Bulls LOSE 69-101 behind Westbrook hustle, triple-double (1-4; 77)

Thunder batters Bulls 101-69 behind Westbrook hustle, triple-double | News OK

CHICAGO — In the Thunder's 101-69 blowout of the Bulls on Saturday, the Thunder didn't look like it was coming off the second night of a back-to-back or a turbulent plane ride that ended with the nose of its Boeing 757 caved in. The Thunder looked whole against a patchwork one-win Bulls squad. The Thunder had just two wins to its name entering the United Center, but was positively dominant against Chicago a night after getting battered on the boards and out-hustled in Minnesota.

Russell Westbrook would have none of that.

....He proceed to spank the Bulls with a triple double....

....and Chicago quit fighting back.

Westbrook's latest stroke of history was a piece of the larger picture as the Thunder finds its footing. After he helped stretch the Thunder's lead from 10 to 19 in less than three minutes in the second quarter, the United Center crowd gasped as Westbrook set the permanent tone, skying over Chicago's front court for an offensive rebound.

The Bulls really did quit trying.

In the same quarter, Westbrook immediately knew his second free throw attempt was short, so he sprinted up the lane to beat the Bulls to the ball.

Many of the Bulls are young and likely to not have long careers.  Chicago is rebuilding with a roster designed to compete hard but lacking the talent and experience to win.

If you're a guy on this team playing at home and quit; stop hustling, when a made man, a guy with a massive 200M contract is out working you ... what are you doing in the NBA?

There's a line of guys ready to step in ASAP.  Time to go home.

Hawks lose to Bulls, fall to 1-4; Bull notch first win (1-3; 78)

Atlanta news saw this as a battle of losers.  The Bulls win their first game while both team's rookies continue to impress.

Hawks lose to Bulls, fall to 1-4

CHICAGO — In a matchup of two teams more concerned at the moment with lottery balls than the wins column, the Hawks (1-4) came out on the losing end, falling to the Bulls 91-86 Thursday night.

For a pair of teams that have emphasized ball movement over individual scoring, it wasn’t a pretty offensive affair. Both teams finished the night shooting under 40 percent from the field — Atlanta shot 39.3 percent while Chicago shot 36.5 percent.

Hawks' Rookie big man John Collins scored 13 points, his third consecutive game scoring in double figures.

Bull's Lauri Markkanen sealed the win with a three-pointer with 48 seconds remaining on his way to 14 points and 13 rebounds.

In Cleveland Lauri emerged.  Tonight Lauri showed he can take and make the big shot -- even when having an off shooting night.

Cavs comeback from double digit deficit to beat Bulls 119-112 (0-3); 79

LeBron saved the Cavs. at home.  The Bulls played well; looked good.

Lauri Markkanen impressed LeBron James.

RECAP | Cleveland Cavaliers complete double-digit comeback, beat Chicago Bulls 119-112 | WKYC.com

CLEVELAND - Despite falling behind by double-digits in the first quarter, the Cleveland Cavaliers completed a second-half comeback over the Chicago Bulls, picking up a 119-112 victory to advance to 3-1 on the season on Tuesday night.

"Very confident," James said of Markkanen. "Watched him a lot at Arizona. Watched him a lot. He wore my shoe a couple times ... he wore my retro Brons a couple times. I like that. I had to stay up very late to watch those Arizona games. A very confident kid, shoot the heck out of the ball. He's going to continue to get better. The best thing about it is he's getting an opportunity. If he makes mistakes, he can learn on the fly, but he's going to play a lot. He's good. It seems like he's learning. He's a good player."

This is the game we learned Larui Markkanen is for real.  He's skilled, confident and respected.

Spurs outlast Bulls 87-77 in Bulls first home game and Spurs first road game of the year (0-2;80)

 It wasn't always pretty, but the Spurs win.

The [Spurs] team shot just 40.9 percent from the field and was 1 of 12 on 3-point shooting, but had 52 rebounds and made plays off of Chicago's 20 turnovers. 

...and...

Aside from the five-time All-Star, the Spurs struggled to get anyone going on offense, at least in the first half. The team failed to hit a 3-pointer, sticking to paint work and mid-range shots. Much of this didn’t work, either. Chicago wasn’t playing great and the Spurs still got off shots, but nothing fell.

On the Bulls side, Lauri Markkanen looked impressive. He gave Pau Gasol fits throughout the night, using his fresher legs to get around the 37-year-old and find his way to the rim. It’s a problem for not just Saturday night but the rest of the season. Once the Spurs start facing teams that consistently roll out smaller, more athletic lineups, Gasol will struggle to find the court.

Markkanen made an impression.  

Season opener and practice fight: 117-100 Raptors’ victory over the depleted Chicago Bulls on Thursday. (0-1; 81)

Not much about the Bulls in the Toronto Star game article.  The Raptor's bench creamed the Bulls reserves.  With LaVine, Dunn, Portis and Mitoriç out, three of the Bulls 2nd unit squad started and they played the Raptors close (20-22).  Then the back of the bench played; and played poorly (2-20).

Valanciunas scores 23, Miles has 22 in Raptors win over Bulls - Sportsnet.ca

The 30-year-old Miles was acquired in the off-season to boost Toronto’s three-point shooting, but has found another role as the veteran voice of the Raptors’ young second unit. They provided the turning point Thursday night. Clutching a 22-20 lead late in the first quarter, Casey subbed out his entire starting lineup.

Miles orchestrated a 20-2 run by the young guns — Wright, Jakob Poeltl, Fred VanVleet and rookie OG Anunoby. And when they finally took a seat, to much applause from the starters, they’d given the Raptors a 20-point cushion.

"As a unit we need every single person on this roster to be ready," Miles said. "And for us to be able to go in there as a whole five and have success, for those guys, that’s big for them, early in the year and early in their careers to be able to gain confidence.

Positive are:

1. The fact the team lost by about 20; never collapsed. 
2. Hoiberg learned that line-up which lost 2-20 to the Raptor's bench should not be seen again. 
3. Bulls found a better backup PG in Felder who played aggressive.
4. Pondexter played for the 1st time in 2 years.

Toronto's take on the Bulls practice fight.  They're not as surprised or taken back by the altercation. hmmm...
Intramural fights nothing new in NBA | Toronto Star

“We had some doozies in Seattle, I’ll tell you that,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey recalled. “We had some fisticuffs. One that started on the court and went in the weight room and went outside, came back in. It was a long one. I’ve seen those.”

Casey wouldn’t name the participants in that specific brouhaha — he was an assistant coach on a team that employed the volatile Gary Payton so take that as you will — because teams like to keep those sorts of things in-house.

“I’ve seen a few, you keep that in house,” Toronto guard Kyle Lowry said.

108-95 Bulls lose at home.

Bulls lose to the Pelicans. The game was a reminder of how many FTs opponents shoot. It's been lopsided and tonight FTs were a reason the Bulls lost by such a large margin. Also, with Rondo out, Holiday was a major factor in the Pelican's improved defense.

The Bulls could not stop the NO twin towers and fouls gave Davis 22 straight points at the FT line.

Anthony Davis scores 37 in Pelicans' preseason win over the Bulls | NOLA.com

The Pelicans offense struggled to start Sunday night, turning the ball over eight times in the first quarter. But Davis and Cousins took over on the offensive end and helped New Orleans take a seven-point lead going into halftime. Davis was living at the free-throw line for most of the night and he made 22 consecutive free throws in the first three quarters.

Davis and Cousins were dominant, but the Pelicans only shot 42 percent from the field as a team. The Pelicans held Chicago to 38.1 percent shooting from the field, including only 26.8 percent from the 3-point line. .

..The Pelicans turned the ball over 21 times, allowing the Bulls to score 28 points off those mistakes...

The Bulls made 16 3-pointers in their victory over the Pelicans on Tuesday, but many of those 3-pointers came off of drive-and-kick opportunities. The Pelicans worked to eliminate driving lanes for the Chicago guards and did a better job forcing them to make plays from the perimeter.

IMHO FTs were a BFD.  Davis made 22 consecutive FTs and 22/23.   Valentine has a great 3pt shot (so far) but it will not go in every game.  If the shot wasn't falling, Jordan and Pippen would drive to the basket, draw fouls and kick start their game.

A cold shooting Bulls team needs to find someway to get players to make some easy baskets and one way is shooting a FT. 

Bulls 114, Bucks101 "We in the past have had trouble with is playing teams that might not have an all-star,"

Chicago wins but lost Kris Dunn to an open dislocation.

Milwaukee's newspaper sez:

Bulls 114, Bucks 101: Giannis Antetokounmpo makes emphatic return in loss

Antetokounmpo turned that excitement into a performance in which he appeared to be in midseason form as he scored 24 points, grabbed four rebounds and dished two assists in nearly 23 minutes.

Outside of Antetokounmpo's noteworthy debut, the main takeaway from the Bucks' effort was their issues on the defensive end. The Bulls found consistent open looks, especially from long range, and made the Bucks pay. Chicago lived behind the three-point line, going 17 of 34 from long range, with Holiday scoring 21 points on 5-of-7 shooting from distance and Denzel Valentine adding 15 points all on three-pointers (5 of 6).

Kidd said. "We can’t play to the level of our competition in the sense that we’re waiting and thinking we’re just going to turn it on. Tonight they got a lot of great open threes and we just didn’t come out and respect them.” 

To put Kidd's "all-star" remark in perspective, his Bucks finished '16-'17 with a 42-40 record.

What started with a bang, ended with a whimper. Bulls win 113-109

From the Pelican's perspective it was a game they lost, possibly due to fatigue.

New Orleans Pelicans run out of gas against the Chicago Bulls, fall 113-109 - The Bird Writes

Despite the narrow final score, the New Orleans Pelicans opening preseason game against the Chicago Bulls was a tale of extremes.

After the first twelve minutes of play, the Pelicans had totaled more points (46) than in any quarter of any regular season game last season. But just as easily as the offense was flowing, that well dried up quickly after halftime. An early second quarter 17-point lead morphed into a 1-point deficit near the middle of the third quarter.

After combining for 11-17 field goals in the first half, the [Pelican's] superstar duo made just 1-9 in the second.

Despite forcing 14 turnovers, the Pelicans managed to turn them into three meager points. And on this unusual night, New Orleans totaled two paltry fast break points.

[P]erhaps a significant reason the second half was such a grind for the Pelicans starters was the toll of heavy minutes. Everyone but Dante Cunningham surpassed 30 minutes

Cousins ... doesn’t believe he’s ever played this many minutes in a preseason game before in his career — yet he understood the reasoning.

“Defensively, our transition defense wasn’t very good,” said Alvin Gentry. “

[T]he Bulls repeatedly enjoyed great looks and made the Pelicans pay dearly from the three-point line, making 16 of their 35 shot attempts.

Eight different Bulls players reached double digits in scoring, with reserve Cristiano Felicio leading the way with 15 points.

It's hard to generalize off one game. Clearly Hoiberg's frequent substitutions gassed the Pelican's starters. Surprises include the Bulls 3rd Q turn around and hanging on to win a close game.

Yes it's preseason but this Bulls team is heavily scrutinized and Hoiberg in particular.  I thought he did very well in game one.  Coach played most of the roster and gave minutes to productive players.  At the game's end he kept in the quick Antonio Blakeney and used defensive athlete David Nwaba and PG Ryan Arcidiacono.  I feel both Grant and Dunn still get nerves under pressure.  Ryan is less physically gifted, but knows his limitations and seems more confident and "clutch".  Late addition Jarell Eddie hitting a last minute shot to put the game away was unexpected.  I thought he force this role on Valentine.  Instead Hoiberg doled out minutes and got the win.

Sustainable

John Paxson via The Chicago Suntimes Justin Holiday and his Bulls teammates are 'here to win games' | Chicago Sun-Times

‘‘I’ll say this: I’ve never met a coach or a player that steps foot on the floor to lose a game,’’ Paxson said. ‘‘They don’t, and they shouldn’t. Yes, we are rebuilding. We understand and acknowledge that there are going to be some tough times.

‘‘This culture and environment of working hard, putting the time in, that’s what is sustainable. We’re not here to create a culture of losing. We’re here to build a culture of things that are sustainable.’’

It's happy time now and talk is cheap. Players are dedicated to the team and getting better.
Well it's Oct.

This team will lose and in streaks. They will lose blow outs and close games. If they are following Paxon's guidelines it will hurt and we will judge.

• We will scrutinize Hoiberg's in game adjustments (or lack of) late minute substitutions and play calling. 
• Dunn, Markkanen and LaVine's progress will be valued against the all-star production traded to bring them here.  
• As first round picks Portis, Mototiç and Valentine have opportunity costs, comparable to successful players taken behind them. Each have to define a significant role within this team while the team racks up losses.

There will be questions:

• How committed are players to rebuilding within Hoiberg's system come mid-January ?
• What's the effect of limited minutes doled by differing perceptions of performance and effort in a blow-out loss ?  
• When there is trouble, will the franchise channel Sean Spicer with a happy-happy-joy-joy press conference? (I suspect Paxson's already shutdown Gar's public performances).

Sustainable is measurable in how the team performs and reacts to losing. The coaches have to yank players, players have to accept responsibility when demoted and the team had better lose games within a competitive margin and play hard when getting blown out.

Doug Collins for the win

The hiring of Doug Collins is good news for Bulls fans looking to reboot the franchise and for those who think Gar Forman needs to be fired.  What I envision happening is a freer flow of information within the org or the outing of roadblocks to the flow and confrontation.  Doug Collins isn't going to suffer any fools nor care about office politics.

Bulls make surprise move in adding Doug Collins to management mix - Chicago Tribune

Collins also won't be replacing Forman, who ownership still backs despite vocal fans calling for his job as well as a reputation in some NBA circles for spin control over accountability.
"Doug will not be a decision-maker," Paxson said. "None of our roles have changed. Fred's our coach. Fred has had a phenomenal summer with our young players. Gar and I continue to be at the forefront of this organization."
In many ways, Collins will be tasked to replicate the success Jerry West had as a adviser with the Warriors. West is largely credited with helping nix an organization thought to trade Klay Thompson for Kevin Love.

First the Bulls are rebuilding so there are a multitude of decisions to make in this next year.  An advisor like Jerry West with GSW can play devils advocate and clearly Doug Collins is going to have opinions and share them.  Any decision will have to get past a review from Doug's perspective just as team personnel decisions had to get past Jerry West's scrutiny in Golden State.

Gar, as mentioned in this article and what I see first hand in recent press conferences, is a guy that uses platitudes and seems adverse to criticism and accepting responsibility.  I've seen this behavior with the old GSW President of Ops and it was toxic for the franchise.  While not evil, this behavior will squash dissent, debate, and creativity and lead to bad decisions and organizational dysfunction.  It took new ownership to fix the problem in GS.

The Bulls President is going to get a new perspective.  Doug's going to solicit and hear opinions from players, coaches and staff.  If there's something, he'll hear it and be able to evaluate and share.  While mercurial, he isn't a decision maker so his passion will be damped by the organization and his advisory role. He isn't involved with coaching so he will not abrade the players.

There's a role for Gar if he is part of a team that owns decisions as a unit.  In Golden State Riley, the GM, stayed on with new ownership and worked well but he wasn't autonomous and eventually Pete Meyer replaced him.

Markkanen Mark.

From SBNation (but not Blog-A-Bull)

 Lauri Markkanen is Finland basketball's star. Bulls fans should be hyped.

Bulls fans are disappointed by the haul they received in June’s Jimmy Butler trade. That’s fair, as the Timberwolves just gave up an injured Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn and the pick that became Markkanen. But the 20-year-old has proven to be an unreal scorer so far. Maybe they should give him a chance. Through two games, he’s dropped 46 points on 18-of-28 shooting, and grabbed 14 boards. He’s made 5-of-8 from deep, and not all of those have come uncontested.
How’s Markkanen been scoring?
He’s been working an inside-out game we didn’t see all that much of at Arizona last season. Markkanen’s jumper has always been pure, but at Eurobasket, he’s shown he can put his seven-foot height and incredible length to use in the post. He’s used hook shots off the catch down low, and also blown by defenders off the dribble.

I saw Lauri hit a contested fade-away jumper during the final quarter against Slovenia.  It was a Dirk Nowitzki shot and it looked unstoppable.  While Lauri isn't Dirk, he's very tall, a coordinated dribbler, and a good shooter.  A fade-way jumper from this 7' player would be hard to stop.

Playing for Finland keeps Lauri from the Bulls but he's getting major minutes and, at age 19, has a leadership role for team Finland.  The experience and confidence he gains is invaluable.  The Bulls Coaches should be excited to have this kid when he returns.

Celtics passed on Butler ... For less?

538's assessment of the Celtics-Cavs trade.

He [Danny Ainge] spent the last year targeting All-NBA wings Jimmy Butler and Paul George but declined to include premium assets such as the exact draft pick he just sent to Cleveland. Seeing him now pull the trigger on Irving, a very good player who isn’t quite Butler or George, makes for good meme fodder, sure. Butler and George both went for cheap, but both also went for packages that catered specifically to the teams dealing them (the Bulls) really like Kris Dunn, and new Pacer Victor Oladipo played his college ball at Indiana)

If Ainge had a time machine would he revisit not trading for Jimmy Butler given what he gave for Irving or is Jimmy's age and mileage too high?  Irving is younger.
I am also very curious about Kris Dunn playing for Hoiberg. There's a lot riding on this kid's development.

Don't Learn How To Lose.

A rebuilding team doesn't make national TV but this season is very important.  The Bulls can't afford to waste this year.

Here are the goals:
NBA - By coming in last in Summer Forecast, the Chicago Bulls are right where they want to be

The Bulls could learn a tanking lesson from the other professional sports team that Jerry Reinsdorf owns in town, the Chicago White Sox. They've competed hard in games while continuing to rack up losses. They've spent the year dealing away proven assets for prospects with possibly huge futures. Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg knows he's in for a challenging season, but he can rehabilitate his own image within the league if he can get this unproven group to play hard on a nightly basis even in defeat. As tough as the losses might be to stomach for players, coaches and fans, strengthening your ability to land players like Porter or Bagley is much more important than trying to earn more wins in another lost season.   

1. Establish play within a system  
2. Develop players within that system (1)   
3. Compete hard and consistently according to (1) and (2)   
4. Lose without compromising goals (1-3)

Failure is possible.  The rebuilding 1999+ Chicago Bulls lost so badly under Tim Floyd that inexperienced Vinny Del Negro accepted the job when Floyd was fired.  Minnesota went 14 years without a playoff appearance, racked up top picks and proceeded to go 31-51 under a top coach, Thibs.  He quickly traded that young potential for Jimmy Butler and spent his $$ signing familiar veterans. 

Rebuilding the Bulls has happen quickly.  The ideal is one year to land a top 1-5 pick and spend 2018 money on a top free agent.

2018 Draft Class

Weeks before the 2017 Preseason and it is already time to look ahead to the 2018 NBA draft.

The Bulls want to rebuild which means playing their young roster, keeping long term salary cap clear and resting injured players. 

Their reward is a team that competes hard, plays their coach's philosophy of BB and develops players all while losing 50+ games.  "Success" means they further develop their players, protect $ to sign a top free agent and get lucky to land a 1-5 draft pick in 2018.


The Bernstein Brief: Bulls Catch A Potential Break « CBS Chicago

(CBS)
That Bulls plan got a boost from the decision by Marvin Bagley III to accelerate his graduation from high school to hasten his ascent to college and the pros, reclassifying into the 2017 class to play this year for Duke.

[the] 2018 draft ... already includes potential stars like Missouri forward Michael Porter Jr., Texas center Mohamed Bamba, Slovenian swingman Luka Doncic and Arizona center DeAndre Ayton.

The Bulls’ odds of being in that group are strong — that’s the whole point of the exercise right now...

Here's to a season for a high draft pick and cap space.

Lauri Markkanen (Doug McDermott V2.0)

With the #7 Pick in the NBA draft, the Chicago Bulls select Lauri Markkanen from the U of Arizona Wildcats.

As I see it, the Bulls once again traded up to get a tall, high percentage perimeter shooter.  They did this very thing in 2014 selecting 6' 8" Doug McDermott #11.  I also see a bit of this shooting skill in the 2015 drafting of Bobby Portis, a 6' 11" PF from Arkansas at #22.

Now McDermott is gone via trade, never fulfilling expectations and subsequently a bust to most Chicago fans. The Bulls gave up mid-level draft picks to move up to select McDermott.  Bobby Portis is TBD. He has avoided the bust label but expectations are this 3rd year player should contribute on a rebuilding Bulls team.

Markkanen is not explosively athletic and there are indicative stats like blocks and steals per game that underwhelm.  Some criticize his physical limitations; shortish arm length, thin build and lack of explosiveness and they see a weak NBA defender.  Most players don't become stars so these are safe criticisms to levy at a 19 year old PF/C.  Odds are against any #7 pick.

He is, however, 7' and coordinated and, as a freshman, carried the Wildcats into the NCAA tournament.  With  a sports and basketball pedigree and good work habits he stands out.  It's reported Lauri as a 10 year old practiced 4 hours a day and to this day he always talks about basketball.

Markkanen was born into a family of athletes, but his drive and dedication are the main reasons why he has excelled in his freshman season with the Wildcats. -SI

His father is a pessimist, not at all like Lonzo Ball's Dad.  Father worries about injury and didn't want to celebrate until Lauri got drafted and even then he worries.

“I don’t know, we’ll see how it goes. I’m just hoping they find a team for Lauri that he gets an opportunity to play, not be a player from 8 to 12. He has to be the best seven or eight players so he has time to show what he is capable of. - Dad

The Bulls are a good fit.  They need outside shooting and will dole out minutes for rookie development and better odds to land a top 4 pick in the 2018 draft.

Today I'd rank Markkanen as the 4th option at center behind Lopez, Felicio and Portis and he is the 3rd option at PF, behind Mirotic and Portis.  Markkanen might play at SF which would rank him 3rd behind Holiday and Zipser.  The Bulls could play him at SF along side their defensive guards, Nwada and Dunn.

Chicago has a philosophy that depends on floor spacing and seeks a high percentage shooter that can't easily be blocked.  They wanted this from McDermott, and Mirotic.  Neither satisfy with McDermott gone and Mirotic in a RFA contract hold out wanting more money.  Now the Bulls expect this from Lauri Markkanen.  It's a reasonable expectation. If he meets it, then the Bulls hit on their draft.

Trade: Carter-Williams for Snell

The Winner is Tony Snell.
Milwaukee Bucks re-sign Tony Snell to open NBA free agency

Snell, seldom used in three seasons with the Bulls, looked likely to stay glued to the bench had he stayed in Chicago. The Bucks had other plans for Snell, especially with Khris Middleton out six months with a torn left hamstring,

They inserted Snell into the starting lineup immediately and left him there all season. Snell started all 80 regular-season games in which he played and became an integral two-way player. He averaged 8.5 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game while shooting 45.5% overall and 40.6% from three-point range. His 58.8% effective field-goal percentage — a value in which three-point shooting carries added weight — was the best on the team.

Additionally, Snell was tasked with guarding the opposing team's best wing player each night. Taking on the likes of LeBron James, Paul George and Kawhi Leonard eased the pressure on his teammates, including Giannis Antetokounmpo and Middleton when he returned, allowing them to save their energy for running the floor and creating on the offensive end.

"It was a big trade because that's somebody that we knew that could fit and we wanted," Kidd said in March. "He's getting the opportunity to play and he's taken full advantage of that. He enjoys playing both ends of the floor."

...

Carter-Williams, a former rookie of the year, never found the right fit in Milwaukee over 1 1/2 seasons. He didn't find that in Chicago, either, as the Bulls recently became the first team to decline to offer a qualifying offer to a former rookie of the year at the end of his rookie contract.

The Bulls selected Tony Snell who never fit in with the team and admitted he lost confidence.  Playing in Milwaukee, Snell became a key player and their best two way player.

Bulls waive Rondo

Chicago Bulls waive point guard Rajon Rondo

CHICAGO -- The Bulls announced Friday they have waived veteran point guard Rajon Rondo. Rondo had a team option worth more than $13 million that would have become fully guaranteed had the Bulls not waived him by Friday's deadline. As it stands, the Bulls are on the hook for a $3 million guarantee still owed to Rondo.

Rajon was a one year rental.  Healthy, he made the playoff Bulls competitive against the Celtics. He's also volatile.  At $13 million, in a rebuilding, year a playoff berth is a stretch.  With more downside than upside, waiving him is the right choice.  There's more minutes for Dunn.