Game day recap

Sam Smith

They were the kids featured all over ESPN and the NBA station earlier this week after their openers, this potentially historic rookie class, the 76ers Ben Simmons with 18 points, Dallas’ fabulous Dennis Smith with 16, the Kings elusive De’Aaron Fox with 14, Phoenix’ Josh Jackson and Boston’s Jayson Tatum, the can’t prospects going three and four, with 11 each, No. 1 pick Markelle Fultz with 10.

Move over guys; here comes the Fabulous Fin, the Bulls’ Lauri Markkanen.

“I thought Lauri was really good,” Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said Thursday following the team’s 117-100 opening night loss in Toronto. “For his first performance, coming out here on the road in a hostile environment, to go out and put up 17 and eight in his first NBA game is pretty impressive. I thought he ran the floor well. He was really good in his first performance.”

The Bulls weren’t, though mostly because of a catastrophic second quarter when the Raptors opened with a 22-2 run and the game was effectively over with Toronto leading 58-37 at halftime.

The team the Bulls recently dominated with 11 straight wins now has won two straight over the Bulls, who suddenly cannot beat the Rap.

The Bulls, led by Robin Lopez with 18 points, actually outscored Toronto 64-59 in the second half thanks to Markkanen’s 14 second half points. It still was a 20-point Toronto lead after the third quarter on a quiet night for their stars, DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry with a combined 23 points. Bruising Toronto center Jonas Valanciunas had 23 points and 15 rebounds, eight offensive. New acquisition C.J. Miles had 22 points off the bench for Toronto on six of nine threes. The Bulls 19 turnovers led to a ghastly 27 Raptors points.

The Bulls against a playing-it-out Toronto team only got as close as 15 points despite scoring 37 points in the fourth quarter. They never could overcome those first five minutes of the second quarter when a 25-23 first quarter deficit became 47-25 Toronto dinosaur stomp. The Raptors pushed their lead to 55-28 a few minutes later before the Bulls settled back to their regulars and, at least, kept the game from being ridiculously uncompetitive like the Suns’ 48-point home night opening loss Wednesday.

Vital Bulls backcourt starters Kris Dunn and Zach LaVine, both on the trip to Canada, remain out injured. But the practice altercation that resulted in injury for Nikola Mirotic and suspension for Bobby Portis scrambled the rotation without much chance to experiment.

So after a competitive first quarter with the starters led by Holiday with eight points and Lopez with six, the Bulls went with a group never used together before, Ryan Arcidiacono, David Nwaba, Denzel Valentine, Quincy Pondexter and Cristiano Felicio. They were attacked by the Raptors guards, became flummoxed and fumbled away the ball and the game.

“That was the key stretch of the game, the beginning of the second quarter,” Hoiberg agreed. “They got downhill, picked us up, pressed us; we turned the ball over. We didn’t respond well to that. Obviously, something we talk about a lot is playing through the adversity, playing through the tough times. I was proud of the guys in the second half for coming back. I think we had three chances to cut the thing to 12. I thought (Kay) Felder gave us a big lift off the bench with pace and speed; he sure looks like a guy who is going to be able to get downhill, get into the paint and if we run with him should be fun for our guys.

“Obviously, we didn’t have a lot of time to prepare and figure out what we are going to do with lineups because we haven’t played any of those lineups in the entire preseason,” Hoiberg noted. “We’ll reevaluate it and correct some things with our lineups.”

That comes with the home opener Saturday against the San Antonio Spurs.

For now, it’s probably going to be more about the specks of sunlight piercing the gloom of the early season injuries and confrontation. Recent waiver acquisition Felder with a career best six assists in 15 minutes was one and appeared to already push aside Archidiacono for those backup point guard minutes behind Jerian Grant, who had seven points and seven assists. Felder shot just two of nine, but getting off nine shots in 15 minutes also showed the sort of aggression Hoiberg was seeking. He’s little at generously 5-9, but appears to have no difficulty seeing the basket. Perhaps Hoiberg also will take a look at Antonio Blakeney, who made his only shot, a three in mop up minutes.

Justin Holiday had 15 points and was four of 12 on threes, the Bulls 11 for 33 overall. Denzel Valentine added 12 points as the sixth man with four of seven threes.

But for this game, the morning after was the debut of Markkanen, the No. 7 overall pick from the Jimmy Butler trade drafted into the surprising starting power forward position with Portis and Mirotic falling out with their falling out confrontation in practice Tuesday. Portis wasn’t with the team in serving the first of an eight-game suspension. Mirotic was reportedly seeking more opinions regarding his medical treatment. The subject didn’t come up much as the players moved on to the business of the season.

So Markkanen suddenly was a starter, which was exciting for his native Finland, for sure. There was a TV crew there asking Bulls players if they thought Markkanen was on the way to being an NBA superstar.

“It’s hard to say that,” diplomatically responded Lopez, who became more of an offensive option than perhaps ever with so many players out. “He’s got a really good head on his shoulders, is willing to work hard and he’s already a talented player. So that’s a wonderful combination. Lauri was great. I thought he had a great mentality. I thought he was aggressive out there, played smart for his first NBA game.”

It was a sputtering start for the seven foot marksman, one of four for three points in the first half.

Markkanen always says he doesn’t lack confidence and seems to have a knack for quickly putting poor shooting games or sequences behind him and not hesitating. He had atrocious shooting games both in Summer League and in the preseason and came back the next game each time to shoot exceptionally well. And so it was Thursday, tipping in and retrieving his own misses, getting to the free throw line, challenging on defense.

He’s a lot more active than anticipated if hardly loquacious. It’s as if he studied how to exchange with media by watching the “know your clichés” scene from the Bull Durham movie.

Markkanan smiles when he answers and is welcoming.

But he is curt in his responses, wasting little time. Sort of a flick, like with the shot.

Did you have any nerves in your first game?

“If I had any nerves for first game they are behind now.”

What did you do out there that you felt made the difference for that big third quarter?

“I let the game come to me; I am not forcing anything.”

What did you do to prepare before the game?

“Just relaxing in the hotel, sleeping; it was all good.”

What did you do after the slow start to get going after halftime?

“Kept my confidence up like I’ve said 1,000 times already; it felt great to be out there and looking forward to Saturday.”

Anything different in your routine getting the surprise start?

“I kept it the same way I’ve always done; I didn’t change anything.”

What is it about you that enables you to respond so quickly to poor efforts?

“I’m trying to give my all every time I step on the court; whenever I have a chance to make a play on the offensive end I try to do that.”

Fred Hoiberg said he wants you to hunt shots because you are such a good shooter. What’s your reaction to hearing that?

“I see them getting pretty clear to me.”

You can’t fault Markkanen because he is another of those sophisticated, even for a 20-year-old, international players who speaks several languages. Which is not something you’ll find with many 20-year-old Americans. Or elderly journalists. So we’ll excuse his lack of elaboration. The Bulls love the way he seems to be speaking so eloquently on the basketball court.

“What we like most about him is he has no fear out there,” said Hoiberg. “He can miss two or three in a row and if he has any daylight at all he’s going to rise up and  shoot the ball with confidence, and that’s what you have to have as a shooter. And for a young player who has that, you are born with it. You can’t teach that kind of confidence. To have that for the first game of his career after missing a few early (in the game) is a great sign.”

The Bulls will take whatever ones they get in this season.

bulls-fall-to-raptors-117-100

Bulls fall to Raptors, 117-100

The Bulls Monday with their star backcourt of Jimmy Butler and Derrick Rose sidelined with injuries trailed from the start and lost 108-91 to the Charlotte Hornets.

The Bulls fell to 27-24, a game and a half ahead of ninth place Charlotte. The Hornets at 26-26 have the tiebreaker with a 3-1 record over the Bulls this season.

The Bulls were led by Pau Gasol with 22 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks. Gasol was three of five on three pointers. Doug McDermott had 14 points off the bench and E’Twaun Moore added 12. Kemba Walker had 30 for Charlotte and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had 20. The Bulls were outrebounded 56-41.

And then depression set in. Not only was Butler out and back in Chicago with a sprained knee and Nikola Mirotic recovering from appendix surgery, Rose joined the injury list with what was described as body soreness from the long, seven-game trip which was ending on Charlotte Monday. Hey, they lost the Super Bowl. So what are you complaining about?

But this Charlotte professional team came out scoring, taking a 14-4 lead in the first four minutes as the Bulls started Moore, Kirk Hinrich, Taj Gibson, Gasol and Mike Dunleavy, the latter being the 12th different player to start a game for the Bulls this season. The Hornets behind usually poor shooting Michael Kidd-Gilchrist poured it on the Bulls with 58 percent shooting in the first quarter and five of nine threes. The Hornets took a 38-20 first quarter lead, the most first quarter points the Bulls have surrendered this season. Gasol and Moore had seven points each.

The Bulls started the second quarter with a reserve group of Cameron Bairstow, Tony Snell, McDermott, Aaron Brooks and Bobby Portis and proceeded to miss  their first eight shots of the quarter. The Hornets, however, we no better and missed six of their first seven field goal attempts before getting out to a 46-24 lead. The Bulls put together a bit of a run with a 9-2 stretch behind Moore and Hinrich threes to get within 50-36. Charlotte led 57-42 at halftime as Gasol had 13 points and Moore 10. Gasol was two of three on three pointers. The reserves combined for four points in 40 first half minutes.

The Hornets were the ones to start the second half hawkish with a fast break score after a turnover and a three to retake their 20-point lead. Dunleavy got a basket and a three to stop the momentum, but then the Hornets got five free throws in one possession for Kamba Walker on the Hornets second clear path foul of the game and fouled on a three. Walker continued to shoot three and was four of nine for 29 points through three quarters as the Hornets went into the fourth quarter leading 87-65. The Bulls got an 8-0 start to the fourth quarter mostly behind McDermott, but couldn’t sustain and the Hornets shot their way back ahead by 20.

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Bulls stung by Hornets 108-91

The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Chicago Bulls. All opinions expressed by Sam Smith are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Chicago Bulls or its Basketball Operations staff, parent company, partners, or sponsors. His sources are not known to the Bulls and he has no special access to information beyond the access and privileges that go along with being an NBA accredited member of the media.

By Sam Smith | 4.05.2015 | 5:08 p.m. CT

The Bulls stayed close but it never was quite enough as the Cavaliers Sunday came away with a 99-94 victory.

The loss left the Bulls at 46-31 and one game ahead of the Toronto Raptors for third place in the Eastern Conference. The win for the Cavs, 50-27, pretty much locked up the Central Division title.

The Bulls were led by Mike Dunleavy with 24 points and Aaron Brooks with 17. LeBron James had a triple double for the Cavs with 20 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds. But it was the three-point shooting of J.R. Smith and Kyrie Irving that was decisive. They combined to make 12. Irving had 27 points and Smith had 24.

The Bulls got off to a good start with Mike Dunleavy scoring nine first quarter points as the Bulls went ahead 18-12. But the Cavs behind Kyrie Irving had a 10-1 close to the first quarter for a 27-23 lead. The Bulls had trouble defending J.R. Smith in the Cavs big win over the Bulls in Cleveland in January and Smith again got going with six first half three pointers including a 40 footer to close the half for a 54-45 Cavs lead. The Bulls then had a tough stretch in the third quarter with five turnovers in 10 possessions around an Irving 50 footer with the shot clock running out. That enabled the Cavs to go into the fourth quarter leading 79-71.

1. Derrick Rose continued to travel with the team, shot for a long time pre game and told the ABC broadcast he probably would return to play sometime this week. The Bulls are in Orlando Wednesday and Miami Friday.

2. Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau ran more catch and shoot plays, especially out of timeouts and got some open looks, especially for Mike Dunleavy with 15 first half points and three of four threes.

3. The three-point shot truly has overwhelmed the NBA and did so to the Bulls Sunday as the Cavs attempted 32 through three quarters with Smith and Irving making 11 in that stretch. And three-point defense is one of the Bulls better attributes.

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Bulls drop to Cavs in Cleveland

The Indiana Pacers surprised the Bulls Saturday with a 99-90 victory in the United Center despite a career high 32 points from Jimmy Butler. But the Bulls were outrebounded 46-34 by the undermanned Pacers and shot just four of 17 on three pointers. A.J. Price off the bench and Luis Scola led Indiana with 21 points. The Bulls fell to 7-3 and are 2-3 at home. The Bulls now leave for a seven-game road starting Monday against the Clippers and do not return home until Dec. 2.

The Bulls were missing Derrick Rose, out with a hamstring strain. Though it was no excuse against a depleted Pacers team missing four starters with injuries. Still, Indiana playing the second of a back to back, led 46-42 at halftime with only Jimmy Butler with 12 points doing much offensively in the half. The Bulls pulled even late in the third quarter, but Luis Scola’s shooting shot Indiana back ahead 69-65 going into the fourth quarter.

1. Missing Derrick Rose isn’t just about scoring. The Bulls had little pace to the game until late and allowed Indiana to play in its controlled tempo.

2. The Bulls reserves were inconsistent again, outscored by the Pacers reserves 30-20.

3. Rough game for Pau Gasol, who had 12 points but was just four of 15 as Roy Hibbert thwarted him inside and Gasol didn’t try to draw out Hibbert with his jumper.

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Pacers 99, Bulls 90

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TORONTO - Pau Gasol scored a season-high 27 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to lead the Bulls to a 100-93 victory over the Raptors Thursday night. Jimmy Butler scored 21 points while adding nine rebounds and six assists for Chicago, now 7-2, who remain unbeaten on the road at 5-0. Derrick Rose scored 20 points before finishing the game on the bench after a reported left hamstring issue.

Gasol and Butler scored six points apiece to stake the Bulls to a 25-24 lead after the first quarter that saw only one turnover between the teams.

Nine turnovers in the early portion of the second quarter dug the Bulls into a 35-27 hole. Gasol had the hot hand just before halftime scoring the final 13 points for the visting Bulls who trailed 52-45 at the break.

After tying the game at 58 the Bulls closed the third with a 22-8 run. Outscoring the Raptors 35-14, Chicago held Toronto to its lowest scoring output in a quarter this season to take an 80-66 lead into the fourth.

The Raports staged a fourth quarter comeback, ourscoring Chicago 27-20 in the final stanza. Entering the game tonight, the Raptors were the highest scoring team in the NBA at 107.0 points per game.

Next, The Bulls host central division foe Indiana Saturday night at the United Center.

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Bulls hand Raptors first home loss

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