So the party continues, eh? It's December, the Bulls are on the way to Miami, and they're still just a half game out of first place in the Eastern Conference. What could be wrong?
Oh yeah, that.
That being Tuesday's not so great stay in Cleveland, where the Bulls, or at least many of them, lost 115-92 to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a game that never was particularly competitive for the Bulls.
And it's not like Joakim Noah hasn't warned them about trying to enjoy that place.
Zach LaVine did a lot of stuff with 23 points and a team high nine assists as it took the Cavs a half before they finally figured out what was going on. But as they apparently looked around and noticed DeMar DeRozan, Alex Caruso, Coby White and Javonte Green, et al, were missing, the Cavs sent about 21 feet of their roster to surround LaVine whenever he ventured anywhere near the basket. It worked reasonably well considering at one point LaVine apparently asked the game be stopped so maintenance could put the lights back on. Talk about blocking out the Bulls sunny dispositions.
Lonzo Ball had a nice run with 19 points, and four of nine threes. But no one else made more than one three, the rest of the team three of 17 in a game when three-point shooting was the right strategy for the Bulls—as difficult as it is for me to admit—because of the Cavaliers unusual rotation with seven footers Jarrett Allen, rookie Evan Mobley and former Bull Lauri Markkanen all starting. Those guys weren't rotating to the perimeter. As it went, they merely had unobstructed views of the Bulls shooting styles, and misses.
Zach LaVine finishes past Cavs rookie Evan Mobley for two of his 23 points.
Mobley had five blocks including the play of the game when he somehow took a driving possible LaVine dunk attempt out of the air while LaVine was going up. That kept the Cavaliers lead at 16 after three quarters and the Bulls never much demonstrated other possibilities without the other half of the rotation.
Though Bulls coach Billy Donovan wasn't having any excuses, which is perhaps appropriate as the combination of virus and injuries have debilitated just about every team, the 17-9 Bulls actually not losing a game from LaVine, DeRozan and Ball until this current epidemic.
"If we don't compete at a higher level, we're going to get the same result," Donovan warned. "We have to be better, and I think the group is capable of being better. I would hope they would want for me as a coach to hold them to that standard because I see that in them. I think we can do a better job than we did tonight.
"I can sit up here and make a lot of excuses and there are a lot of coaches around the league who can do the same thing," Donovan admitted. "But the reality is we've done a good job these last (several games with absences); we've responded. So we've seen this group play like it did against Denver and then we have... I don't want to take anything away from Cleveland and they deserved to win the game, overwhelmed us, to be honest with you, and dominated us on both ends of the floor. I think we are better than that and we need to be better than that. I don't know when or who is coming back on what dates. My feeling is right now we're going into Miami (Saturday) with this same group."
And hopefully a more accurate Nikola Vucevic, who especially needs to be LaVine's No. 2 with DeRozan out. Vucevic did have a reasonable enough short box score with 18 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks if you weren't watching too carefully. But he shot eight of 23 and one of seven on threes, now shooting about 35 percent overall the last three games and five of 18 on threes.
All those Brobdingnags from Cleveland who did look like they were 60 feet tall to the Bulls do make it more difficult, though the Bulls game has traveled. Of course, not as well without their Crusoe. But the way Vucevic is known for drifting outside and shooting he could have been more the solution than the sinecure.
"I think I had really good looks," Vucevic acknowledged, which was seconded by Donovan. "I just wasn't making them. It is tough when they have that size inside; especially these days it's rare when you have two big men like that, Mobley and Allen. I just wasn't knocking them down. Those are shots I have been making my entire career and have been able to make. My shot feels normal. It feels the way it always has. But for whatever reason I haven't been able to be consistent offensively as far as my shot making.
"I felt like if I had made some of the shots we're in a better position; that's the most frustrating," Vucevic continued, not particularly stoic on the court about his errant indignities, though his mouthpiece barely did survive this one. "Making shots is a big part of my game, something I have to do consistently and take a lot of pride in. I've been an efficient player. It frustrates me, but part of it may be a new role and having the ball in different spots and having to fight through that. Hopefully, it is one of those nights and I'll bounce back."
It could become all the more harrowing for the Bulls with the health and safety uncertainties, though Donovan said Caruso with a hamstring issue would be reevaluated Friday. Which left open the possibility of playing in Miami. DeRozan needs those two negative tests for an expedited return. Because of the roster blight, new virus rules enable the Bulls to add a 16th player. Donovan said he didn't know if the Bulls would do so, though on the TV broadcast Stanley Johnson, who was in training camp, was mentioned.
But that's not going to answer the roster calculus that's served as a seductive template for the coach and the team's impressive start. The Bulls were outrebounded by the Cavs and did face obstacles going to the basket, though no other NBA team plays size like the Cavaliers do.
"I think they had eight blocks, but that probably doesn't speak to how many shots they altered or changed or had us second guessing going in there," said Donovan. "We needed to do a better job of attacking their defense in the half court than we did. It was a struggle for us offensively; we didn't shoot the ball well and I felt it bled into out defense. I though our offense deflated us a little bit."
Tap to watch reaction from Coach Donovan following Chicago's 115-92 loss to Cleveland.
Size to counter? But Donovan stayed with his smaller, more active players, even starting rookie Ayo Dosunmu against the elongated Mobley. Did the coach forget he wasn't Caruso? The strategy, which actually was consistent with the best of what the Bull have done this season, appeared to be to have Vucevic trap Mobley when he tried to put the ball on the floor. But Dosunmu, perhaps predictably, got into foul trouble early. And with the absences, the rotations became, as Clyde Frazier might say, diffused and confused.
The Cavs led 18-12, but the Bulls after Dosunmu went out did go ahead 21-20, which actually became their last lead of the game. Yes, Devon Dotson was in by this time, less offense to Dotson who played credibly, than testing the depth of the roster. Though it perhaps was revealing that with larger people like Tony Bradley, Tyler Cook and Marko Simonovic lurking, Donovan chose to stay with his smaller and quicker players.
Donovan has been loyal to that philosophy, and it has played well for the Bulls, who have played well with it. The theory being speed beats size, that when the Bulls can get in transition and play fast that's when they are best. Their talent is with their so called smalls, who are all about 6-5 and 6-6. So why play lesser talented tall people?
"We're playing extremely small," agreed LaVine. "They did a good job of taking advantage of us playing small. (But) our offense is really great when we get stops, get in transition. We had to play against their half court defense and they started loading up on me. We've got to still move the ball and run and try to get good open shots; we didn't play fast enough to our strengths.
Nikola Vucevic finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds but shot 8-of-23 from the floor.
"But I don't walk into the game like, ‘woe is us,'" LaVine said. "You understand it's obviously going to be harder than it is going to be with everybody back. Try to figure it out throughout the game. Obviously, it's going to be tough, but you have to fight through it. I still go into it thinking we are OK and we're going to be able to win; that's my mentality."
LaVine tried to surprise the Cavs with 11 points in the first quarter. Then he went out and the Bulls 21-20 lead became 29-24 Cavs after one. Going to the bench this time was going deep, deep. The Bulls didn't have a point off the bench until early in the fourth quarter when they ere trailing by 21. They quickly fell behind by 13 in the second quarter with the substitutions, though Donovan brought LaVine and Vucevic back in earlier than usual. And the Bulls did make their last run of the game, getting within 46-41 late in the second quarter. Mobley abruptly went back into the paint and it wasn't a pretty picture for the Bulls.
Cleveland, a surprising 14-12, led 52-43 at half and was ahead 78-56 after a pair of Kevin Love threes midway through the quarter. And if you couldn't keep up with that guy you weren't trying hard enough. This was one of those rare games for this group when there was no rebuttal. We'll see if there are answers.