Bulls Game No. 42: The good, the bad and the ugly from Saturday’s loss to the scorching-hot Hawks
24. 107. 125. Final. 99
Before the 2012-2013 season, the Chicago Bulls trade away sharpshooter Kyle Korver for virtually … nothing. Trading Korver saved the Bulls $500,000 towards staying under the salary cap. On Saturday night with his new team — who have been running roughshod through the NBA as of late — Korver showed his former club that they made a gigantic mistake.
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Not only did the Bulls’ up-and-down season continue with an eight-point loss to the best team in the Eastern Conference, the catalyst for the Bulls’ demise was an old friend to the city of Chicago.
Kyle Korver, who spent two seasons in Chicago with the Bulls, torched his former team for 24 points on 7-of-10 shooting in the 107-99 win for the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night.
All seven of Korver’s field goals made came from behind the arc.
"“When you look at how Kyle fits in, Kyle is always going to make everyone around him better. When you have a shooter like that if forces the defense to shift and it creates space. They use him extremely well.”-Tom Thibodeau on Kyle Korver, CSNChicago.com"
Korver’s lethal onslaught, along with his team’s consistent and wonderful performance on both ends of the floor, kept the Bulls at bay all night long.
Every time the game’s momentum seemed to be shifting, it was Korver and the Hawks who would stop the bleeding and make the big plays.
Even through another loss against an elite team in the Eastern Conference, the Bulls did have some key moments, led by their superstar floor general, who continues to appear as his former, pre-injury self.
We’ll take a look at the good, the bad and the ugly for the Bulls from Saturday night’s loss:
“The Good”: Pre-injury Derrick Rose may be here to stay
Can you name the last time Derrick Rose registered back-to-back 10+ assists games?
The answer?
Derrick Rose with back-to-back 10 assist games for the first time since Feb 2-4, 2012.
— Jeff Mangurten (@JeffGurt) January 18, 2015
Although the shooting percentage doesn’t look stellar — 8-for-22 (36.3%) from the floor — and Rose took 10(?!) three-point attempts on Saturday, the youngest MVP in history was the only reason Chicago was in the game.
The stat line for Rose was not only great — 23 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds — the explosion and confidence appeared to be there.
In his last four games, Rose is averaging 25.5 points per contest, to go along with eight assists per game.
“The Bad”: How do you let Kyle Korver shoot 7-for-9 from long range? KYLE. KORVER.
Kyle Korver‘s shooting percentages: 51.5% from the field, 53.6%(!!!) from long range and 92% from the free throw line.
So, does anyone want to attempt to explain how you let the league’s best three-point shooter (Sorry, Steph) get open constantly and torch you for seven three-pointers?
Seriously, it’s Kyle Korver. Pick him up in transition!
“The Ugly”: The Bulls are 1-4 against the two best teams in the East this season
Before the 2014-2015 season started, everyone penciled the Bulls and the Cleveland Cavaliers into the Eastern Conference Finals.
You might want to change those NBA playoff brackets for now.
Against the two top teams in the Eastern Conference, the Bulls are a woeful 1-4 against Atlanta and the Washington Wizards.
(Slight positive: The Bulls are 2-0 against the Toronto Raptors.)
Sure, regular season wins don’t exactly matter in April, May and June, but confidence does … and that’s something the Bulls don’t have against these top-tier East teams.
Something else they don’t have? The league’s defensive player of the year at full strength and their lone long-range threat healthy.
The absences of Joakim Noah and Mike Dunleavy, Jr. are looming large for the Bulls right now. There’s been no word on when either will return. Noah’s missed the last two games and Dunleavy’s played just once in 2015.
Obviously there’s a ton of time for things to trend upward, but the fact remains: The Bulls are not playing good basketball right now.
Next up for the Bulls (27-15): @ Cleveland on MLK Day, 6:30 PM CT.
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Next: Bulls Game No. 41: The Derrick Rose Show films in Beantown