Bulls Sluggish From Start, Get Blown Out by Thunder
My favorite online program is Nostalgia Critic. The show’s namesake, who mainly reviews movies, routinely begins his episodes by telling the audience “I remember it so you don’t have to.” We at Bulls Confidential watch Bulls games so you don’t have to. If you’re lucky, you didn’t see much or any of the Bulls’ 92–79 road loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday.
Don’t let that 13-point deficit fool you. This was over early and in ugly fashion. The first quarter was historic for the Bulls for the wrong reasons. It ended with a 27–7 deficit and a team record for offensive futility in an opening frame.
At the start, just about everything that could wrong for the Bulls did. Long possessions resulted in last-second shots from far out and shot clock violations. Careless turnovers and poor awareness led to more opportunities for the Thunder, who happily took advantage on many occasions. And the offense couldn’t shoot its way out of a paper bag, hence the low number for them on the scoreboard after 12 minutes.
The kicker to this is that Russell Westbrook didn’t score until the second quarter. Even so, he finally broke open then with thunderous dunks and pretty-looking shots, ending with a game-high 21 points. Carmelo Anthony was hot early and finished with 18. Rounding out Oklahoma City’s three-headed monster attack was Paul George’s 13.
A pair of Bulls scored 16 points to lead the team. One was expected in Lauri Markkanen. Another wasn’t so expected in Antonio Blakeney, who opened discussion that he just might be too good to be sent back to Hoffman Estates. Denzel Valentine was ready to play from the moment he entered, scoring nine of his 13 points on 3-pointers.
In spite of those bright spots, there was enough bad to even it out. The aforementioned trio was canceled out by that of Bobby Portis, Jerian Grant and Kris Dunn. They shot a collective 4-of-24 (16.7 percent) from the field. If these guys are supposed to be part of the future, it’s hard to get excited about it.
How many more times do we have to tell each other this is how it’s going to be for awhile? It’s going to be a lot because we’re only in the middle of November, and the season goes until mid-April. Until we have a better idea of where the Bulls will stand in the draft lottery, the end will continue to seem so far away. Play with your fidget spinner to keep yourself calm, or go out and buy one if it’s not in your possession yet (it’s quite therapeutic, believe me).
The Bulls return home Friday to play the Charlotte Hornets before heading out west for a week. Kemba Walker and Dwight Howard bring their games to the United Center. What could possibly go wrong? Actually, we’ll let the game itself speak.
