Butler, Strus combine to haunt Bulls, end their season
This was a game that left the Bulls with something to ponder as they move toward a challenging offseason:
Which move is more haunting for the franchise - trading Jimmy Butler in 2017 or not keeping Max Strus when they had the chance?
Butler and Strus were the two best players on the floor for most of Miami's 101-92 victory over the Bulls on Friday, especially down the stretch. Both finished with 31 points as the Heat survived the play-in tournament and sent the Bulls fishing.
The Bulls went 0 for 7 from the field while being outscored 15-1 during the final 3:47.
"That's what hurt, I ain't going to lie," DeMar DeRozan told reporters in the locker room. "It's a (rotten) feeling, stinks, shouldn't have ended like that. We gave ourselves an opportunity to win a game. We were up. We can't make the mistakes we made. Now we're sitting in our reality with nothing to do."
Strus, from DePaul and Stagg High School, was a Bulls two-way player during the 2019-20 season, but suffered a torn ACL while playing for Windy City. The Bulls didn't keep him, Miami picked him up and here we are. Of course, there's no guarantee Strus would have scored 31 points in a Bulls uniform, since player development is such a Heat specialty.
"It was fun," Strus said. "I have a lot of respect for the guys in that locker room and the guys I know over there, so it was fun to play against them and compete. But definitely feels good to beat the hometown team."
Added Butler, "I think Max made a lot of money tonight."
DeRozan led the Bulls with 26 points. Zach LaVine wasn't able to repeat his monster effort in Toronto on Wednesday. He hit 6 of 21 shots for 15 points, with 5 turnovers and 2 assists against Miami.
"I didn't shoot the ball well," LaVine said. "A lot of good shots that normally go in. It stinks knowing that we were so close. If I make a couple of those, it could be the tipping point, so it hurts a lot."
The Bulls led this game by 6 midway through the fourth quarter after trailing early. Coby White answered Butler's steal and lay in with a 3-pointer, putting the Bulls up 85-80 with 6:19 left. The Bulls then got a defensive stop, but Nikola Vucevic missed a baseline jumper, and Miami scored 5 in a row to tie the score.
Another 3-pointer by White gave the Bulls their final lead at 90-87 with 3:47 left. Again, the Bulls had a chance to stretch the lead, but White missed a running bank shot. Miami then scored 6 in a row: a Tyler Herro jumper, a Butler bucket in the post, then free throws by Bam Adebayo.
DeRozan hit 1 of 2 free throws to bring the Bulls to 93-91 with 1:33 left, but Strus knocked down a backbreaking 3 on the other end.
Donovan sent Patrick Beverley in for White late in the game, a move that didn't look great when, while trailing 91-90, Beverley passed up an open 3, dished it to Alex Caruso in the corner, and he missed a 3.
Caruso actually delivered his highest-scoring game of the season with 16 points, while hitting 4 of 8 from 3-point range. Caruso scored the Bulls' first 8 points of the contest. White was 4 of 6 from long range for 14 points. Beverley did not score.
"I tried to change it up and do something a little bit different," Donovan said after the game. "Maybe we could get a steal, Pat Bev could get a rebound, just somehow get what he does into the game. I trust Pat Bev when he's open from behind the line. I know maybe that's not his forte, but I trust him when he does shoot the ball."
With the game turning into a quagmire and the Bulls struggling with Miami's zone-like defense, Donovan made a smart call to send in backup center Andre Drummond for the first time at the 3:22 mark of the third quarter.
During the next 10 minutes, Drummond piled up 6 points and 8 rebounds, while the Bulls outscored Miami by 7.
This summer, the Bulls need to make some upgrades, but they will have limited means since they'll be over the salary cap and won't have any draft picks, barring some extreme lottery luck.
Vucevic will be an unrestricted free agent, White a restricted free agent. Drummond and Derrick Jones Jr. have player options for next season.
DeRozan addressed the idea the Bulls' talent-level didn't match their 41-43 record.
"Without a doubt. Too much talent," he said. "It's on us to be able to look ourselves in the mirror, reevaluate ourselves and understand what we could do better.
"Sometimes it don't come down to just talent. It comes down to understandings the IQ of the game, being better, smarter, defensively, offensively, consistently. We showed spurts of it, but you've got to really lock in if you want to be a good team. All the good teams have that mental focus and approach every single day, even tough days."
Twitter: @McGrawDHSports