LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Kevin Love Lead Cavaliers Over Bulls
Nothing is going to stop the Bulls from losing this season. If you haven’t accepted that by now, why? Anyone expecting a win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday must have thought this game was going to be played on NBA 2K18 on the lowest difficulty level. Instead, we were treated to a 113–91 loss that Chance the Rapper bore witness to.
The highlight for the Bulls was a 9–3 lead they held in the first 2 1/2 minutes. The real Cavaliers showed up not long after, taking a seven-point lead by the end of the first quarter. From there, they slowly built up an insurmountable lead the Bulls barely threatened. Not only did talent win out over developing players, but it was a game after which Fred Hoiberg said the team “took a step backwards.”
In Isaiah Thomas’ absence, Dwyane Wade has filled the third slot of Cleveland’s Big 3 just fine, but few of his games this season have been better than Monday’s. He shot 69.2 percent from the field and tied Kevin Love for a game-high 24 points. Love also grabbed 13 rebounds, all on the defensive end, to complete his sixth double-double in his past eight games. LeBron James scored 23 and dished out six assists. In short, the stars were stars as James, Love, and Wade scored 71 of the Cavs’ 113 points.
While four Bulls starters reached double figures in scoring, Kris Dunn was the leader with 15. Robin Lopez scored 14, as did Justin Holiday, who earned three bonus points after making a 31-foot shot at the buzzer to end the third quarter. Lauri Markkanen only shot 5 of 13 from the floor, but his lone 3-pointer gave him 51 for the season, the most by anyone in NBA history after 22 career games. Bobby Portis had 10 points off the bench and came within a rebound of a double-double, though he was merely a footnote in a dull game from the Bulls’ perspective.
The big trend for the Bulls lately is they play well at first, only to fall apart either quickly or slowly. Whatever the reasons, it comes back to the fact that they’re a young team with a lot of players learning how to play a 48-minute game. Unfortunately for several of them, they won’t be in the NBA for very long once their Bulls tenure is over.
That’s just the reality of a team at the bottom of the league.
The good news about all this youth is guys like Markkanen, Dunn and Zach LaVine are building blocks who can only better with more experience. Getting their butts whipped by a team built to win now like the Cavaliers is simply a matter of paying their dues. Whether Marvin Bagley, Luka Doncic, DeAndre Ayton, or Michael Porter join the Bulls next year, the aforementioned trio can take games like this to teach the next franchise cornerstone how much will be demanded from him against the best of the NBA. This season is all about experience.
The losing streak is now at nine, and the Bulls can break that Wednesday against the Indiana Pacers, whom some thought would challenge the Bulls for worst team in the East. Instead, they have a 13–11 record that would qualify them for the playoffs. The Bulls are sure to recognize a 10-game skid is embarrassing regardless of circumstances. That should give them the motivation they need to end this reeling, even if only for a little bit.
