3-point attempts is great on paper. Hoiberg is FINALLY getting a Chicago Bulls team to buy into his strategy, and it isn’t hurting Markkanen’s development so far. But for the Bulls to get through this year with enough integrity to build on something — anything! — next year, they will need to no longer have nights like this.
Easier said than done.
The Bulls get back at it on Wednesday against the Miami Heat at the American Airlines Arena.
