Bulls' ‘Big 3' Needs to Respond After Rough Shooting Night Vs. Bucks

Bulls' 'Big 3' needs to respond vs. Bucks originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

MILWAUKEE --- On a Sunday night in which both the Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks shot extremely poorly to begin their first-round playoff series, nobody proved more on target than Zach LaVine with his postgame assessment.

“They made a couple more winning plays than we did at the end. And I think we had opportunities to make those. We were in the right position,” LaVine said. “But you know, it’s tough.”

Yes, that’s what the playoffs are.

And while neither team’s “Big Three” truly distinguished itself, the Bucks’ core of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton closed Game 1 better than LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic.

On a night the Bulls shot 32.3 percent overall and an unsightly 18.9 percent from 3-point range, the Bulls’ “Big Three” shot 21-for-71 overall and 4-for-22 from 3-point range.

That included high-profile misses by Vucevic, who left short a point-blank putback attempt in the final minute that would’ve pulled the Bulls to within one, and a LaVine 31-foot 3-pointer with 29.7 seconds left that would’ve tied the game.

“It was obviously a tough one, especially at that moment of the game,” Vucevic said of his miss. “It happens. It’s part of it. In the playoffs, a lot of stuff happens. You just gotta fight through it.”

Added LaVine, on his miss: “I thought it was a good shot. A lot of my shots I thought were good. We were down 3. I got a really clean look about six feet back. It was probably one of the cleanest looks of the night. It just hit the back rim.”

Coach Billy Donovan said he wanted to watch film to see if LaVine could’ve got downhill and attacked but overall said LaVine’s shot and aggressiveness in that situation is something with which he’ll live. That’s the thing about the NBA in general and the playoffs in particular: You live and die with starpower.

Speaking of that, DeRozan shot 6-for-25, including 1-for-6 in the fourth quarter, a stanza he has owned all season.

“I don’t know what the hell was going on. Probably a week off,” DeRozan said. “It just wasn’t me. All of us. We just gotta get that feel. Every shot I took felt good. I guarantee me, Zach or Vooch ain’t going to miss that many shots again. We just gotta keep what we did defensively up and take that (offense) to another level.

“Nothing they’re doing defensively. Most of the shots I took were wide open. I’ll live with them again. No way in hell I shoot 6-for-25 again.”

If he does, the Bulls won’t win again.

The Bucks’ “Big Three” didn’t exactly light the world on fire offensively either. They shot 20-for-48 overall and 3-for-15 from 3-point range.

But even with Antetokounmpo, like LaVine, battling foul trouble down the stretch, Holiday and Middleton helped ice matters with four free throws in the final 15 seconds.

“We had our opportunities. We didn’t make enough shots. But they also could be looking at themselves and say, ‘You know what? We got a bunch of open shots like they did too and didn’t knock them down and we feel pretty good about our shooters,’” Donovan said. “I’m more anxious to see our spacing on offense. There were times I thought it was really good and we generated good looks. And there were other times I felt we got a little congested.”

Along those lines, Donovan said he wanted to see the Bulls generate more transition opportunities in Wednesday’s Game 2 and also get downhill and look to spray out to open shooters rather than always try to shoot over the Bucks’ noted length.

“Those guys are elite scorers,” Donovan said of his “Big Three.” “If they’re getting to spots, you want them taking (shots).”

LaVine played a scary 63 seconds early in the fourth quarter after drawing his fifth foul. He only has fouled out of three games in his career and not since Nov. 14, 2019.

He sat for 3:57 before re-entering and didn’t score again. 

“It didn’t take me out of rhythm. It just took me out of the game when I didn’t want to for a good amount of time,” LaVine said of his foul trouble. “Just gotta watch the film and figure out how to keep my hands away.”

The Bulls spun the loss in a positive direction afterward, talking about the defense they played and the physicality they showed after falling behind by 16 points early boded well for the series moving forward.

“I think it’s going to be a good matchup,” LaVine said. “I think we had a lot of missed opportunities.”

Time will tell. But this time-worn adage is indisputable: Starpower wins in the NBA, particularly come playoff time.

The Bulls’ stars need to respond.

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