Bulls observations: starters outplayed in lopsided loss originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
The Bulls dropped their second straight with a 119-103 loss to the Boston Celtics at the United Center.Here’s what stood out:
Bench play stays strong
The reserves were monumental in keeping the Bulls afloat early in this one. After the Celtics built as much as an eight-point lead after one quarter, consecutive 3s from Denzel Valentine and Otto Porter Jr. pulled them to within two for a moment.
By the end of the first half, the Celtics had rebuilt a 10-point advantage. But these numbers say it all. Through two quarters:
- Bulls starters: 23 points, 9-17 FG
Celtics starters: 45 points, 18-36 FG
- Bulls bench: 27 points, 11-27 FG
Celtics bench: 15 points, 5-12 FG
Eight of those bench points came from Valentine, who in the second scored 8 points, hit two 3-pointers and slung one gorgeous hit-ahead assist in transition, but also led the team in shot attempts (3-for-8 FG) at the break. He appears entrenched above Chandler Hutchison in Billy Donovan’s current rotation.
The vet triumvirate of Thad Young, Garrett Temple and Otto Porter Jr. again provided steadiness. Young, in fact, nearly tallied a triple double with 16 points (8-for-11), 9 rebounds and 9 assists. Temple provided some pesky defense on Tatum at times. And Tomáš Satoranský (23 minutes) logged his highest minutes total since returning from his bout with COVID-19, dishing 6 assists.
Bench scoring ended 48-37 in the Bulls' favor.
Starters stumble
The flip side of that, of course, is that the starters were again outplayed by their competition in this one. Outside of LaVine's 30 points, there wasn't much else doing for a while.
- Most glaring was Coby White, whose struggles continued in a noticeable way. He finished the game with 5 points, 1 assists, 2 turnovers and just six field goal attempts. He also fouled two 3-point shooters -- Marcus Smart in the first quarter and Carsen Edwards in the fourth.
- In a matchup one figured he might have feasted, Lauri Markkanen attempted just four shots at halftime, tied for fifth on the team with Porter. But he got rolling a bit in the second half and finished with 18 points (3-for-6 from 3-point range).
- Patrick Williams again was relatively translucent. He played only 10 minutes. Other than a scrappy second half against the Lakers, he's been silent since Charlotte.
- Daniel Gafford played just 11 minutes and went scoreless in a tough matchup. The Bulls ran small most of the night.
As a unit, the Bulls starters allowed the Celtics to sprint out to a quick 14-8 lead before Donovan's first first-quarter sub. Then, down 60-50 to start the third, they ceded 7-0 run that cemented a mostly wide wake for good.
Starters scoring ended 72-55 in the Celtics' favor. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined for 50 points. Marcus Smart provided 13 and a bounty of hustle plays.
Turnover bug bites again
The Bulls had 10 turnovers at halftime, soiling what could have been a significantly tighter margin. They finished with 18, right on their 30th-ranked 18 per game average entering play.
LaVine was responsible for 6 of those, many of them head-scratching. That's his ninth game of the season with five or more turnovers.
This has been a problem area for the Bulls since preseason and is showing no signs of slowing down. The Celtics scored 34 points off turnovers. It's not the first time that statistic has swung a game.
Free throw foibles revealing
The Bulls faltered from the charity stripe in this one. Though they entered play sixth in the NBA in free-throw percentage as a team (80.2 percent), they went 2-for-8 in the first quarter.
Then, they didn't attempt a free throw the rest of the game.
Fitting that Billy Donovan spent time before tip talking about the team's struggles maintaining assertiveness against teams playing with length and physicality. Solid 3-point shooting (17-for-39, 43.6 percent) kept them within shouting distance at times, and 28 assists are nice, but that figure says a lot.
Meanwhile, in addition to White's two 3-point fouls, Young nicked Grant Williams on the arm on a made jumper with less than a minute remaining. A brutal habit.
With the loss, the Bulls move to 7-10. Next up: At home for the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday.
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