Bulls fall to Celtics |
BOSTON—Things haven't been sunshine and roses for the Chicago Bulls (20-28) this season, and they could get a lot worse before they get better. With every passing loss, the Bulls are falling closer to the cut line of the play-in tournament and are on the verge of falling below that line for the first time all season.
That may be good for this franchise, as the only way to guarantee their first-round pick would be for them to finish with one of the worst records in the league. Can that still happen? Of course, but it will take a lot of work, or in the Bulls' case, a lot of tanking from here on out, to reach that level. The easiest way to lose games is to trade away some of your key pieces, and with the trade deadline just over a week away, the Bulls roster could look drastically different next weekend. One of the players to keep an eye on is Zach Lavine, who is expected to miss the team's next three to four games on maternity leave. Having him out of the lineup is never good, but the Bulls may have to get used to it in the coming days. In their first experience with Lavine out of the lineup, the Bulls headed East to face the defending champion Boston Celtics (33-15) at the TD Garden. In the opening quarter, with the Bulls trailing 26-23, what looked to be a competitive game turned into a nightmare affair, as the Celtics outscored the Bulls in each of the four quarters. That included their massive 41-28 second quarter to break the game open at the half before cruising to a 122-100 win. Although this was an ugly result, it was a result many of the fans expected, as not having Lavine in the lineup certainly puts a strain on this offense. He is, without question, their top scorer and the only guy who can consistently create his own shot. Even with Coby White returning to the lineup for the first time in over a week to fill in for Lavine, points were a struggle as White led the Bulls with 16 points. He was one of three starters and five players in total to post double figures, but wins will be tough to come by when none of those players reach 20. Joining White in having a strong game was Patrick Williams, who managed to match White with 16 points and pulled down seven boards off the bench. Given his struggles as a starter this season, Billy Donovan put him on the bench, and realistically, that is the role he should remain in as he plays an entirely different player. Chicago also saw Matas Buzelis come up huge with 12 points off the bench, as did Ayo Dosunmu in the starting lineup, who continues to see some extended minutes on the court. Rounding out the double-figure players for the Bulls was Josh Giddey, who scored 10 points as the Bulls struggled to get anything going. While the Bulls were having issues finding the basket, the Celtics were not as they had a trio of players top 20 points. That included the red-hot Kristaps Porzingis, who not only had the hot hand but caught fire from a distance as he knocked down a season-high eight triples. That alone played a significant role in his game-high 34 points, as he added 11 rebounds. Usually, when you talk Boston, Jayson Tatum's name comes up, as he has been one of the best players in the game for the past several seasons. Although he wasn't at his best in scoring (16 points), Tatum did many other things that helped this team win. Even when he has down games, as he did in this one, the Celtics have more than enough firepower to make up for that, as Jaylen Brown and Derrick White combined for 50 additional points. Brown struggled from distance but scored 28 points, while White added 22 points, 12 of which came on four-pointers. The Celtics are often considered one of the deepest teams in the league, which is one of those reasons: they have many players who can go off at any moment. With the loss, the Bulls dropped their season series to the Celtics 3-1, including losing the series' final two games. Chicago will close out the month against Toronto on Friday, which begins a series of six winnable games for the Bulls as their playoff hopes could hinge on these next six games.
