The Bulls suffered(?) a 112-106 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers last night. The Clippers star, DeAndre Jordan, was unstoppable. He dominated the Bulls, scoring 29 points, grabbing 18 rebounds, and collecting 5 assists as well. The Bulls rookie big man, Lauri Markkanen, did not play last night. His back was feeling strained so the Bulls gave him some rest. Noah Vonleh got the chance to start in Markkanen’s place, he did not make the most of the opportunity.
The Bulls stayed competitive for most of the game, riding a good 1st quarter from Robin Lopez (12 points in 12 minutes), and strong performances by Bobby Portis (19 points, 9 rebounds) and Kris Dunn (18 points, 6 assists).
Wow Dunn drove through an entire set defense out of the timeout pic.twitter.com/yI4oBqeYEU
— Stephen Noh (@StephNoh) March 14, 2018
It wasn’t enough to overcome the strength of DeAndre Jordan. Every other play seemed to result in a dunk for the Clippers big man.
DeAndre Jordan led the @LAClippers in Chicago with 29 PTS, 18 REB!#ItTakesEverything pic.twitter.com/EwYivFOdME
— NBA (@NBA) March 14, 2018
Midway through the 4th quarter, the Bulls found themselves trailing by 10 points and the Clippers never relinquished that lead.
Cameron Payne continued his quest for acceptance in the NBA by playing some decent minutes at back up point guard. He had a couple of impressive steals that led to quick baskets, and did a good job of facilitating the offense; he didn’t overdribble and kill the Bulls pace. Payne has had several good outings since his return from injury. He looks like he is at 100% and ready to move on from his injury riddled past.
Someone who is still struggling to recover from his past injuries, Zach LaVine, has played inconsistently since the All-Star break. LaVine is also adjusting to his new role as the Bulls #1 offensive option. He is now being guarded by the opponents best defenders, and he has been forced to work very hard to get to his spots on the floor. Last night, he was out of rhythm on offense, forcing up contested 3 pointers and off-balance mid-range shots. The results were not good. Without Markkanen on the floor, the Bulls need LaVine to step up, but he finished with 10 points on 3-13 shooting.
Antonio Blakeney and Cristiano Felicio both had extended minutes off the bench for the Bulls.
What is Blakeney doing pic.twitter.com/eUFnuQFGFA
— Stephen Noh (@StephNoh) March 14, 2018
They must be feeling Tankathon pressure from the New York Knicks. The Knicks have lost 8 games in a row (including one to the Dallas Mavericks last night) and are now just a half game behind the Bulls for the 8th worst record in the league. The Knicks are the proud owners of the leagues second longest active losing streak, only out done by the Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizzlies have the leagues longest active losing streak, 18 in a row, yet it was the Bulls that received a warning from the commissioner of the NBA for violating anti-tanking rules. Head-scratcher.
Bulls send all five to the glass, Clippers send all five back. Clippers still get the ball back. pic.twitter.com/rzQ53eLuwM
— Stephen Noh (@StephNoh) March 14, 2018
Incidentally, the Bulls next opponent are those very tanky Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday, followed by a confounding Cleveland Cavaliers team on Saturday, and the aforementioned New York Knicks on Monday. One way or another, the results from this next week of games will have a profound impact on where the Bulls pick in the draft…
The Worst Records in the NBA:
1. Memphis Grizzlies 18-49 .269
2. Phoenix Suns 19-50 .275
3. Atlanta Hawks and Orlando Magic 20-48 .294
5. Brooklyn Nets and Sacramento Kings 21-47 .309
7. Dallas Mavericks 22-46 .324
8. Chicago Bulls 23-44 .343
9. New York Knicks 24-44 .353
RokDeez Bulls Blog 
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