Bulls Beat Markkanen

Posted on by rokdeezbullsblog

It was the best offensive performance of the young season for the Chicago Bulls, as they beat Lauri Markkanen and the Utah Jazz, 130-113. Eight Bulls players scored in double digits, with Zach LaVine leading the way with 24 points. The Jazz looked a bit out of sorts, they gifted the Bulls 22(!) turnovers which resulted in 30 points.

The Bulls have been playing a lot of BAD basketball the last couple weeks, so it was nice to see them hit their shots and take advantage of another teams mistakes. The offense flowed. The 3 pointers were falling. The defense yielded turnovers and fast break points. It was the kind of game that gives fans hope for the season…

…And it’s the ultimate tease. We’ve seen this exact game soooo many times over the past 3 seasons, the “right the ship” game. Everything works, everything flows, the Bulls full talent is on display, and that sly little thought, “These guys look good!”, worms its way into the brain. Until they put together a stretch of at least 2 months of this kind of play, it’s an illusion. This team is still a below .500 team.

I’m sick of the false hope. I’m sick of the Front Office pointing to these “right the ship” games as the reason to keep plodding along with this less than mediocre team. Don’t get your hopes up because of this win, Bulls fans. It’s nice in the moment, but in the context of this season, they are now 3-5. Just the other night, this same Bulls team was easily thrashed by the defending champion Denver Nuggets. The Bulls are a long way from being competitive.

After 3 seasons of the tease, this win shouldn’t earn the trust of us fans. We can’t believe that they won’t go back to playing BAD basketball in their very next game, we’ve seen it happen way too many times. Put together a streak of wins, a serious streak, like 6, 7, 8 wins in a row, then maybe we can have the conversation about this team being competitive again.

5 OBSERVATIONS FROM BULLS VS JAZZ

  1. I miss Lauri Markkanen. In my personal life I’ve never had an ex that I’ve pined over, there has never been “the one that got away”, but as a Bulls fan, I think Markkanen is that player. Things ended poorly, and I regret that. I We fans, heaped a lot of expectations on Lauri that he didn’t deserve, and I see that now. If we had just been a bit more patient and understanding. If we hadn’t insisted he be a 20/10 player right out of the draft, or if we hadn’t forced him to stand in the corner on offense for long stretches of the game… If only we had a competent coach that could have unlocked Markkanen’s game… So many regrets. Oh well.
  2. Jevon Carter continues to be a professional basketball player, and is shooting lights out from beyond the arc.
  3. The Bulls really did spread the offense around. Eight players in double digits, good ball movement, and excellent 3 point shooting. It looked like a modern basketball game.
  4. I’m pretty sure the Jazz were drunk. 22 turnovers!
  5. Andre Drummond pulled down his TEN THOUSANDth rebound! He is now 43rd on the All-Time Rebound list, and he has the opportunity to climb a couple spots higher by the time this season is over.

Until he does, thanks for reading, thanks for subscribing, and GO BULLS!