That’s right for the first time this season the Chicago Bulls have put together a nice little stretch of basketball. . . And they’ve done it with Zach LaVine sidelined due to inflammation in his foot. Over the past 3 games the offense has looked crisper, the ball has moved better, and the defense has held up it’s end of things quite well.
But has this little patch of good basketball been because of, or despite LaVine’s absence? With trade rumors swirling and LaVine’s openness to a trade a known factor, conspiracy theorists might take the latest update on his injury to mean the Bulls are holding the two time All-Star out of the action until after December 15th (the day players who re-signed with teams during the summer can be traded).
As a recent sufferer of joint inflammation, if the injury is real (and I don’t see why it wouldn’t be) I do not doubt Zach needs as much time as he can get to recover. It’s the worst pain I have ever felt. I can’t imagine trying to do anything even remotely athletic with foot inflammation. Nope!
On the flip side of things, if I’m wrong and this is just a ploy to keep LaVine off the court until it’s time to trade him…
Whatever the true reason for Zach’s absence it doesn’t change the fact that the Bulls have looked better without him.
Emphasis on “looked”.
I’m not sold on the Bulls being a better team without Flight 8 cruising around the United Center. And the big reason I’m not convinced is simply this:
32/32/23
That’s the number of total assists in each of the Bulls 3 victories. 32 assists against the Milwaukee Bucks. 32 assists against the New Orleans Pelicans. 23 assists against the Charlotte Hornets.
The top 3 teams in the NBA for assists per game are the Indiana Pacers (30.2), Denver Nuggets (30.0), and the San Antonio Spurs (28.9). Over the course of the last three wins, the 1st two games of this stretch featured the Bulls sharing the ball like the top tier passing teams in the league.
But let’s talk about that 3rd game, the win against the perennially struggling Hornets. Only 23 assists for the Bulls. The Bulls are averaging 22.9 assists per game this season, and that ranks them 29th in a league of 30 teams.
Watching the game you could see the ball sticking in players hands, especially during the second half of the Hornet’s game. The pace slowed. Each offensive possession was much more of a grind for the Bulls. The pounding dribble, dribble, dribble of isolation replaced the crisp, fluid movement, and energy of the passing from the previous nights. Yes, the Bulls had a large lead, and a lot of the offense was focused on winding down the clock, but it was sad to see old habits rear their ugly head.
Tonight’s game is critical for the Bulls, not for the win-loss record, but for helping cement the new flow of the offense. Whether or not Zach LaVine is in the lineup, the Bulls are only good if they can attack in transition, and continue to pass the ball to open shooters. I said as much during the preseason, and it remains true today: The Bulls are a good team when they push the ball up the court and attack in transition.
Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu have been the biggest reasons the Bulls have succeeded the last three games. Due to his joyful attitude and next level play on the court, White has emerged as the potential new face-of-the-franchise if LaVine does find himself shipped to parts, as of yet, unknown. He and Dosunmu have stepped up and pushed the pace of the offense, constantly beating the defense down the court, creating mismatches with their speed. Every possession Ayo brings the ball up the court is like a mini transition, he is constantly catching defenders out of position and defenses not set due to the speed he brings the ball out of the back court. That is contemporary basketball offense.
White has done much the same. All it takes is a teammate or two running the court with them, and all of a sudden White or Ayo find Patrick Williams slashing to the rim for an easy layup/dunk, or Alex Caruso flashing to the corner for an open 3. That’s how you get to 30 assists a game, by beating the defense down the court. The Bulls could absolutely do that with LaVine in the lineup, and they have done it before. It takes the entire team committing to playing that kind of basketball for it to work.
There is a lot more to talk about regarding Coby White and his apparent ascent, I’m sure I’ll write more about him in posts to come. For now let’s keep an eye on the Bulls tonight and how they move on offense. They need to keep attacking and not fall into old isolation habits. Maybe this team can turn this season around, even without LaVine.
Until they do, thanks for reading, thanks for subscribing, and GO BULLS!
RokDeez Bulls Blog 
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