For better or worse, Bulls may be ready to bust out of NBA's basement
It looks like there's a new challenger in the race for the bottom of the NBA standings.
All season, five teams have been a couple steps below everyone else and seemed to concede a spot in the playoff chase. The Bulls are in that group, along with Phoenix, Atlanta, Cleveland and New York.
The new addition is probably Washington, which received news Saturday that point guard John Wall is about to have season-ending surgery on his heel, according to multiple reports. Without Wall, the Wizards lost to the Bulls 101-92 on Friday, dropping their record to 13-23.
Another question is whether the Bulls will stay in this group of five, soon to be six. With the victory in Washington, the Bulls have now won three of their last four games and should be back to full strength this week if Bobby Portis returns as expected from a sprained ankle.
The Bulls have now won 10 games on the season and six of those were against teams in that lottery-chasing group at the bottom of the league. In fact, the Bulls are 6-0 against the Cavs, Hawks, Knicks, Suns and Wizards.
Don't forget, the new anti-tank draft lottery odds go into effect next year. The bottom three teams will each have a 14 percent chance of getting the top pick. The sixth-worst team gets a 9 percent chance.
Are the Bulls on their way up or just the best team among the NBA's worst? As always, time will tell. They'll get a tougher test Sunday in Toronto and the Bulls have just two victories over teams that currently own a winning record (Oklahoma City and San Antonio).
A question from the Washington game is whether the Bulls started to build some chemistry among Kris Dunn, Zach LaVine and Lauri Markkanen or did they just make some shots against a struggling defense in the second half?
Friday was the first time Dunn, LaVine and Markkanen started together this season. The first half was rough, but the Bulls scored 61 points and shot 61 percent from the field in the second half. LaVine led the way, scoring 19 of his 24 points after intermission.
The Bulls hit 6 of 8 shots from 3-point range in the third quarter, including 3-for-3 by LaVine. That kind of accuracy will make any offense look good.
"We are trying to figure out our spots and when to attack and to be aggressive because there is one ball out there and we all are very talented scorers," LaVine told reporters after the game, according to bulls.com. "You have to sacrifice things here and there, but I think we played it really good and we got the win. The main thing is that we are learning how to win."
The sample size is so small, it's too soon to make any judgments about the Bulls' offensive chemistry. But another thing that stood out is rookie center Wendell Carter Jr. had his best game in a while, finishing with 17 points and 13 rebounds.
This was Carter's highest-scoring game since he had a season-high 28 points at Detroit on Nov. 30 and just his second double-double since Nov. 7. It was also Carter's most productive double-double of the season, in terms of combined points and rebounds.
Carter felt having the full starting lineup on the court helped create more space for him to operate. Robin Lopez was also successful, scoring 10 points off the bench.
"Just the fact they are all great offensive players, not a lot of people are able to help off them. It definitely was a lot more room," Carter said. "When everyone gets completely healthy, Zach doing what he does, once every one gets 100 percent and Bobby with the energy he brings, I think we are going to be a very, very good young team."
Bulls game day
Scouting report
Bulls vs. Toronto Raptors, 5 p.m. at Scotiabank Arena
TV: NBCSCH • Radio: WSCR 670-AM
Outlook: Toronto (26-11) fell out of first place in the Eastern Conference with an inexplicable 116-87 loss in Orlando on Friday. ... PG Kyle Lowry has missed six of the last seven games with a back injury, with Rockford native Fred VanVleet taking his place. ... SF Kawhi Leonard is averaging career-highs with 26.7 points and 8.3 rebounds. C Serge Ibaka is the second-leading scorer at 16.4 ppg, while PF Pascal Siakam is having a breakout season with 14.4 ppg. ... Leonard didn't play when the Raptors trounced the Bulls at the UC 122-83 on Nov. 17.
Next: Orlando Magic, 7 p.m. Wednesday at the United Center
- Mike McGraw