Bulls lose heart-breaker against the Nikola Jokic-less Denver Nuggets, fall 111–110 despite big game from Kris Dunn

Dunn shows a glimpse of his potential as a starting PG with a very efficient and confident night.

The Chicago Bulls lost a very tough road game at the Pepsi Center against the Nikola Jokic-less Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets were in need of all of the Nikola Jokic play-making they could get, as they came into the game looking to get ahead in the tight Northwest division. Jokic dazzled early on with his passing ability.

But near halftime Jokic went down on a nasty fall and appeared to twist his ankle badly. He didn’t play the rest of the game. In his absence Will Barton delivered a huge performance off the bench with 37 points. He set the tone for the game, which was offense, offense, and more offense.

The Bulls let Barton get out in transition where he is lethal. The Nuggets won the fast break points battle 19 to 5. But the Bulls shot 53.7 percent in the game and only had 11 turnovers. But they lost the rebounding battle and shot an embarrassing 61.9 percent from the free throw line. The great news is Lauri Markkanen 20 points and nine boards. He shot 7-for-17, so the shooting slump isn’t necessarily over. But he looks fine. In fact, he looked great.

The true story of the game (besides Robin Lopez also dropping 20 points) was Kris Dunn. He has started to look more and more like the point guard of the future. And he is starting to make many a Bulls fan lean towards Marvin Bgaley III as future top-pick (and by many a Bulls fan, I mean me). This was easily Dunn’s best game as a Bull in my opinion. He shot a ridiculous 81 percent from the field and had 19 points, many of them tough finishes in the paint. Dunn also chipped in five rebounds, five assists, and one turnover. His three missed free throws were one his few negatives on the night.

Dunn has stepped up and really taken over the starting point guard role. In 15 game — starting and off the bench — he has averaged 11.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game. Dunn is shooting 41.5 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from the 3-point line…which honestly…still makes me feel like this. If his shooting is truly improved — which would seem real with his free throw percentage increasing from 61 percent in his rookie year to 75 percent as of now — he could be an excellent starting point guard.

Lauri “Legend” was fourth in the most recent NBA.com Rookie Ladder Rankings. He is actually in the Rookie of the Year race and has proven he can be a building block for the Bulls. Chicago’s record is 3–17, the worst mark in the league. But it looks like they will be all but guaranteed a top-four pick. And if you’ve watched any college basketball this year, you know there is a lot to be excited about.

I’ll leave you with this. It pains me to say it, but I’m not sure the Jimmy Butler trade was a bad thing looking back on it. And I don’t know how that makes me feel considering all the crazy things GarPax has done. Yes, the Bulls a garbage right now. But Bulls fans have got to watch two talented and young players blossom into lead roles in a dire situation. They have another lottery-pick talent in the way in the 2018 NBA draft. And to top it all off, Zach LaVine is slated to be back soon. He is the last piece of the Butler trade. If LaVine turns out to be even half as good as he was in Minnesota, the Bulls may have won the trade straight-up, quite an insane thought considering everything that lead up to this point.

The Bulls play tonight at the United Center against the Sacramento Kings, att 7pm. I’ll leave you with a very recent video of Zach LaVine doing Zach LaVine things.