Bulls center Andre Drummond (right) guards Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic during Monday's game.
Associated Press
Despite a strong performance on the West Coast last week, the Bulls' upside this season is limited.
They are playing well despite some injuries, but the players they are missing make it very unlikely that they will be competitive even if they make it past the play-in tournament and make the playoffs. low.
Luka Doncic, Daniel Gafford, Mark Cuban and other Dallas Mavericks members returned home on Monday, reminding us of the steep climb the Bulls face to become true championship contenders.
Doncic sliced through a disorganized Bulls defense all night. The Mavs' MVP candidate had 27 points, 14 assists and 12 rebounds as Dallas rode the Slovenian powerhouse to a 127-92 victory at the United Center, the Bulls' worst loss of the season.
“I think every team is at a point throughout the season where they're going to get some ass-kicking,” DeMar DeRozan said. “This has to be our last and only game for the rest of the season. It's all about how we react from here.”
According to ESPN statistics, Doncic tied the NBA record for seven consecutive 20-point triple-doubles. It was no consolation that his five-year streak of 35-point triple doubles and six-year streak of 30-point triples came to an end. Doncic would have scored 40 points if he had to.
From the opening tip, Dallas typically just used their big men to set screens and attack switches. For the Mavs, former Bull Daniel Gafford started at center and scored 20 points, while backup Derek Lively added 22 points.
The Bulls couldn't keep their rotation straight. Nikola Vucevic and Torrey Craig talked at midcourt after one bad possession. So Craig tried to switch to Doncic, but Vucevic didn't move, and one of the centers made a wide-open dunk.
The only beneficial angle for the Bulls on the night was rookie Julian Phillips commanding playing time. Phillips has been a bright spot this season, showing enough athleticism and basketball IQ to be a positive impact when he's on the floor.
That's great news for the Bulls. Turning Phillips, Darren Terry, or Onuralp Bitim into rotation-capable players would be the easiest way for the Bulls to continue to improve. Either of these players could add depth to the team or become a trade target.
So why doesn't Phillips play more? good question. After Craig returned from a knee injury, Phillips played only four and five minutes in the final two games of the road trip. Terry played just 36 seconds on the road trip, but had a sweep in the fourth quarter on Monday.
“I trust Julian,” coach Billy Donovan said. “Alex[Caruso]is starting and Tory is coming back from injury so we're trying to get him back and that's probably affecting Julian. But I trust him. I feel like he did a good job.”
When Phillips first checked in, the Bulls were up 7-0 in less than two minutes. Granted, Doncic was taking a breather at the time, and the Bulls were already trailing 44-16. But when there is hope for the future, reach for it.
Since the All-Star break, Terry, Phillips and Vitim have ranked first, second and third in Net Rating for the Bulls. Perhaps this is misleading, as these three only play limited minutes and are usually matched up against other teams' subs. But his final 17 games of the season call for a more challenging scenario.
Vitim was the leading scorer with 17 points against Dallas. Phillips played a season-high 28 minutes and scored 11 points.
“Sometimes when you put a guy like Torrey in before Julian, a lot of it is just the experience of the guys he guarded,” Donovan said. “Julian is going to be better in that aspect. He's a very intelligent, understanding person who can do the job.”
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