The Bulls ended their four-game preseason with a surprisingly outrageous 105-103 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder that was one-sided (in the wrong direction) in the important minutes. Here’s what stood out:
Lauri Markkanen is back on track
You couldn’t have written a better start for Lauri Markkanen. After watching an offensive return of the free ball after the Bulls’ first possession, he opened the scoring with a beautiful 3-pointer pick-and-pop powered by Coby White. He went on to score eight points (3-for-5 FG, 2-for-4 3P), four rebounds and an assist in his first eight minutes of action before check-out.
Then he returned in the second quarter to run a little more in the center in the three-wing line (containing Patrick Williams, Otto Porter Jr. and Chandler Hutchison) that Billy Donovan frequented. He hit another 3 to open the second and threw a dose of the old Markkanen with a side-by-side lay-in that nearly beat Mike Muscala in the empty spots behind the basket. Halfway through, he got stuck in the rim and multiplied another hard house, followed by a high-low alley-oop with Wendell Carter Jr. a few goods later. He also blocked a shot in that third quarter.
Markkanen finished the night with 22 points (9-for-17 shooting, 4-for-10 from 3) with five rebounds and one assist and block each, a much-needed injection in a dying pre-season line so far . He was 5-for-25 from the field and 2-for-14 from 3 in the last two games that came into play. Although it was an encouraging performance, the fact that he equalized with White for a low team -19 plus-minus showed what kind of night it was for the Bulls in the quarters one to three.
“A“He said the Bulls coach, Billy Donovan, said about Markkanen.” Lauri was the one who kept us there offensively with the way he shot the ball. “
RELATED: Lauri Markkanen digs an extended offensive role: “Last night’s night and day”
Wendell Carter Jr.’s 3-point unhappiness continues
Make a bow at Wendell Carter Jr.’s pre-season After a 0-for-4 shooting performance in 3 points in it, he concludes the list of four long-range 1-for-16 games, many of which look pretty open. He achieved only 31.4% (11-for-35) of his field goals overall.
We will say it until we are blue in the face and it will apply to trends outside Carter: a pre-season collapse is not the end of the world. But without a 3-point shooting body at the NBA level recurring, it’s certainly worrying, because it refers to the full extension of Carter’s offensive game.
On Friday night, at least, he threw the ability to play Donovan, who promised to unlock, throwing six assists, and found a mini-ditch around the basket, shooting 4 for 5 from a distance of 2 points. Nearly half of his field goal attempts have been 3s this pre-season. Even if Donovan continues to encourage him to come out, this rate will not translate into the regular season.
Overall, a step back
After three games of incremental progress on both ends, the Bulls posted lower group performance on both ends against a poor Thunder team in it.
Despite the fact that Markkanen found its flow, the crime sometimes stagnated in the first three quarters. They entered the fourth shooting below 40% of the ground and 30% of 3, which, again, did not fall in mass. More worrying was the team’s ball and the player’s movement that seemed to disappear. Thunder led 90-71 through three quarters.
That’s it: Bulls allowed – again – a very bad Thunder team that scored 90 points in three quarters against them, accumulating 36 points in the paint and throwing 47.1 percent of the floor and 46.4 percent of the depth along the way. Their connectivity has increased and decreased.
“As a coach, it’s hard to control the ball coming in and out of the basket. And I think it’s hard for the player to control that,” Donovan said, later calling the short closures an area of blatant defensive deficiency. “The challenge for us is the consistency part. And we just weren’t consistent tonight with how we should play, at both ends of the floor.”
IN CONNECTION: Bulls fail to become defensive in pre-season final against Thunder
Of course, a unit of deep reserves then executed the return of the pre-season, turning a 19-point deficit into a one-point victory with a period of 34-13. Simi Shittu shone, scoring 13 points and six rebounds in the frame. A Frank Jackson 3 for victory just came out for Thunder at the buzzer. It was strangely thrilling.
But in the minutes that mattered most for dining dishes like these, it was an overwhelming performance.
“We had two good games, two bad games. We showed that we can come back from the bad games,” Zach LaVine said when asked what he learned about this pre-season team. “Even though we won tonight, they jumped on us early and we need to be able to respond to some of those tracks. It’s a new group. We’re still learning. I think we need to fight a little bit more.”
Fast bullets
- Zach LaVine he looked just as good as the Bulls’ best player this preseason. His 20-point exit tonight brought his average score to 19.8 points per game, to 55.6 percent (45.5 percent of 3) for the four games. He was also active defensively early – slipping two steals and recording a handful of deflections in the first quarter – before that unit disintegrated at the team level.
- Coby White and Patrick Williams, young people, stumbled a little tonight. White played 30 minutes, but scored only four points (1-for-10 from the field, 1-for-6 from 3), three assists and two turnovers. Williams had a good time on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as he charged down the right and struck the ball towards the top corner, but the home team’s goalkeeper made the save. But there was a lid on the rim until the fourth quarter, when each team’s benches emptied and the Bulls came back into the game.
- Chandler Hutchison it was a legitimate bright spot throughout the pre-season. The length, range and intensity on the defensive end stand out. Although there were no major explosions with a capital “E” tonight, he sank two of his four 3-point attempts.
Unload
Download MyTeams Today!
