At 6-10, the start of the season for our Bulls was disappointing; it’s been frustrating to watch. Some of the same old woes, some new ones, some bright spots, but not enough… The Bulls needed to right the ship; we can’t dig too big of a hole, again the East has improved, have the Bulls? Well, if the Bulls were to respond to this early gut check, they would have to do it against some really good teams; the upcoming schedule is brutal. It started on Monday hosting Boston at the UC.
It wasn’t really close; I was shocked. The Celtics had been hot, and the Bulls not, so of course, the Bulls kicked their ass. Zach bounced back from his worst game of the year, and maybe his career against the Magic last time out, and pumped in 22 points. DD, as steady as it gets with 28, and the other 3 starters also in double figures. They outscored them in every quarter except the last, and won going away by 14 points; Al Horford threw up a goose egg in the process. Yeah, I was happily surprised with this result; at least we got one back. Certainly heading to Milwaukee, which has been death for us, would bring us back down to the reality.
Although I watched parts of the Celtics game, I was locked and loaded for the Bucks one on Wednesday night. Man, was that a good game, and yes, the Bulls would prevail again! In a back and forth game, the Bucks would jump out, the Bulls would catch back up; the Bulls would jump out, and the Bucks would catch back up. It came down to the wire. In the last 7 minutes, DD only took 2 shots, making 1 of them; instead, the Bulls looked to Lavine to guide them home. He kept chucking up those treys; he kept missing those treys. He was 0-3 down the stretch, missing every big shot we needed from him. If there’s one thing we’ve learned this year, it’s the same as last year: DD is our #1, Zach is our #2, period. Does it matter? It shouldn’t. The fact that we have the 1-2 punch is enough for me, but honestly, I thought Zach would surpass DD, and become the man; will that ever come to be? Certainly when DD is no longer around, but for now, status quo.
But on this night, it wouldn’t be DD or Zach to lead us home. Yes, DD had a huge game with 36 points; Zach did have 18. Yet, it was Coby White and Nikola Vucevic that would hit the shots we needed to close out one of the best on their home court. Coby from one corner, bam; Coby from the other corner, bam bam; Vooch from the top, bam bam bam. Yep, these were the shots that sealed the deal, as the Bulls completed their most impressive win of the season IMO. For a season that has had its frustrations, this was the first really exciting moment; look forward to more of these.
Who knows what’s next for our boys, other than a Friday night tilt in OKC. At 7-11, the Thunder will be coming off 3 straight losses; this will be a tough matchup no doubt, one that the boys better not overlook. Peeking ahead will show us some more difficult games, so best bet is to grab this W; the way the Bulls have played in their last two, maybe it doesn’t matter. Bring it on; Go Bulls!!!
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