Zach LaVine is not an All Star...yet, but that could change tonight
23 HRS AGO - Photo by Maria Lysaker/NBAE via Getty Images
it’s very important to LaVine and the Bulls, Expand
23 HRS AGO - Photo by Maria Lysaker/NBAE via Getty Images
it’s very important to LaVine and the Bulls, but does it matter otherwise? A real life hack of mine when it comes to NBA media consumption is to gloss over any and all awards conversation. It’s a real time-saver. Like, who even won MVP 3 years ago, and what interest is there in determining who the next one will be in February?
So I don’t particularly care much if Zach LaVine is named to the All-Star reserves list tonight (news should break around 5:57 PM via Shams tweet), but it would be a relative injustice if he’s not selected.
Because we all know he’s already an All-Star...in our hearts!
We did a case study on LaVine making the East roster ten days ago and he’s only strengthened that case since then. During a time when some dummy thought the team would have another injury-riddled tankathon they instead have been winning with LaVine contributing all over the court and leading close victories.
Zach LaVine last 9 games:33.6 Collapse
Bulls vs. Kings final score: a taking care of business night as Bulls get another win
3 DAYS AGO - Mike Dinovo-USA TODAY Sports
a relatively easy night at the office for the improved (?!) Expand
3 DAYS AGO - Mike Dinovo-USA TODAY Sports
a relatively easy night at the office for the improved (?!) Bulls The Bulls led early and it rarely got too close for comfort, holding off the Sacramento Kings late for a 122-114 victory. It was a pretty wild game of two shorthanded below-average teams, I don’t think I’ve ever watched more players fly sprawling out over the baseline under the basket. But the Bulls looked a class above (more close to strictly average, really) and that is a nice level to see at this point in the season with some key guys still out.
Per usual it was led by Zach LaVine. The Kings, who own the worst defense in the league, truly had no prayer of even slowing down LaVine. They didn’t have any solid wing defenders to try and their interior help defenders are slow as well. Thus LaVine, to use a Stacey Kingism uttered 14 times a night, made it look so easy. 38 points on only 20 shot attempts, and only 6 attempts from three. LaVine was making a living getting into the lane Collapse
Bulls vs. 76ers final score: Joel Embiid’s 50 points too much for Chicago in 112-105 loss
4 DAYS AGO - Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
dominant performance from the big man Zach LaVine and the Expand
4 DAYS AGO - Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
dominant performance from the big man Zach LaVine and the Bulls finally got some national TV shine against the Sixers on Friday night. While they battled hard all game despite a poor shooting performance, Joel Embiid was just way too much all night long in a 112-105 defeat.
Embiid crushed the Bulls from the opening tip and wound up going for a career-high 50 points on 17-of-26 shooting overall and 15-of-17 from the charity stripe. The big man added 17 rebounds, five assists, four blocks and two steals. He was a plus-22 in a game that stayed competitive throughout, with the Bulls holding strong despite the Sixers star’s dominance. The absences of Ben Simmons and Shake Milton left the Sixers a bit thin, and the Bulls’ bench helped keep them in the game against a Sixers reserve unit that really struggled. Every time it looked like Philly was about to pull away, and that happened on multiple occasions, Chicago made a surge to get back in it.
It Collapse
Bulls vs. Pistons game preview and thread: a schedule change for the better
6 DAYS AGO - Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images
the league rescheduled this for both teams who had Expand
6 DAYS AGO - Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images
the league rescheduled this for both teams who had cancelled games In a first for the Bulls in this weird COVID-riddled season, they are playing a game that was ‘moved up’ to take the place of a postponed one. The Bulls were originally supposed to play the Charlotte Hornets, and Pistons were supposed to play the Dallas Mavericks. As both the Hornets and Mavs are on the shelf this week, the league figured hey, why not?
And a matchup between this two teams is indeed fairly inconsequential. The Bulls are somehow still in the East ‘playoff hunt’, but the Pistons 3.5 games behind them and worst in the conference.
The Bulls haven’t faced Detroit in over a calendar year. Both of these franchises had front office overhauls heading into this season, though only one of them has been interesting and active.
Troy Weaver on his aggressive approach to building the Pistons: "When I was growing up, I didn't stick my toe in the pool. I jumped in. I sit Collapse
Bulls vs. Pacers final score: Chicago ends 10-game losing streak in Indiana with 120-112 OT win
2/16/2021 - Photo by Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images
it wasn’t pretty, but the Bulls pulled it off Expand
2/16/2021 - Photo by Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images
it wasn’t pretty, but the Bulls pulled it off in Wendell Carter Jr.’s return to the lineup The Bulls entered Monday’s game with a 10-game losing streak in Indiana dating back to 2016. While it wasn’t pretty, the streak mercifully came to an end thanks to a 120-112 overtime victory over the Pacers in Wendell Carter Jr.’s return to the lineup.
Despite taking an 11-point lead early in the fourth quarter, it felt like that losing streak was actually going to continue when the Pacers came storming back to take the lead heading into crunch time. But after a quiet first three quarters, Zach LaVine went into attack mode, taking over down the stretch with 12 of his game-high 30 points coming in the fourth quarter. LaVine’s biggest shot came with a high degree of difficulty down two points in the final minute of regulation:
Zach LaVine's got the CLUTCH gene.@NBCSChicago | #NBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/iZw2BrPGey— Chicago Bulls Collapse
Chicago Bulls vs. Los Angeles Clippers Preview: no Paul George so is there a chance?
2/12/2021 - Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Bulls looking for first signature win of season Chicago Bulls Expand
2/12/2021 - Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Bulls looking for first signature win of season Chicago Bulls (10-14) vs. Los Angeles Clippers (18-8)
The answer to the million dollar question isn’t getting any clearer.
Is the tandem of Zach LaVine and Coby White the Chicago Bulls backcourt of the future?
The two young guards combined for 76 points on 27-for-45 from the field (60 percent), hitting 17 of the Bulls franchise-record 25 three pointers. Their special performances powered the Bulls to a 129-116 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday evening.
But the two guys have a net rating of nearly -10 in the team-high 588 minutes they’ve shared the floor together this season. Part of the reason is that White is a shooting guard being forced to play the point guard position. Meaning the Bulls may have two ball-dominant shooting guards who don’t complement each other particularly well.
If you’re ready to give up on the ‘Coby White point guard experiment’ already that means another year Collapse
The All-Star case for Zach LaVine
2/12/2021 - Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
but the field is crowded The NBA released the second Expand
2/12/2021 - Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
but the field is crowded The NBA released the second voting returns for the 2021 All-Star Game (that’s actually going to happen) on Thursday, with Bulls guard Zach LaVine holding firm in fifth among Eastern Conference guards behind Bradley Beal, Kyrie Irving, James Harden and Jaylen Brown.
Here are the full voting results thus far:
The second returns for #NBAAllStar Voting presented by AT&T!VOTE NOW on https://t.co/LJPDRHEugp, the NBA App or on Twitter using #NBAAllStar #FirstNameLastName. ️: https://t.co/CXy9KEYXBe pic.twitter.com/Gv5wGSY55I— NBA (@NBA) February 11, 2021
LaVine was never going to be voted in as a starter, but it’s nice to see him getting some credit from the fans for his strong season. I’m honestly kind of surprised LaVine is above Trae Young in the voting, though that could just be a function of the large fan base in Chicago and the concerted push the franchise and its owned media arms are making to get him Collapse
Chicago Bulls vs. New Orleans Pelicans Preview: entertainment provided by the opponent
2/10/2021 - Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
Begging for a win Chicago Bulls (9-14) vs. New Expand
2/10/2021 - Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
Begging for a win Chicago Bulls (9-14) vs. New Orleans Pelicans (11-12)
A sobering reminder from YFBB’s latest: After purge in the front office and on the coaching staff. Optimism about the future for the first time in years. Luck in the lottery. And the end result? The Bulls are in exactly the same spot that they have been in for the last three or four years: the bottom of the NBA.
Tankathon.com, a website most Bulls fans probably have pinned to their homepage by now, reveals if the season ended tonight the Bulls would finish with the fifth-worst record in the Association.
Tonight, the Bulls could get an advanced look at Lonzo Ball, who has been swirling in trade speculation lately. Ball hasn’t lived up to his draft position early on in his career. The Bulls really could use a true point guard and Ball could offer them that skillset if he ended up in Chicago...
Lonzo has picked up his play recently, perhaps in response to Collapse
Bulls vs. Wizards final score: Chicago suffers awful 105-101 loss after Zach LaVine misses late layup
2/9/2021 - Photo by Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images
epic loss Monday was a brutal day for your Expand
2/9/2021 - Photo by Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images
epic loss Monday was a brutal day for your Chicago Bulls. Lauri Markkanen is out two to four weeks with his shoulder injury. Nobody knows when Otto Porter Jr. will be back from his back injury. Chandler Hutchison isn’t playing due to “personal reasons,” and it’s unclear when he’ll be available again. To cap it all off, the Bulls suffered arguably their worst loss of the season in a 105-101 defeat to the lowly Wizards, who were playing without Russell Westbrook for rest purposes.
As bad as the Bulls were, they were still playing the Wizards, who also suck, and had a chance to tie or win in the final seconds. Unfortunately, Zach LaVine biffed a game-tying layup attempt to cap off a brutal fourth quarter, which ruined a 35-point night. LaVine was looking for a foul call on Alex Len, but I thought this was a good no-call:
dang pic.twitter.com/zuinCCD5p5— Bulls Talk (@NBCSBulls) February 9, 2021
LaVine shot just 2-of-11 in the Collapse
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Bulls vs. Rockets final score: Chicago uses 46-point 3rd quarter to surge to 120-100 win
1 DAY AGO - Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images
a thing of beauty in the third The Rockets entered Expand
1 DAY AGO - Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images
a thing of beauty in the third The Rockets entered Monday night’s contest against the Bulls banged up and losers of seven straight, so this was a game Chicago needed to take care of to keep the momentum going. It looked like the Bulls were going to run the home Rockets off their own floor from the opening tip when they went up 22-7, but a lull to close the first quarter and open the second made things interesting ... for a bit.
After taking a six-point lead into halftime, Chicago then basically pulled a repeat of the Pelicans third quarter from a few weeks ago, scoring a season-high 46 points to turn the game into a total laugher. The fourth quarter was extended garbage time, with the Bulls cruising to a 120-100 victory to make it four wins out of five. Denzel Valentine even dunked for the third time in his career:
Did not think Denzel had this in him. Good on ya pic.twitter.com/ZjWQ6Yl5cH— Will Gottlieb (@wontgottlieb) February 23, Collapse
Bulls vs. Kings game preview and thread: enter the league’s worst defense
3 DAYS AGO - Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images
Bulls have a chance to get right tonight The Expand
3 DAYS AGO - Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images
Bulls have a chance to get right tonight The Bulls far from embarrassed themselves in last night’s lone national TV appearance, remaining mostly competitive before succumbing to a dominant Joel Embiid performance to lose in the final minutes to the Sixers.
Quick turnaround as they host the Sacramento Kings. The Kings are having a typically interesting (#kangz) season having the league’s worst defense yet owning a couple more wins than expected at 12-16. The Bulls have an identical record but a superior net rating, a -1.1 versus the -5.5 sported by the Kings. The Kings are coming in riding a 5 game losing streak.
These teams matched up in early January, with the Kings pulling out the W in Sacramento due to some late makes by rookie Tyrese Haliburton, wasting a 36-point effort by Coby White. That was a very high-scoring affair, we’ll see with the Bulls in a back-to-back whether they can keep up the scoring.
Injury Report:
No changes Collapse
Bulls vs. Sixers preview and thread: Chicago looks for third win in a row
4 DAYS AGO - Photo by Randy Belice/NBAE via Getty Images
first national TV game of the season After Expand
4 DAYS AGO - Photo by Randy Belice/NBAE via Getty Images
first national TV game of the season After getting blown out against the Clippers last Saturday, the Chicago Bulls responded with back to back wins against division opponents. First was an overtime win against the Indiana Pacers, followed by a come from behind win to defeat the Pistons. Per usual this season, Zach LaVine was the main offensive catalyst in both of those wins. He had 30 points and 9 rebounds against Indiana while against Detroit he had 37, scoring 15 in one quarter alone. His efforts were crucial in making sure Chicago got two key wins to keep them in the hunt for an Eastern Conference play-off spot. The Bulls are currently 12-15, which is good enough for ninth in the conference standings and are half a game out of the seventh seed. To make matters more intriguing for Chicago they are only a whole game behind the Toronto Raptors for the sixth seed so there is a lot to play for.
Tonight will be the first time Chicago Collapse
Cash Considerations Podcast: Bulls beat Pacers and deep dive on Lonzo Ball trade rumors
7 DAYS AGO - should the Bulls trade for Lonzo Ball? Jason and Ricky briefly talk about the Bulls beating the Expand
7 DAYS AGO - should the Bulls trade for Lonzo Ball? Jason and Ricky briefly talk about the Bulls beating the Pacers in Wendell Carter Jr.’s return to the lineup before welcoming fellow Blue Wire podcaster Mason Ginsberg from In The N.O. to the show to do a deep dive on the Lonzo Ball trade rumors and all things Pelicans. We discuss Lonzo’s play this season, his fit on the Bulls, possible trades and much more.
Cash Considerations is part of the Blue Wire sports podcasting network. The pod can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play. Collapse
Bulls vs. Pacers preview and thread: can shorthanded Bulls compete with a good opponent?
2/15/2021 - Photo by Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images
The Bulls will be looking to bounce back after Expand
2/15/2021 - Photo by Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images
The Bulls will be looking to bounce back after getting outscored by 15 in the second half against the Clippers on Friday It’s been rough sledding for the Chicago Bulls in February. Despite picking up key wins against fellow playoff spot contenders in the Knicks and Magic, Chicago has gone just 3-4 this month including losing two of their last three. They rebounded nicely from a bad defeat against Washington with a win against New Orleans thanks to a historical three-point shooting night. However, the momentum didn’t carry over to last Friday night as they were beaten 125-106 to the LA Clippers. Chicago hung around in the first half and were only down four heading into the break. But the second half was dominated by the visitors as Kawhi Leonard’s 33 points helped improve the Clippers away record to 11-4. The loss knocked Chicago’s record down to 10-15, which is good enough for 11th in the East. They remain a half game behind the Collapse
Thad Young, not Zach LaVine, should be the closer
2/12/2021 - Photo by Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images
the Bulls close-games record will improve when Expand
2/12/2021 - Photo by Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images
the Bulls close-games record will improve when they aren’t so predictable The Bulls, especially when healthy, has performed better than their record. They’ve lost two games on bad calls (confirmed on the NBA’s L2M report), a third on a highly questionable jump ball, and overall have an awful 2-9 record in close games that should come down to 50/50 situations.
The results should be that random, but a familiar pattern often emerges in these close games down the stretch: Chicago will make a furious run, Zach LaVine will dominate down the stretch, the Bulls will get to a final possession, the whole world knows Zach will get the ball and take the shot, Zach fails to close out the game.
As Stephen Noh cataloged this week, LaVine scores a lot of points in the clutch but his percentages are lacking: just 34 percent from the field and 26 percent from 3.In order to flip the results, the Bulls need to become less predictable towards the end Collapse
Coby White is a guard who can shoot except when he dribbles, so maybe he should play shooting guard
2/11/2021 - Mike Dinovo-USA TODAY Sports
part of a record-breaking backcourt against the Pelicans Now Expand
2/11/2021 - Mike Dinovo-USA TODAY Sports
part of a record-breaking backcourt against the Pelicans Now don’t I look silly after predicting this stretch of Bulls games while undermanned would be ‘grotesque’! All they had to do was have a record-breaking shooting night to get a quality and entertaining victory.
The starting backcourt led it, with Zach LaVine’s leap this year continuing right out the gate in this game. It was far more surprising to see Coby White supplement the offense to this degree. White has had a miserable season as the Bulls starting point guard, and was seemingly regressing by the game with a (hopefully) rock-bottom performance against the Wizards where he was outplayed by Raul Neto.
Coby’s defense is still abysmal, and ultimately a major part of discussing his viability as a core piece. But he can shoot the ball, and so it was nice to see that actually backed up in action after even that part of his game went south recently.
Old pal Stephen Noh wrote up the Collapse
Cash Considerations Podcast: The Bulls are hurting and Twitter Q&A
2/10/2021 - things aren’t looking so hot right now The Bulls are in a tough spot with Lauri Markkanen, Expand
2/10/2021 - things aren’t looking so hot right now The Bulls are in a tough spot with Lauri Markkanen, Wendell Carter Jr., Otto Porter Jr. and Chandler Hutchison all unavailable. The loss to the Wizards was reminiscent of ugly games of past years, and it might be time to start focusing on the bigger picture. Jason and Ricky touch on a number of those big-picture questions in a Twitter Q&A.
Cash Considerations is part of the Blue Wire sports podcasting network. The pod can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play. Collapse
Bulls vs. Wizards preview: looking for a season sweep
2/8/2021 - Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images
Can the Bulls make three out of three Expand
2/8/2021 - Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images
Can the Bulls make three out of three against the Wizards After a tough loss on Friday night, the Chicago Bulls once again found a way to bounce back as they knocked off the Magic in the rematch 118-92.
Like he has for much of the season Zach LaVine was the main offensive catalyst, scoring 39 points and notching seven rebounds. Patrick Williams had another great game against Orlando with a double double of 16 points and 10 rebounds. It kept the Bulls within half a game of the 8th seeded New York Knicks.
Now they are set to begin a three-game home stand with their first game being very winnable, in fact against a team they’ve already beat twice this season.
The Washington Wizards are currently second to last in the Eastern Conference standings with a record of 5-15 and have lost three out of their last four games, including another L yesterday to the Charlotte Hornets. With the loss, Washington is now two games back of 13th Collapse
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Bulls vs. Rockets preview: Chicago looks for fourth win in five games
1 DAY AGO - Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images
Bulls look to build off last weeks momentum with Expand
1 DAY AGO - Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images
Bulls look to build off last weeks momentum with another win against Houston Despite losing on national television on Friday, the Chicago Bulls had a great past week of basketball. Even in the loss, they battled against the best team in the Eastern Conference down to the wire and we even saw signs of a Zach LaVine fourth quarter takeover. Chicago then rebounded back nicely and beat the Sacramento Kings the next night, 122-114. It was a game which the Bulls had controlled since the start and it was nice to see them effectively close out the opposition in the final minutes to seal the victory.
The three wins last week has Chicago sitting 9th in the Eastern Conference standings. They have two teams only a half game behind them in Miami and Atlanta but there is also a chance the Bulls can move up into a playoff spot. With only five teams in the Eastern Conference having a greater than .500 record, Chicago still has a chance to get the sixth Collapse
Cash Considerations Podcast: National TV Bulls lose to Sixers
4 DAYS AGO - hard-fought L Jason and Ricky recap the Bulls’ tough 112-105 loss to the Sixers on ESPN. While Expand
4 DAYS AGO - hard-fought L Jason and Ricky recap the Bulls’ tough 112-105 loss to the Sixers on ESPN. While Joel Embiid was totally dominant with a career-high 50 points, the Bulls hung tough all game and had a chance at the end before falling just short. We also touch on the 25-point comeback against the Pistons and Zach LaVine’s All-Star candidacy.
Cash Considerations is part of the Blue Wire sports podcasting network. The pod can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play. Collapse
Bulls vs. Pistons final score: Chicago comes back from 25 points down to earn 105-102 victory
6 DAYS AGO - Photo by Randy Belice/NBAE via Getty Images
Zach LaVine put the Bulls on his back for a Expand
6 DAYS AGO - Photo by Randy Belice/NBAE via Getty Images
Zach LaVine put the Bulls on his back for a while, and then they delivered as a team in crunch time After going down by as many as 25 points late in the first half and trailing by 18 at halftime, the Chicago Bulls needed a spark. Billy Donovan shuffled his lineup and switched out three starters at the start of the third quarter, with Thaddeus Young, Tomas Satoransky and Denzel Valentine joining Zach LaVine and Garrett Temple on the floor, pushing Wendell Carter Jr., Coby White and Patrick Williams to the bench after the veterans closed the first half strong.
The gambit worked, but the real spark once again came from LaVine. He had a monstrous opening to the second half, scoring 15 points in the third quarter alone to get Chicago back into the ball game. LaVine’s heroics continued into crunch time, but then it was clutch 3-pointers from Coby White and Patrick Williams that helped hold off a furious charge from Jerami Grant in a Collapse
Bulls vs. Hornets postponed, good timing to get the roster healthy again
2/16/2021 - Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
who said it was gonna be all doom and gloom this month? Expand
2/16/2021 - Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
who said it was gonna be all doom and gloom this month? The Bulls game this Wednesday against the Charlotte Hornets has been postponed. The Hornets saw a couple games meet this fate due to contact tracing fallout after their opponents on the San Antonio Spurs generated several positive COVID test results.
So now the Bulls have a couple days off at home before traveling to Philadelphia to face the Sixers on Friday.
It’s good timing, though really any time in the grueling NBA schedule is a good time for some kind of relief.
It was nearly a week ago that some asshole declared the season’s upcoming period as ‘trash’. The Bulls have gone 2-1 since then and the victories have been entertaining and maybe a bit informative (it’s evaluation season, if you recall). A record setting shooting performance took down the Pelicans, then last night it took so many Domantas Sabonis misses that looked like point-shaving gone awry (just asking questions???) Collapse
Bulls vs. Clippers final score: Chicago pummeled in 2nd half after keeping it close early
2/13/2021 - Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
too many turnovers early, too little defense late The Expand
2/13/2021 - Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
too many turnovers early, too little defense late The Bulls looked to be going into a stretch, without several rotation players, where they were about to get smoked by any halfway decent team. It took a record-breaking shooting performance to avert that fate last time out, but Friday night against the Clippers they were more in form in a 125-106 drubbing.
It was a competitive first half despite a truly ugly start, where Daniel Gafford’s opening stint of three and a half minutes produced 1 missed shot, 2 fouls, and 4 turnovers. His replacement Thaddeus Young had 2 more turnovers in that opening quarter. But the team only had 7 in the following 3 quarters, and some great first-half shooting (9-19 from three) had them relatively competitive in this one at halftime.
But the 2nd half was way too easy for the Clippers, as Los Angeles shot 61% from the field and outscored the Bulls 67-52 over those last two periods.
Kawhi Leonard was brilliant Collapse
Cash Considerations Podcast: The Suite Life of Zach and Coby
2/12/2021 - and why LaVine deserves to be an All-Star On this emergency episode of Cash Considerations, Jason Expand
2/12/2021 - and why LaVine deserves to be an All-Star On this emergency episode of Cash Considerations, Jason and Ricky celebrate Zach LaVine and Coby White making history in the Bulls’ 129-116 victory over the Pelicans. LaVine and White combined to hit 17 of the Bulls’ franchise-record 25 triples, becoming the first teammates in NBA history to each hit at least eight 3-balls in a game. We also discuss Zach LaVine’s deserving All-Star candidacy in a crowded field.
Cash Considerations is part of the Blue Wire sports podcasting network. The pod can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play. Collapse
Bulls vs. Pelicans final score: Chicago hits franchise-record 25 3-pointers in 129-116 win
2/11/2021 - Mike Dinovo-USA TODAY Sports
Zach LaVine and Coby White made history in an absolutely wild Expand
2/11/2021 - Mike Dinovo-USA TODAY Sports
Zach LaVine and Coby White made history in an absolutely wild game After losing to the lowly Wizards on Monday, it felt like the Bulls’ season was about to go off the rails. They instead responded with their most prolific 3-point shooting performance of all time, hitting a franchise-record 25 triples on 47 attempts in a truly wild 129-116 victory over the Pelicans.
Zach LaVine and Coby White did the majority of the damage, with the duo combining for 76 points and 17-of-31 shooting from beyond the arc. LaVine poured in a whopping 46 points on 17-of-25 from the field and 9-of-14 from 3, while White added 30 points on 10-of-20 from the field and 8-of-17 from long distance. The duo made some shocking history given Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant were teammates for three seasons:
Zach LaVine and Coby White are the first teammates in NBA history to each make 8 threes in a game. pic.twitter.com/8jbUjaPAQq— ESPN Stats & Info Collapse
We’ve reached our annual ‘the ship be sinking’ mark of the forever-rebuilding Bulls
2/9/2021 - Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
so tired of this I regret to inform everyone that yet Expand
2/9/2021 - Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
so tired of this I regret to inform everyone that yet another Bulls season has turned to trash. A home loss to the Wizards, one of the worst teams in the league that were on a back-to-back and part of a stretch that was looking to get their coach fired...that pretty much calls it.
The frontcourt has been ravaged by injuries, and so what had been seen as a stretch a winnable games (they get a free pass getting blown out by good teams, for some reason) instead resolved to a 2-4 record.
And now the upcoming schedule looks daunting, with no hope on the immediate horizon. All of the injuries either have weeks-long or indefinite timelines: Carter (thigh contusion), Markkanen (shoulder), Porter (back fat), and Hutchison (mysterious personal reasons). The backfill on the deep end of the roster has forced Billy Donovan to deploy some grotesque configurations like starting Denzel Valentine at small forward or playing Felicio and Arcidiacono at all. Collapse
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