5 of the next 6 games for the Chicago Bulls will be played at home, in the United Center. The homestand starts tonight against the hurting Detroit Pistons, and after a brief sojourn up to Milwaukee tomorrow, settles into two games against the Orlando Magic, followed by two games with the Miami Heat (Thanks A.I. Scheduler). With the exception of the game against the Bucks, these are all winnable games.
The Bulls have the perfect opportunity tonight to avenge their early season loss to the Pistons, who have about a third of their roster injured. This includes the expected absence of Jalen Duren who tore the Bulls apart with a 23/15/5 performance in their previous meeting. The Bulls are also coming off an “extended” break. The last game they played was their Wednesday loss to the Phoenix Suns. The Bulls have had 3 days to rest, lick their wounds, and come up with some kind of strategy for tonight and the rest of the homestand.
While this upcoming stretch of games offers a great chance to climb out of the hole the Bulls have dug for themselves in the standings, history suggests that all we should expect from them is a 2-4 record. Harsh? Probably, but deservedly so. The Bulls are a below .500 team and have been that way since it became apparent that Lonzo Ball wouldn’t be setting the pace of the offense.
This past week, Kevin Anderson, a director of studio content at NBC Sports Chicago, posted on X . . .
Chicago sports radio personality, Dan Bernstein, of 670AM The Score, and his son Jason, summed it up on their podcast, Organizations Win Championships. . .
In their short history together, DeRozan, Vucevic, and LaVine have gone from The Big 3, to a big 3, to The Mid 3, to BAD.
Looking at the 3 man lineup +/- of DeRozan, Vucevic, and LaVine over the past 3 seasons we see that while the trio started with some promise, their ongoing continuity has only devolved into poorer and poorer results. In the 2021-22 season, the Big 3 clocked in at 1206 minutes played together and a disappointing but not awful -7 +/-. The Front Office assured the fan base that some minor roster tweaks and CONTINUITY would have the All-Stars firing on all cylinders. The 2022-23 campaign brought none of that promised improvement. The Mid 3 played 1632 minutes together, the most minutes of any 3 player lineup in the NBA, and they ended with a -13 +/-. That’s -a-no-gud as the Bernsteins might say. Which leads us to this season. In the 193 minutes the Bad 3 have played together they are a whopping -81 +/-.
Small sample size! Small sample size!
True. But still BAD.
The Bulls have got to break up the lineup of DeRozan, Vucevic, and LaVine. I’m not even saying they have to trade any of these guys, they just can’t keep playing them together. Over the past three seasons, instead of these guys growing together and building a winning lineup, they seem to be pulling apart.
Now, obviously, a 3 man lineup does not a basketball team make. But when that lineup is on the floor together as much as the Bad 3 are, you can understand why the results have been what they’ve been over the past 3 seasons for the Bulls.
One solution that is being pushed by a number of different sources, but none quite as staunchly as Mark K of CHGO Bulls . . .
9th out of 25 is still Mid, with a capital “M”, but at least it’s better than bad, and a net positive, which is the important part. This Bulls team needs to be looking for net positives.
I’ve been very vocal about the Bulls needing to “blow it up,” and the primary reason is because I’m sick of watching the same-old basketball not work, game in and game out. The 3 man lineup data for the Bad 3 would seem to support my view. But Mark K brings up a fair point with the Caruso lineup. The Mid 3 can be better when surrounded by the right players. What I’m struggling with is whether or not it’s worth it to even try.
Is there a combination of players on this roster that can play significant minutes together and post positive results no matter who they are going up against? I don’t know, but in year 3 of one continuous core, it’s not looking good. Maybe Billy Donovan can figure it out.
Until he does, enjoy the below .500 basketball. As always, thanks for reading, thanks for subscribing, and GO BULLS!
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