Bulls' supporting cast finally steps up
One obvious question lingered after the Bulls snapped a two-game winning streak by beating Sacramento late Wednesday night.
Why did it take the loss of Jimmy Butler with a sore knee to finally get contributions from the supporting cast?
Butler was a relatively late scratch for Wednesday's game. He knocked knees with a Utah player on Monday and decided it would be best to take a day off. Butler is hoping to be ready for Friday's game in Denver.
With all the talk about chemistry, coaching and learning a new offense, the most glaring Bulls' problem in recent weeks has been the lack of production beyond the big three of Butler, Pau Gasol and Derrick Rose.
Against the Kings, E'Twaun Moore stepped into Butler's role seamlessly, scoring a team-high 24 points.
"I knew our team needed a spark and it was an important game for us," Moore said after the game, according to bulls.com. "That's why I tried to come out with a lot of energy and just try to provide that spark for us."
Beyond Moore, just about everyone else played well. Tony Snell, who started in Butler's place, scored 9 points. Doug McDermott added 11.
Bobby Portis (8 points) was so fired up, he and Sacramento's Omri Casspi earned double technicals for jawing at each other in the second quarter. Kirk Hinrich had 5 assists in 19 minutes. Aaron Brooks hit just 1 of 6 shots, but brought some energy and pushed the tempo when he was in the game.
"It was fun basketball. I talked to the guys about that," coach Fred Hoiberg told reporters after the 107-102 victory. "The ball was swinging side to side, we were getting it in the right guys' hands, shifted the defense and good things happened. Hopefully we'll carry this over the rest of the season."
Well, we've heard that line before. The Bulls have had plenty of good games this season and the success never lasted very long.
What made the difference on Wednesday? It's possible the Bulls simply brought better focus, knowing their leading scorer was sidelined.
There wasn't a big difference in shot distribution. Most any player is going to find a groove more easily if they touch the ball frequently. But the shot distribution was pretty good on Sunday against the Clippers, which ended in a 27-point loss. Eight Bulls had at least 3 shot attempts at halftime of that game.
Ball movement has been one of the Bulls' most inconsistent qualities. They had 26 assists against the Kings, which is a relatively high number, but not outrageous.
Maybe it was soft defense by the opposition. The Bulls' 6-of-8 shooting from 3-point range in the first quarter brought back memories of Tom Thibodeau groaning about "not getting into them early; letting them gain confidence."
The Sacramento storyline after the game was how they've repeatedly let relatively unknown players score career-highs. In recent games, the Kings watched Memphis' Jeff Green score 29, New Orleans' Ryan Anderson put up 36 and Charlotte's Troy Daniels get 28. So Moore followed the trend.
"I don't know," Kings center DeMarcus Cousins said, according to the Sacramento Bee. "I think it comes down to individual pride, individual pride defensively. You should hate somebody scoring on you as much as you love scoring on the next person."
So it's really the same old story. The Bulls know how they should be playing - move the ball, start fast and get contributions beyond the top three scorers. They just don't always do it.
They also have trouble closing out games. After leading start to finish, the Bulls were fortunate the Kings missed 4 free throws in the final 1:23 and Cousins couldn't finish two chances deep in the post. If the Bulls could have corralled a missed free throw in the final seconds at Utah on Monday, they could be 3-1 on this trip and everything would be smelling better.
Another back-to-back set awaits against Denver and Minnesota, two teams well below .500. Mike Dunleavy could make his season debut any day now.
As always, the time to start being consistent is now.
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Bulls scouting report
Bulls vs. Denver Nuggets at the Pepsi Center, 8 tonight
TV: Comcast SportsNet
Radio: ESPN 1000-AM
Outlook: Whether they're in playoff contention or not, the Nuggets (19-31) are usually tough to beat at home. That hasn't been the case this season. They're just 10-15 in Denver, but beat Toronto earlier this week. SF Danilo Gallinari has been good, averaging 19.5 ppg. SG Will Barton doesn't usually start, but is the second-leading scorer at 15.5 ppg. Rookie PG Emanuel Mudiay is averaging 11.1 points, 5.8 assists and 3.7 turnovers. The Bulls beat the Nuggets 99-90 at the United Center on Dec. 2 behind 26 points and 19 rebounds from Pau Gasol. Barton led Denver with 16 points.
Next: Minnesota Timberwolves at the Target Center on Saturday, 7 p.m.
- Mike McGraw