Bulls play extremely sloppy in home opening loss to San Antonio Spurs
Bulls score 77 points as they trend closer the record they already own for the fewest points per game in a season after 1954–55
The Chicago Bulls lost their home opener by 10 to the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday night. On paper it doesn’t sound that bad, but the Bulls played extremely sloppy and ended up with very few positives to take from this humbling defeat.
For starters, the point guard situation is in dire straits. While newly acquired Zach LaVine and Kris Dunn are on the mend, Jerian Grant has been holding down the starting point guard spot. Grant is one of my favorite players on the squad. He has shown potential in flashes throughout his career, but he lacks the decision making or assuredness he needs to function as a starter in the NBA.
Picking up your dribble anywhere near the sideline or the corners is a general no-no in basketball. Yet Grant constantly puts himself into situations like the one below.
Grant finished with 13 points, five assists and four turnovers. He was unable to run the offense effectively, and the results weren’t pretty when everyone else tried to help with the playmaking duties. Six Bulls players finished with at least two assists, but the team as a whole had more turnovers (19) than assists (18).
Turning the ball over at that rate makes it hard to win games when you shoot well from the field, and Chicago did no such thing, shooting 37.8 percent (overall). Though the team shot poorly, Robin Lopez and Lauri Markkanen still paced the Bulls scoring attack. Lopez led the way with 16 points, and made history along the way by draining the first — and for my sanity’s sake, hopefully his last — 3-pointer of his career. Markkanen finished 3-of-8 from the 3-point line, and — even if for just one night — eased some concerns about his rebounding.
Markkanen’s 12 rebounds were all defensive. This is somewhat due to his role as a perimeter shooter on offense, but it would be nice to see Lauri embrace contact and go after offensive boards as well. The Bulls continued to shoot 3-pointers like there is no tomorrow, and the results were (still) ugly. Chicago attempted 28 3-pointers and made eight of them, which is 28.6 percent (also known as “not good”). The Spurs were literally anti-“Hoiball”, and only made one of the 12 (!!) 3-pointers they attempted on the night. The Spurs simply played tougher, and attempted seven more free throws than the Bulls on the night.
It will be a loooooong season for Bulls fans. The franchise continues to be disappointing on the court, and the front office continues to frustrate the masses anytime they speak. Markkanen’s development is the only important thing for the Bulls organization right now (I lied, also trading Rolo should still be a priority), and everything else is just background noise until the 2018 NBA Draft. But for anyone who needs a reminder of what it looks like when the Bulls try to guard a half-decent player, here ya go.
