HEADLINE

Bulls squeezed out a victory

GAME SUMMARY

Portland could not find a rhythm from three for the entirety of that game. PG Malcolm Brogdon did not have a great shooting night as well as SG Afernee Simons. C DeAndre Ayton played fairly well but it was not a monstrous effort which ultimately required his teammates to give more in order for Portland to pull off an upset. PF Jerami Grant also did not have a great shooting night but did get to the FT line which helped to keep Portland in striking distance for the game. Portland dd show resilience towards the 4th quarter as they were able to pull within three before they ultimately lost the wind beneath their sails and sputtered to the end in a losing effort.

As far as the Bulls, Nikola Vucevic and Andre Drummond both played a pivotal role in stabilizing the Bulls offensive attack. Whenever the Chicago Bulls guards struggled to hit shots they could rely on feeding the post in which Drummond and Vucevic routinely delivered the goods. DeMar led the Bulls in scoring and had an efficient night but it was not a spectacular stat line. Coby White struggled from the three point line but still managed to score when the Bulls needed a bucket or burst.

THE BIG ISSUE

Coby White's volume three point shooting is becoming problematic. As much as the Bulls need to increase their three point shot attempts per game, they also need to make them. Coby is helping to improve the number of three point attempts the Bulls shoot but is failing to be consistent at making three point shots at a high volume. This is concerning, because if the Bulls are planning to move on from Zach Lavine, Coby is not showing signs that he can be an efficient three point shooter in the same respect that Zach can. Which means that a Zach Lavine trade will have to include a three point marksman who shoots close to 40% from three while taking close to five to seven threes a game. 

THE BRIGHT SPOT
       
          Julian Phillips and Ayo Dosunmu are players the Bull should definitely do their due diligence to keep around for the next three to four years. Ayo is growing well into his role as a low volume "3-D" player off the bench, but can be tenacious in the open court. Julian Phillips was very impressive, as he was able to find all of his shots within the flow of the offense, showing that he understands how and when to cut, while also making himself ready and available to take and knock down threes. Hopefully, Julian gets more time.                             

BULLS RECORD 22-25

Next Opponent: vs Toronto Raptors
Date: 1/30/24
Time: 7:00pm