Fresh off promising road trip, Bulls get dominated by Dallas, Doncic
Even with a strong performance on the West Coast last week, there's limited upside to this Bulls season.
They're playing well despite some injuries, but those missing players also make it highly unlikely they'll be competitive if they do make it past the play-in tournament and into the playoffs.
Back at home Monday, Luka Doncic, Daniel Gafford, Mark Cuban and the rest of the Dallas Mavericks provided another reminder of the steep climb the Bulls face to become a true contender.
Doncic sliced and diced a confused Bulls defense all night. The Mavs' MVP candidate finished with 27 points, 14 assists and 12 rebounds as Dallas rode the Slovenian steamroller to a 127-92 victory at United Center, the Bulls' worst loss of the season.
“I feel like every team is due for a butt-kicking of some sort throughout the season,” DeMar DeRozan said. “We've got to let this be our last and only one for the rest of the season. It's all about how you respond from here on out.”
Doncic tied an NBA record with his seventh-straight 20-point triple-double, according to ESPN Stats. It was no consolation that his streak of five straight 35-point triple-doubles, and six straight 30-point triples came to an end. Doncic would have scored 40 if he needed to.
From the opening tip, Dallas would simply set a screen, typically with a big man, then attack the switch. Ex-Bull Daniel Gafford started at center for the Mavs and scored 20 points, while backup Dereck Lively added 22.
The Bulls couldn't keep their rotations straight. Nikola Vucevic and Torrey Craig had a discussion at midcourt after one poor possession, where Craig tried to switch back onto Doncic, Vucevic didn't move and one of those centers got a wide-open dunk.
The only useful angle for the Bulls on this night was rookie Julian Phillips commanding some playing time. Phillips has been a bright spot this season, showing enough athleticism and basketball IQ to be a positive addition when he's on the floor.
That's great news for the Bulls. Turning Phillips, Dalen Terry or Onuralp Bitim into rotation-caliber players would be the easiest way for the Bulls to keep improving. Either of those guys could add to the team's depth or become potential trade targets.
So why hasn't Phillips been playing more? Good question. After Craig returned from a knee injury, Phillips played just four and five minutes in the final two games of the road trip. Terry played just 36 seconds during the road trip, then saw mop-up action in the fourth quarter Monday.
“I have confidence in Julian,” coach Billy Donovan said. “Alex (Caruso) starts and you've got Torrey coming back off injuries, so you're trying to work him back into it, and that probably has impacted Julian some. But I do have confidence in him and feel like he's done a good job.”
When Phillips first checked in, the Bulls went on a 7-0 run in less than two minutes. Granted, Doncic was taking a breather at the time and the Bulls were already trailing 44-16. But when there's hope for the future, reach for it.
Since the all-star break, Terry, Phillips and Bitim rank 1, 2, 3 on the Bulls in net rating. Maybe that's misleading since those three are playing limited minutes, usually against the other team's subs. For the final 17 games of this season, though, more challenging scenarios are merited.
Bitim was the leading scorer against Dallas with 17 points. Phillips scored 11 while playing a season-high 28 minutes.
“Sometimes when you bring someone like Torrey in ahead of Julian, a lot of it is just the experience of players he's guarded,” Donovan said. “Julian will get better at those things. He's very bright, he picks things up, he's a good worker.”
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