Bulls observations: Robinson 3-point barrage leads Heat originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
The Bulls (25-35) fell 106-101 to the Miami Heat (32-29) Saturday night at American Airlines Arena.
Here are nine observations:
1. To say the Bulls started slowly is like saying Michael Jordan was good. Duncan Robinson sank four 3-pointers by the 7 minute, 24 second mark of the first and had time to count the seams before shooting on a couple. That development continued a season-long trend of guards getting hung up on screens far too often and easily and getting cross-matched in transition. The Bulls failed to crack 20 points in the opening period for the second time in three games. As Adam Amin colorfully put it on the NBC Sports Chicago broadcast once as the Bulls dribbled upcourt, “Here come the Bulls down two touchdowns . . .”
2. The Heat are a tough, disciplined defensive team. But the Bulls played into their hands by rarely pushing the tempo. In the halfcourt, the Heat are elite at walling off the lane. Against the Bulls, they switched most every screen and the Bulls, especially without Zach LaVine, lack the playmakers and scorers who can create their own shots to exploit the strategy.
3. No wonder the Bulls shot just 13 free throws and didn’t attempt their first pair off a shooting foul until Nikola Vučević got there at the 9:57 mark of the third quarter. They could barely get into the lane. The lack of foul shots continued a troubling trend for the NBA’s worst at getting to the line. The Bulls, who entered averaging just 17.8 free throws, shot fewer than 20 free throws for their 12th straight game. According to Bulls’ stats wizard and 670 The Score broadcast coordinator Jeff Mangurten, that streak ties the longest since the ABA-NBA merger in 1976.
4. Maybe Coby White needs another chat with assistant coach Maurice Cheeks. White, who credited his recent low-turnover stretch in part to Cheeks constantly being in his ear, had a brutal first half in terms of ball security. He committed four of his six before halftime and looked bad while doing so. On one possession, White received a pass on a fast break, jumped to appear to advance it upcourt with another pass and then tried starting dribbling. Traveling.
5. The bench struggled. Tomas Satoransky and Denzel Valentine failed to score in the first half and Satoransky failed to record an assist. Troy Brown Jr. missed his third straight game with a sprained left ankle, and his absence is starting to low-key be a big one. Not only does it rob the Bulls of a valuable perimeter defender, Brown had shot 9-for-11 in his previous three games before the injury.
6. Jimmy Butler is still really good. The former Bull didn’t record a field goal in the first half and still placed his imprint all over the game. Always a willing passer, Butler routinely carved his way through the Bulls’ defense, into the paint and out to open 3-point shooters---like Robinson. Then, when the Bulls trimmed a one-time, 24-point deficit to a one-possession game in the fourth, Butler took over. In one stretch, he scored or assisted on 12 of 14 Heat points. And Butler shot 12 free throws, almost as many as the Bulls did overall.
7. White is becoming near-automatic, or at least elite, in catch-and-shoot situations. Like his strong close to last season, when he catches a pass and gets his feet set, you’re surprised when he misses. White settled down after his poor start and finished with 31 points on 11-for-18 shooting.
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8. The Bulls still have too many head-scratching moments. Valentine played well in the fourth to help rally the Bulls but then had a sequence where he stepped on the sideline as he received a pass---which the Bulls do far too often---and then tried a heat-check, 30-footer with the Bulls down five and under a minute to play. Valentine then fouled Robinson on a three-point play.
9. White finished with 31 points and scored to bring the Bulls within two with 15.8 seconds left. But Simeon product Kendrick Nunn sank two free throws with 12.7 seconds left to end the comeback bid. The slow start and poor, first-half ball security dug the Bulls too big a hole. Robinson finished with seven 3-pointers and 23 points for the Heat, who were finishing a back-to-back. That made the Bulls' slow start all the more galling.
Standings update: Familiar face Tom Thibodeau did his former employer a solid by coaching the Knicks to their ninth straight victory and handing the Raptors a loss in the process. The Raptors and Bulls are tied for 11th. The 10th-seeded Wizards were idle, while the ninth-seeded Pacers prevailed over the Pistons and moved 3-1/2 games clear of the Bulls.
Next up: At the Heat on Monday.
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