Chicago Bulls need more help off bench
During the past week, Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg has taken some hits for playing Bobby Portis in the fourth quarter and finishing Tuesday's game at Denver with Isaiah Canaan launching a potential go-ahead 3-pointer.
Canaan's shot missed everything and the Bulls lost to the Nuggets 110-107. The Bulls can still finish the circus road trip with a 4-2 record by getting a victory at Philadelphia on Friday.
Everything that has gone wrong on the road trip fits into the same general category: The Bulls are hurting for depth right now.
They've been outscored in bench points in all five games on the trip, often by a wide margin. Denver piled up a 61-13 advantage in bench points, thanks in part to a career-high 24 points by rookie guard Jamal Murray.
So while it's easy to find fault when Hoiberg's decisions don't work, he does have limited options.
"I think (the coaching staff) put us in a great position to win the game, and at times we didn't do what we were supposed to do," Jimmy Butler told reporters after the loss in Denver. "They can't make us do that. That's on us as men, so this one's not on him. We're in this together."
Butler continued to shine Tuesday, scoring 35 points against the Nuggets, including a game-tying 3-pointer with 56 seconds remaining.
The Bulls couldn't finish off the win, though. With the score still tied, the Bulls tried to get the last possession and Butler took a quick jumper that missed with 28 seconds left. On the other end, Denver's Will Barton drove to the basket and was hit on the arm by Dwyane Wade. Barton's free throws gave the Nuggets a 109-107 lead with 9.5 seconds left.
Butler didn't touch the ball on the Bulls' final possession. Wade caught the inbounds pass, looked for Butler, but seeing him covered, tossed it out to Canaan, who was wide open when he shot the 3.
"I work on that shot every day," Canaan said, according to bulls.com. "I beat myself up more than anything. My teammates were like, 'Don't worry about it.' But I know I'm capable of making those."
After the game, Hoiberg said the first option was Butler, but he was double-teamed. Maybe the Bulls should have found a way to get Butler the ball and let him create, but in theory an open 3-pointer is a decent outcome. Canaan scored 2 points Tuesday and wasn't on the floor down the stretch until the very end.
"Teams never lose a game in the last second," Wade said. "We run that play and Sip (Canaan) hits a three and it's an amazing play and it's a great team win. It doesn't go in and it's the opposite. … So we move on and get the next one."
The Bulls (9-6) are off to a good start this season, but are relying heavily on Butler, Wade and Taj Gibson to get it done most nights.
In five games on the road trip, the Bulls have produced a double-digit scorer off the bench just twice. Mirotic scored 11 on Tuesday and Canaan had 17 points in Sunday's win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
Bench scoring never tells the whole story. Teams like the Nuggets and Lakers intentionally use some of their top scorers as reserves. The Bulls lost the bench points battle in Portland last week, but there was plenty of playing time for reserves in a 25-point victory.
Getting some players back from injuries should help. Michael Carter-Williams has been out for three weeks with a bone bruise in his left knee and now believes he could return as soon as next week. Doug McDermott has missed the entire road trip with a concussion and it's not clear when he'll be ready to return. Hoiberg said McDermott will not travel to Philadelphia.
Even before the season began, it was clear the Bulls needed help from supporting players such as Mirotic, McDermott, Portis, Canaan and rookie Denzel Valentine. Carter-Williams was a late addition who quickly moved ahead of Jerian Grant in the rotation.
Canaan has been fairly steady, with occasional hot shooting streaks. Mirotic and McDermott continue to have their ups and downs, Portis is still learning the NBA game and Valentine is just getting his feet wet.
Grant played well when Rondo was sidelined in the Portland game, but hasn't done much since and didn't play at all against Denver.
Whether they make a trade or stick with the current roster, the Bulls will need more from the bench to stay successful.
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Bulls' bench battles
Here's how points by bench players have added up during the Bulls' road trip:
Bulls-Opp Bulls top scorer
Denver (L) 13-61 Mirotic 11
LA Lakers (W) 32-59 Canaan 17
LA Clippers (L) 15-33 Canaan 8
Utah (W) 23-24 Canaan 8
Portland (W) 24-38 Mirotic, Canaan 8
Total 107-215