Daily Bulls

After trailing by as much as 17 points, the Chicago Bulls’ comeback in the second half came up short, with DeMar DeRozan missing a three-pointer to win the game. Washington improves to 2-0, while the Bulls fall to 1-1. DeRozan finished the game with team-high 32 points, six assists, and six rebounds. Bradley Beal gave the Wizards the lead with a lending floater with 7.4 seconds left in the game.

The Wizards got led by Kyle Kuzma, with 26 points and six rebounds, who shot 50% from the field, and three. Bradley Beal was quiet for the first three quarters but scored 11 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter. Kristaps Porzingis scored 14 points but got only three rebounds. Porzingis fouled out with less than four minutes left in the game. Rui Hachimura was the other scorer in double-digits with 12 points.

Here are four Takeaways

1. Vucevic took advantage of mismatches

During game one of the season against Miami, the Bulls did not take advantage of some easy mismatches in the post for Vucevic. After Chicago watched the tape, whenever the Wizards switched, the Bulls took advantage fast. That led Vucevic to have 10 points, with six coming from the free throw line within the game’s first six minutes. Most of those free throws were costed by mismatches in the post.

During the second quarter, Vucevic stopped the Wizards’ 14-0 run with a three-pointer and a floater to cut the lead to six at halftime. Vucevic would finish the game making 12-of-12 free throws but only made 5 out of 14 shots. With 50 seconds left in the game, he missed a critical three-pointer that could have given the Bulls their first lead since the second quarter. Vucevic would finish the game with 24 points and eight rebounds in 30 minutes.

2. Bench Mob Improvements

Drummond and Dragic are providing what the Bulls need and have had solid together so far this season. Last season, the Bulls were 29th in the NBA in bench points per game, which has flipped around so far with new additions of Drummond and Dragic. Andre Drummond got his first double-double of the season with 10 points and ten rebounds in 18 minutes. Dragic finished the game with seven points and five assists and struggled shooting 3-for-8 from the field. But Dragic finished with a plus/minus of +22, which was the highest on the Bulls.

Coby White has now scored in double-digits in two straight games with 10 points on 50% shooting from the field and made 2-of-4 three-point attempts. White played meaningful minutes throughout the fourth quarter but did not finish the game. The other player to come off the bench was Javonte Green, who did not score in 15 minutes.

3. Scoring struggles except for DeRozan and Vucevic

DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic combined for 56 points on 16-for-37 shooting. The rest of the team went 17-for-42 from the field. Starters except for Vucevic and DeRozan combined to make 6 of 18 shots. Patrick Williams got 10 points with only five shots attempted. Williams finished the game with the worst plus/minus for the Bulls, which was -23. Ayo Dosunmu scored all seven of his points in the first quarter. He went 0-for-4 from the field for the rest of the game.

Zach Lavine’s replacement in the starting lineup, Alex Caruso, struggled offensively going 1-for-4 from the field, resulting in three points. He was sloppy with the ball and had four turnovers, but he defensively played solid, getting three steals. The good news is Zach Lavine will likely play against the Cavaliers.

4. Bulls fought but couldn’t get the lead

Within the first minute of the second half, Washington built their lead to double-digits with two threes by Kyle Kuzma. Minutes later, Chicago was down by 17 points after a Monte Morris floater, 71-54. The Bulls responded with a 20-6 run to finish the third quarter. That made the score 77-74 entering the fourth quarter.

Bradley Beal officially arrived in the fourth quarter when he scored almost half of the Wizards with 12 points in the fourth quarter. Beal helped the Wizards hold the lead for the rest of the game. With three minutes left in the game, down 98-91, the Bulls made a final push but came up short. DeRozan missed a potential game-winner. In the fourth quarter, Chicago shot 30% from the field, making only six shots and one three-pointer. Beal made five shots alone. Chicago was not able to get back the lead.

Final Thoughts

Good News, Zach Lavine will return tomorrow

Before tipoff, Billy Donavon told reporters guard Zach Lavine is expected to play in the Bulls’ season home opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers. If Lavine had played against the Wizards, Chicago would have likely finished the night with a 2-0 record. The schedule will not get any easier with upcoming matchups against the Cavaliers, Celtics, and 76ers in the coming days. The good news is that both games will happen at the United Center.

The Wizards will compete to be in Play-In

Bradley Beal didn’t need to score every possession, which is a good sign. Washington is another team in Eastern Conference that will be fighting to play in the play-in tournament. The Wizards will join six other teams with a 2-0 record.

Up Next

Chicago will play their home opener against Cleveland on Saturday.

Washington will travel to play Cleveland on Sunday.

Follow us on Twitter!!!!

Check out other Posts!!