Aaaaand we’re off!
Bulls lose preseason finale 125–104 as they prepare to face same team in Thursday’s season opener.
With six days to go until the Chicago Bulls regular season opener against the Toronto Raptors, the Bulls had a great chance to gain some moment by beating the team they will actually face in their regular season opener.
Instead, Chicago got another humbling reminder of just tough it will be for them to get wins this year. The saddest part of the loss is that neither of the Raptors stars duo of DeMar Derozan or Kyle Lowry was especially assertive, specifically DeRozan, who went 3-of-7 from the field in 25 minutes.
The Bulls point guard woes (see Payne, Cameron; Dunn, Kris; LaVine, Zach) have left them very thin at perhaps the league’s deepest position. It was clear that Chicago would have issues with great guards, but the Bulls routinely had problems staying in front of Fred Van Vleet (10 points and six assists) and Delon Wright (seven points and four assists) on Friday night. No disrespect to those young guards, but if the Bulls have trouble with them the league is going to be a matchup nightmare for them this year.
Fred Hoiberg started the game with a big lineup featuring Jerian Grant, Justin Holiday, Nikola Mirotic at the 3, Lauri Markkanen , and Robin Lopez. The lineup was short lived, but however you look at, Mirotic was bad while Markkanen played well. If this preseason has done anything for me, it has further confirmed the Bulls front office doesn’t have a real vision. Mirotic is a serviceable player, but his presence is odd when Markkanen fills his role so well. Markkanen went 3-for-5 from the 3-point line and continued to flash his quick and high release.
Justin Holiday has been the MVP off the preseason for the Bulls, and he continued his aggressive play against the Raptors. Holiday had 17 points and went 4-of-5 from the 3-point line. But right behind Holiday was Grant, who figures to be the starting point guard on opening night. Grant has done a great job facilitating this preseason, but last night he posted 10 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists with only 3 turnovers. He is making plays while protecting the ball. At this stage of his career knocking down the 3-pointers at a higher rate is the next step. He and Holiday were a combined +9 on the floor, and that bodes well for the — likely — starting backcourt.
The most embarrassing part of the Bulls giving up 125 points was the 27 points dropped in by CJ Miles. He finished 6-of-11 from the 3-point line and generally got whatever look he wanted. The Bulls have proved through the preseason that they will have trouble guarding talented bigs, but Miles’ performance was reminder of how closing out should be a point of emphasis for this young bunch.
Chicago had the game with Toronto tied up at 87 entering the final period. And then the Bulls were promptly outscored 38–17 in the fourth. Throughout the preseason the Bulls were one of the worst offensive and defensive teams. Justin Holiday lead the team in scoring and steals with 18.6 points and two steals per game over five preseason contests.
Chicago didn’t find a clear-cut answer at point guard due to Kris Dunn and Zach LaVine’s injuries. But in the time being Ryan Arcidiacono has looked decent as a backup. Jerian Grant led the team with 6.2 assists per game, and made a case to get starter’s minutes even when the team is healthy. But no matter what, this will be a tough year for the Bulls in terms of wins and losses.
2018 is the last year before NBA Draft Lottery reform, and the Bulls are one of the teams positioned to benefit the most from what many are calling “the final tanking year”.
