Bulls finish preseason with poor shooting
The Bulls' regular-season dress rehearsal didn't go well. They shot just 30.5 percent from the field and lost to Atlanta 97-81 on Thursday in Omaha, Neb.
The Bulls finished preseason with a 3-4 record and now have a week to prepare for next Thursday's season opener against Boston at the United Center.
Jimmy Butler led the Bulls with 18 points, while Doug McDermott scored 16 and Taj Gibson added 12. This game was billed as a homecoming for two former Creighton stars - McDermott and Atlanta's Kyle Korver. The former Bulls sharpshooter went 4 for 8 from long range and scored 16 points for the Hawks.
Michael Carter-Williams made his Bulls preseason debut after arriving in a trade with Milwaukee on Monday. He finished with 4 points and 3 assists in 21 minutes of action. The 6-6 point guard's lone basket came on a fast-break alley-oop pass from Dwyane Wade.
The Bulls played without Nikola Mirotic because of a lower back strain, while rookie Denzel Valentine missed his sixth preseason game with a sprained left ankle. The Bulls think both players should be ready to play next week.
The bad news for the Bulls was the shooting. The so-called Three Alphas combined to shoot 24 percent. Butler went 5 for 16, Wade was 3 for 14 and Rajon Rondo 1 for 7.
The subs also had trouble. McDermott hit 5 of 15 shots, while Carter-Williams was just 1 for 5. The Bulls connected on just 18 percent from 3-point range.
The good news on Thursday was the ball movement. Wade, Butler and Rondo each finished with 6 assists. In theory, making the extra pass will lead to open shots and a quality shooting percentage. With so many changes to the roster, the Bulls will probably need time to build some chemistry.
Gibson, who started again at power forward on Thursday, led the Bulls in preseason scoring at 13.8 points, while shooting 64.3 percent from the field. Butler and McDermott averaged 13.0 points.
Get the latest Bulls news via Twitter by following @McGrawDHBulls.