Sunday Update Week 5

Posted on by rokdeezbullsblog

At least the Bulls didn’t lose by 40. They were 0-4 this week: 103-98 L to Dallas on Monday, 111-82 L to Boston on Wednesday, 123-104 L to Milwaukee on Friday, and finally, a 122-83 L to Toronto on Saturday. A whole lot of suck.

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Zach LaVine sat out Saturday’s loss to Toronto. He was sick (sick of being hacked on his way to the rim without a foul being called). He probably just watched too much film of the Bulls previous losses from the week and couldn’t stomach another one. I don’t blame him. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to watch this team.

The losses are starting to have an effect on the locker room.

Guys are looking around at each other and fingers are starting to be pointed. The truth is, they just aren’t talented enough to compete against the rest of the league.

The most talented players on the team are injured; you can’t expect to win without talent. God bless Ryan Arcidiacono and his nightly try-hard-ness. Thank God for Shaquille Harrison and his never quit attitude. BUT. The average NBA fan has never heard of either of those two guys, and for good reason. They are two back of the rotation players that are being asked to shoulder more responsibility than they could possibly bear. They aren’t the only ones on this team being asked to do too much right now. You can throw both LaVine and Wendell Carter Jr into that category as well.

That being said, these losses aren’t because of Arcidiacono or Harrison. They can’t be put on Carter or LaVine. They aren’t even Jabari Parker’s or Cameron Payne’s fault. You can’t blame Justin Holiday or Robin Lopez or Chandler Hutchison either. These losses are the TEAM’S fault.

Every single player and coach deserves some portion of the blame for the shit show we fans have had to witness. Lack of hustle, lack of awareness, turnovers, poor transition defense, non-existent transition offense, POOR REBOUNDING EFFORT!!! The Bulls have failed in a lot of ways this week. It’s been so bad that I find myself laughing hysterically at the flubbed passes, botched defensive rotations, contested mid-range pull-up jumpers (The Antonio Blakeney Special), it’s a farce. The whole damn thing is a basketball farce.

I laugh when Coach Fred Hoiberg can’t yell at officials after LaVine gets hacked on the way to the hoop and no foul is called, because it will literally kill him (he’s got a bum ticker). I scream in hysterics when the Bulls force a turnover, run the break, turn the ball over themselves, and then allow an easy bucket on the other end because they are all out of position after trying to run a fast break. I die in stitches every time Jabari Parker scores double digits in the first half and then disappears in the second. I laugh so hard I nearly cry every time I think of how this rebuild is an “accelerated” one, and there is no need to Tank this season.

Right now, the Bulls are about as funny as a Monty Python skit (but with less cross dressing).

 

MVP of the Week: Shaquille Harrison

Shaquille Harrison had 11 steals in the 4 games the Bulls played this week. He gave effort and heart in every single loss. He can’t shoot very well, but he defends, rebounds, and he passes the ball better than most of the rest of the team. He’s playing for his NBA life, and he’s carving out a place in the Bulls rotation as a defensive substitution. If he keeps putting in the effort and heart, he just might stick…

Stat of the Week: 2nd Quarter NetRtg -24.5

The Net Rating stat (NetRtg), from NBA.com, is a team’s point differential per 100 possessions. The Bulls have an overall NetRtg of -10.4. Their overall offensive net rating (points scored per 100 possessions) is 100.5. Their overall defensive net rating (points allowed per 100 possessions) is 110.9. You subtract the defensive net rating from the offensive net rating and you get the NetRtg, -10.4. So, after 100 offensive and defensive possessions you can expect the Bulls to be losing by an average of 10.4 points.

That’s the overall net rating, considering every quarter of every game this season. When you look at just the 2nd quarter of games this season the numbers get a lot worse. The Bulls offensive net rating dips to 92.1 points (per 100 possessions) in 2nd quarters. On defense, their rating rockets up to 116.6 points allowed (per 100 possessions). 92.1 – 116.6 = -24.5. That means that the Bulls are giving their opponents a lot of points in the 2nd quarter.

Things don’t get much better in the 3rd quarter: OffRtg 93.3, DefRtg 113.3, NetRtg -20. Stacey King is always railing on the Bulls telecasts against the team’s lack of effort in the middle quarters, and he is right, these numbers back up the eye test. They tell a story of a team that takes their foot off the gas pedal, a team that allows their opponents to make runs and get stops, a team that doesn’t make mid-game adjustments; it’s the story of losing basketball.

Injury Update:

We’re still a couple weeks away from seeing Markkanen and Dunn on the court, but some encouraging videos have recently been posted to the interwebs…

Rookie Update:

Here’s Wendell Carter Jr. continuing to talk to the media, clarifying his earlier statements about finger pointing…

Rawle Alkins has had a couple of nice games with the Windy City Bulls…

Blog Update:

I will not be posting this upcoming Wednesday. I’m giving myself a small Thanksgiving break. My next post will be the weekly Sunday Update. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, thank you all for reading my posts and supporting this blog! Go Bulls!