Takes, likes and dislikes from the Chicago Bulls Play-In Tournament win over the Atlanta Hawks
CHICAGO, Ill. - The show goes on for the Chicago Bulls.
Chicago dispatched the Atlanta Hawks 131-116 on Wednesday in the NBA's Play-In Tournament to keep its season going.
Next is a date with last year's Eastern Conference representative in the NBA Finals.
Here’s what we liked, and what we didn’t like, from the Bulls’ NBA Play-In Tournament game Wednesday night.
What we liked
The Bulls’ first quarter
Chicago was cooking in the first frame.
The Bulls led 40-22 after the first. They ended the first on a 11-2 run. Andrw Drummond has four points and three rebounds in just three minutes. DeMar DeRozan had 11 points.
On the other side of the court, Trae Young had three of Atlanta's five turnovers in the first. The Hawks struggled to get going on offense.
The Hawks started 1 of 5 from 3-point range through the first quarter. The Bulls took advantage with a consistent offensive pace led by DeRozan. That paved way for Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu to supplement DeRozan’s offense later on in the game, but the first quarter belong to DeRozan.
His midrange was automatic and set the tone of the Bulls’ offense early.
The Bulls’ consistent offense
Chicago didn’t let up.
A 40-point first quarter and a 33-point second quarter highlighted the first half. They reached 100 points before the third quarter ended. Four players were in double figures by halftime.
DeRozan started the offensive pace in the first quarter. White and Dosunmu continued that pace in the second quarter. Nikola Vucevic pick it back up again in the third quarter before White took over for a while.
White had a layup, followed by an offensive rebound that led to a Javonte Green slam. White punctuated the sequence with a steal that led to a fast break score. That capped an 18-2 Bulls run. White and Dosunmu combined for 20 points in the third.
The Bulls led 110-92 to start the fourth quarter. White continued the offense himself in the fourth.
Coby White
White kick started the 18-2 Bulls run. He helped pick up where DeRozan left off. He turned in a phenomenal game when it mattered most.
White scored 42 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished seven assists Wednesday to tantalize the Hawks. They had no response for him.
With about seven minutes to play, White splashed in a three from well beyond the arc to push the Bulls lead to 121-100 and force a timeout from Atlanta head coach Quin Snyder.
White's 42 should've been a career high. That's a "should’ve been a career-high" because Play-In Tournament stats do not count.
The crowd still chanted "Co-by! Co-by! Co-by!" into the night.
The Bulls’ opportunistic defense
Chicago’s defense wasn’t great.
The Hawks rallied from a rough first quarter. Dejounte Murray was getting everything he wanted in the first three quarters.
But, the Bulls still won the rebounding margin and forced 11 turnovers. They scored 11 points off those turnovers.
The Bulls also turned in 18 fast break points.
When the Hawks gave the Bulls a chance, they ran with it. Literally.
What we didn’t like
The Bulls 3-point defense after the first quarter.
The Hawks did start 1 of 5 from 3-point range through the first quarter. But, they hit their seventh three to start the second half.
That allowed a 40-22 first-quarter lead to trim down to 73-67 at halftime. The Bulls were still winning, but they had the Hawks in a choke hold.
Atlanta is a very good shooting team. It was going to warm up eventually as a team. However, the Bulls, who have struggled with communication and defenses at the perimeter, didn’t make things easy on themselves.
The Hawks got themselves back in the game with their shooting, but it never continued. Luckily, the Bulls offense was just that much better.
The Bulls’ defensive response to Dejounte Murray
The talk before the game was Ayo Dosunmu’s defensive length, which would be a boon for the Bulls in the effort to guard Trae Young.
Young was not the problem. He finished with xx points on a night where he struggled to pass effectively and had one point after the first quarter,
Dejounte Murray, however, was the problem.
He finished the game with 30 points and had 28 points through three quarters.
In fact, the only reason he slowed down was because he stopped taking shots at a high rate.
The Bulls did not have an answer for Murray in the first half. They were lucky he slowed himself down on offense.
Next: The Miami Heat
The Bulls move on to take on the Miami Heat, who fell to the Sixers on Wednesday.
The Heat might be without former Bulls star Jimmy Butler, who suffered a knee injury against Philadelphia and might be out indefinitely.
Either way, the Bulls’ season rolls on.
