Bulls @ Pistons 6:00pm CT

[Chi town]

Can Zach please keep shooting 14 3s per game!

This is what I was clamoring for against the Cavs… rise up and shoot the 3 in crunch time. It doesn’t matter if they weren’t dropping earlier. Zach drove instead against the Cavs and didn’t finish or get foul calls.

This is how he needs to play in crunch time when we need a shot. Be aggressive in shooting g 3s.

[Chi town]

Why did Buz only play 2 mins?

I watched and didn’t see him doing anything glaringly wrong.

[Jcool0]

Why did Buz only play 2 mins?

I watched and didn’t see him doing anything glaringly wrong.

When the Bulls are winning he doesn't get on the court.

[FriedRise]

It's crazy how they shot 23/46 on a second night of a back to back against what objectively is a top 10 defense, though the Pistons did leave so many of our shooters wide open. I don't get how you watch a guy like Vooch hit 5 3s without missing and then decide you're just gonna camp in the paint and leave him wide open again.

Zach is so much fun to watch when he's on a heater like that. Dude still has one of the prettiest shots in the league. He had like 6 points going into the 4th and 1-6 from deep, saw one go down and didn't take long for him to catch fire.

[jnrjr79]

Am I the only one who thinks Zach is actually having some of his best games on his poor scoring nights? I haven’t gone back to box scores and might be wrong, but it has felt that way at times.

Granted he still ended up with a good scoring game last night, but it all came late. Prior to that he was playing a heck of a game.

His play doesn’t surprise me but I’m just not convinced it’s enough to get him over the hump of this bogus narrative surrounding him. Enough to get a trade of some kind possibly. But a value trade? I don’t see it. Not Zach’s fault. League is dumb.

Vuc I think we have a chance to trade. I could even see multiple teams coming after him for the postseason. What an incredible bounce back offensive season he is having.

I think Vuc may be tradeable at the deadline but not Zach. Zach's contract is to big for most of the teams who might be interested to take on during the season due to the 2nd apron rule that forbids them from doing anything other than 1-for-1 deals.

To my understanding, only Boston, Milwaukee, Minnesota, and Phoenix are over the 2nd apron, so it's really not the impediment you're making out here.

[rosenthall]

Welcome to the 40% 3P club Coby. On 9 attempts per game no less. Keep it up, fella.

[Stratmaster]

Can Zach please keep shooting 14 3s per game!

This is what I was clamoring for against the Cavs… rise up and shoot the 3 in crunch time. It doesn’t matter if they weren’t dropping earlier. Zach drove instead against the Cavs and didn’t finish or get foul calls.

This is how he needs to play in crunch time when we need a shot. Be aggressive in shooting g 3s.

I approve this message. I really don't understand Billy's strategy to open games. Last night, Lavine didn't take a shot for the first (appx) 6 minutes of the game. While it isn't always zero shots, it is often only 1...or 2.

I can't think of any other team that freezes out their highest volume and highest efficiency scorer that hard and that long all in the interest of getting players like PWill and Coby White "involved".

The result is when Zach starts shooting he is often cold as hell and we see a lot of shots that "almost" go down. Also, his first couple shots are often the ones that seem a little forced. It's like "ok it's the 7 minutes mark of q1 so it's my turn to shoot".

He stood in the corner being ignored by teammates for a huge number of possessions in the first 3 quarters last night.

[MrSparkle]

Why did Buz only play 2 mins?

I watched and didn’t see him doing anything glaringly wrong.

He just made a 3P too.

I don't doubt that Billy can coach and teach, but why bother putting a guy into the game if his leash is so preposterously short? 2min in a half after making a 3P? His 2 defensive "blunders" weren't blunders, he was cooked in isolation by a faster player and posted up by a bigger player.

Billy's rotations in the first year were perfectly fine until the trade deadline. Give him too many players to play, and he just loses his mind. He seems to make his subs with a stop watch. I get that the whole roster was s***ting the bed against Houston, but he just let that 10 point lead turn into 30 by leaving his main rotation in there until the 2min mark in the 3rd quarter. This probably comes back to college basketball, where playing 6-7 RECRUITS for your 40 mpg works perfectly fine.

It reminds me of Skiles and Boylen, and I just don't enjoy watching these substitution patterns. Thibs was psychotic with his short leash, but thing is he didn't fudge around with the deep bench. He clearly picked the guys he believed in and played them, and you saw a consistent pattern of mid-season improvement as everybody solidified their jobs. For 4 years now, we've started fine, declined, and made some last minute push out of desperation.

So if Matas is getting 2min competitive burn (or Dalen), just make it a DNP or give him a full 20. If I had less years to make this statement I'd give him the benefit of the doubt, but it's getting tiring seeing guys jerked around in roles go elsewhere, to BETTER teams, and contribute with more consistent minutes (specifically Wendell, Lauri, DJJ).

I acknowledge most these guys just stink. But pick your guys and have a plan! So far you've missed big time on Lauri, but it's up to the HC to recognize his talent. Especially if he has a 10 year coaching job with his son lined up.

Anyway, looking at the SRS and net ratings of the last few years... and it has a lot to do with pace... but this team actually has the worst relative defensive rating since 2000/2001, when we won 15 games and were led by Floyd, Mercer, Brand. Worst SRS since 2018/19. The 6-9 record is really deceiving. I know they can win on hot 3P nights, cause there's a lot of offensive firepower, but man... What a funny build.

[kodo]

Can Zach please keep shooting 14 3s per game!

This is what I was clamoring for against the Cavs… rise up and shoot the 3 in crunch time. It doesn’t matter if they weren’t dropping earlier. Zach drove instead against the Cavs and didn’t finish or get foul calls.

This is how he needs to play in crunch time when we need a shot. Be aggressive in shooting g 3s.

I approve this message. I really don't understand Billy's strategy to open games. Last night, Lavine didn't take a shot for the first (appx) 6 minutes of the game. While it isn't always zero shots, it is often only 1...or 2.

I can't think of any other team that freezes out their highest volume and highest efficiency scorer that hard and that long all in the interest of getting players like PWill and Coby White "involved".

The result is when Zach starts shooting he is often cold as hell and we see a lot of shots that "almost" go down. Also, his first couple shots are often the ones that seem a little forced. It's like "ok it's the 7 minutes mark of q1 so it's my turn to shoot".

He stood in the corner being ignored by teammates for a huge number of possessions in the first 3 quarters last night.

Billy's system is mainly player agnostic from what I can see, and he preaches moving the ball and letting whoever take a good shot, even if that means Lavine should be passing up a corner 3 in favor of a mad Dalen Terry scramble to the basket for whatever adventure comes out of that.

Zach can get guarded very closely on this iteration of the team, he's been doubled crossing the half court line. And he's moving the ball, which means the Bulls tend to shoot as how the defense wants us to shoot. They don't want Lavine shooting, they do want our worst scorers shooting.

Vs the Rockets (ignoring THT extended garbage time), per minute the most shots were taken by Patrick, Giddey, and Ayo. Those 3 all shoot around 51% TS, vs the our big 3 that all shoot 62% TS+. Gonna guess that's not an accident by Udoka.

And TBH, Billy's system didn't change vs Detroit he didn't do anything to free Lavine up. Lavine's shots were tough, off the dribble and well defended. I think he just personally didn't want another meltdown like HOU and broke away from the gameplan of moving the ball to the least defended man (who is whoever the other teams wants to shoot) and said this is BS, I'm the best shooter here I'm just going to take this shot instead of giving it Ayo (4-12 that night) like I'm supposed to.

[kodo]

Welcome to the 40% 3P club Coby. On 9 attempts per game no less. Keep it up, fella.

Starters are really shooting the long ball well.
Lavine 42%, Coby 40%, Vuc 38%, Patrick 39%, and the worst starter Giddey is 36% which is still above league average.
It's too bad things fall off a cliff when the bench comes in.

Right now, Chicago has
4th best 3P% starters in the league
23rd 3P% bench in the league

Starters are #2 in most 3P made after Boston.

[chitownsports4ever]

It's crazy how they shot 23/46 on a second night of a back to back against what objectively is a top 10 defense, though the Pistons did leave so many of our shooters wide open. I don't get how you watch a guy like Vooch hit 5 3s without missing and then decide you're just gonna camp in the paint and leave him wide open again.

Zach is so much fun to watch when he's on a heater like that. Dude still has one of the prettiest shots in the league. He had like 6 points going into the 4th and 1-6 from deep, saw one go down and didn't take long for him to catch fire.

It looks like you are not the only one who wondered about how they leave Vooch like that.

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[Red8911]

Can Zach please keep shooting 14 3s per game!

This is what I was clamoring for against the Cavs… rise up and shoot the 3 in crunch time. It doesn’t matter if they weren’t dropping earlier. Zach drove instead against the Cavs and didn’t finish or get foul calls.

This is how he needs to play in crunch time when we need a shot. Be aggressive in shooting g 3s.

Be careful what you wish for lol. No one likes it when Zach hogs the ball and takes bad shots. When he’s hot it’s all good but when he’s off its a problem.

Don't get me wrong he still does it( Coby too) but he’s actually cut it down a bit this season. Even during crunch time it’s best to get the best shot possible but obviously when the defense tightens Zach and Coby are the ones who will have pressure to take the big shots.

[Red8911]

Welcome to the 40% 3P club Coby. On 9 attempts per game no less. Keep it up, fella.

Starters are really shooting the long ball well.
Lavine 42%, Coby 40%, Vuc 38%, Patrick 39%, and the worst starter Giddey is 36% which is still above league average.
It's too bad things fall off a cliff when the bench comes in.

Right now, Chicago has
4th best 3P% starters in the league
23rd 3P% bench in the league

Starters are #2 in most 3P made after Boston.

Now if they can actually defend too that would be something. Might be asking for too much though.

[Stratmaster]

Can Zach please keep shooting 14 3s per game!

This is what I was clamoring for against the Cavs… rise up and shoot the 3 in crunch time. It doesn’t matter if they weren’t dropping earlier. Zach drove instead against the Cavs and didn’t finish or get foul calls.

This is how he needs to play in crunch time when we need a shot. Be aggressive in shooting g 3s.

I approve this message. I really don't understand Billy's strategy to open games. Last night, Lavine didn't take a shot for the first (appx) 6 minutes of the game. While it isn't always zero shots, it is often only 1...or 2.

I can't think of any other team that freezes out their highest volume and highest efficiency scorer that hard and that long all in the interest of getting players like PWill and Coby White "involved".

The result is when Zach starts shooting he is often cold as hell and we see a lot of shots that "almost" go down. Also, his first couple shots are often the ones that seem a little forced. It's like "ok it's the 7 minutes mark of q1 so it's my turn to shoot".

He stood in the corner being ignored by teammates for a huge number of possessions in the first 3 quarters last night.

Billy's system is mainly player agnostic from what I can see, and he preaches moving the ball and letting whoever take a good shot, even if that means Lavine should be passing up a corner 3 in favor of a mad Dalen Terry scramble to the basket for whatever adventure comes out of that.

Zach can get guarded very closely on this iteration of the team, he's been doubled crossing the half court line. And he's moving the ball, which means the Bulls tend to shoot as how the defense wants us to shoot. They don't want Lavine shooting, they do want our worst scorers shooting.

Vs the Rockets (ignoring THT extended garbage time), per minute the most shots were taken by Patrick, Giddey, and Ayo. Those 3 all shoot around 51% TS, vs the our big 3 that all shoot 62% TS+. Gonna guess that's not an accident by Udoka.

And TBH, Billy's system didn't change vs Detroit he didn't do anything to free Lavine up. Lavine's shots were tough, off the dribble and well defended. I think he just personally didn't want another meltdown like HOU and broke away from the gameplan of moving the ball to the least defended man (who is whoever the other teams wants to shoot) and said this is BS, I'm the best shooter here I'm just going to take this shot instead of giving it Ayo (4-12 that night) like I'm supposed to.

I know that is the claimed goal. But I have to disagree that this is what is happening. If it was agnostic, move the ball and take the best shot does it seem possible that the best available shot in the first 6 minutes is always Vuc inside, Coby from 3 and Williams from wherever you can force a shot from him?

But somehow, for the 3 minutes before Zach gets his first rest the best shot always seems to be Zach? And then at the end of the game it is always Zach and Vuc with Coby being the release outlet if the main option is covered?

There is a definite, conscious and obvious game approach that isn't just to agnostically move the ball and take the best shot; and you are absolutely correct. That strategy did not change in the Detroit game. I'm not saying they're shouldn't be such a strategy. I am saying that not getting Lavine at least a little involved in the scoring early is a mistake that will likely come back to bite them in many games.

[Stratmaster]

Can Zach please keep shooting 14 3s per game!

This is what I was clamoring for against the Cavs… rise up and shoot the 3 in crunch time. It doesn’t matter if they weren’t dropping earlier. Zach drove instead against the Cavs and didn’t finish or get foul calls.

This is how he needs to play in crunch time when we need a shot. Be aggressive in shooting g 3s.

Be careful what you wish for lol. No one likes it when Zach hogs the ball and takes bad shots. When he’s hot it’s all good but when he’s off its a problem.

Don't get me wrong he still does it( Coby too) but he’s actually cut it down a bit this season. Even during crunch time it’s best to get the best shot possible but obviously when the defense tightens Zach and Coby are the ones who will have pressure to take the big shots.

Coby consistently takes poor shots. Lavine rarely does. Because historically Lavine's shots result in somewhat elite efficiency. Zach taking bad shots is a Stacey King and message board urban legend and fallacy. Stacey because he thinks every possession should go through the post. Message boards because Lavine has been the Bulls fan scapegoat. Every other guy in the league who scores wth the volume and efficiency of Zach Lavine takes those same shots, and most take them even earlier in the clock and from deeper than Lavine, (including Coby, who really hasn't earned that leeway exceptv during his hot streaks)

[rosenthall]

Welcome to the 40% 3P club Coby. On 9 attempts per game no less. Keep it up, fella.

Starters are really shooting the long ball well.
Lavine 42%, Coby 40%, Vuc 38%, Patrick 39%, and the worst starter Giddey is 36% which is still above league average.
It's too bad things fall off a cliff when the bench comes in.

Right now, Chicago has
4th best 3P% starters in the league
23rd 3P% bench in the league

Starters are #2 in most 3P made after Boston.

If we're really trying to win games, I don't get why we choose to play both Terry and Phillips together. It should be one or the other. On paper Duarte is a much better fit for the bench unit.

I don't think he's great, but he's always been a decent volume shooter and he defends the same positions as Phillips and Terry.

My guess is that playing the two of them is our way of doing an analytics tank, or we're hoping that one of them takes a leap before the trade deadline so we can use them as a trade piece in a deal.

It could also be that Duarte is just a bad apple with locker room issues, since he's had his role shrink 4 years in a row, which is a really bad sign.

But if none of those things are true and we just want to win games, we need reliable volume shooting from the bench.

[Andi Obst]

Vuc being actually useful when it doesn't matter is hilarious.

Props to him, though. He's balling right now.

[MrSparkle]

Vuc being actually useful when it doesn't matter is hilarious.

Props to him, though. He's balling right now.

Maybe he REALLY wants to be traded.

[Chi town]

Can Zach please keep shooting 14 3s per game!

This is what I was clamoring for against the Cavs… rise up and shoot the 3 in crunch time. It doesn’t matter if they weren’t dropping earlier. Zach drove instead against the Cavs and didn’t finish or get foul calls.

This is how he needs to play in crunch time when we need a shot. Be aggressive in shooting g 3s.

I approve this message. I really don't understand Billy's strategy to open games. Last night, Lavine didn't take a shot for the first (appx) 6 minutes of the game. While it isn't always zero shots, it is often only 1...or 2.

I can't think of any other team that freezes out their highest volume and highest efficiency scorer that hard and that long all in the interest of getting players like PWill and Coby White "involved".

The result is when Zach starts shooting he is often cold as hell and we see a lot of shots that "almost" go down. Also, his first couple shots are often the ones that seem a little forced. It's like "ok it's the 7 minutes mark of q1 so it's my turn to shoot".

He stood in the corner being ignored by teammates for a huge number of possessions in the first 3 quarters last night.

I approve this more shots early message.

Getting Lavine going makes it easier for everyone. Especially considering he’s playing the best ball of his career in terms of floor game.

[Chi town]

Welcome to the 40% 3P club Coby. On 9 attempts per game no less. Keep it up, fella.

Starters are really shooting the long ball well.
Lavine 42%, Coby 40%, Vuc 38%, Patrick 39%, and the worst starter Giddey is 36% which is still above league average.
It's too bad things fall off a cliff when the bench comes in.

Right now, Chicago has
4th best 3P% starters in the league
23rd 3P% bench in the league

Starters are #2 in most 3P made after Boston.

If we're really trying to win games, I don't get why we choose to play both Terry and Phillips together. It should be one or the other. On paper Duarte is a much better fit for the bench unit.

I don't think he's great, but he's always been a decent volume shooter and he defends the same positions as Phillips and Terry.

My guess is that playing the two of them is our way of doing an analytics tank, or we're hoping that one of them takes a leap before the trade deadline so we can use them as a trade piece in a deal.

It could also be that Duarte is just a bad apple with locker room issues, since he's had his role shrink 4 years in a row, which is a really bad sign.

But if none of those things are true and we just want to win games, we need reliable volume shooting from the bench.

Duarte is way better than JP and DT. They are playing to help us tank. Duarte is the best shooter and defender of the 3