The Chicago Bulls will take the drive back down I-94 with a smile on their face.
In their fourth of five preseason games, they were able to cruise to a 121-98 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. It was the kind of game that should give a young roster some additional confidence heading into the regular season. However, it was also the kind of game that will give the coaching staff plenty to work with.
As easy as the win may have looked on paper, there were still plenty of holes that showed. This is especially true when we consider that the Bucks were down eight players, including likely starters Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr., and Myles Turner.
With that in mind, let’s get into what worked and what didn’t work in Wednesday night’s win.
What Worked …
• The Chicago Bulls will have a higher floor than some might expect thanks to their veteran talent. Norman Powell came out against a short-handed Bucks team and instantly set the tone. Two of Chicago’s first three buckets came from the veteran behind the arc. What was the basket that came in between? A Jalen Smith triple. The two would combine for 21 points in the first half, pacing the Bulls to their lopsided 62-39 advantage. At the end of the day, this is what you bring the vets in to do.
• Tiago Splitter wants to play fast, and the Bulls were certainly doing that tonight. Did the Bucks make it easy on them with a staggering 29 turnovers? Absolutely, but it was still encouraging to see this group take advantage and execute in the open floor. They finished with 20 fastbreak points and 41 points off turnovers. Caleb Wilson got himself an alley-oop slam, Noa Essengue had a nice and-one finish, and even Jaylin Sellers got his first NBA dunk.
• The off-ball movement was solid for the Bulls. Matas Buzelis had multiple strong cuts to the rim, even if the Bulls failed to find him at times. They started the night with an assist on 15 of their first 17 made field goals. To little surprise, Josh Giddey led the way in that department with nine of the team’s 35 assists. Tiago Splitter has said it before: This isn’t a team with trustworthy ISO players. Their offense is going to have to come in transition and through quick, decisive passing. The Bulls did their best job of that tonight, though it’s worth noting the Bucks made it pretty darn easy on them.
• Noa Essengue has slowly started to win over his new head coach, and there is no question that this game further helped his case. The youngest player on the team was handed some surprising first-quarter minutes, and he proceeded to wreak havoc against this makeshift Bucks team. He was extremely active on the defensive end, doing a great job sticking with guys in transition and using his length to disrupt the offense. He also started the night 3-3 from the field, which included arguably his best possession as a Bull. After a well-timed jab at the ball to force the turnover on one end, he hustled in the open floor for the and-one finish.
• Matas Buzelis showed off his three-point shooting chops. The third-year forward finished 6-9 from the field to lead the Bulls with 19 points. Five of his made buckets came from behind the arc. It was a tad surprising after he’s talked all offseason long about not wanting to settle for too many long-range jumpers. Nevertheless, you’ve got to take the open shots when they come, and he did just that.
• Josh Giddey is still trying to find where he fits with this team as a scorer, but the guard seems to be having plenty of fun dishing to his highly athletic wings. Not only did he connect with Caleb Wilson for a jam, but he found Matas Buzelis on one of the best passes you’ll see this year (preseason, regular season, or playoffs). Overall, Giddey was the catalyst for the team’s ball movement.
What Didn’t …
• While the lopsided score makes it look like everything went right for the Chicago Bulls tonight, let’s just say they got a lot of help. The Milwaukee Bucks looked like a team missing their entire starting unit, which is why the Bulls’ struggles on the glass painted an ugly picture. The Bucks were winning the offensive rebounding battle for the majority of the night, finishing with a 16-14 advantage in that department. All in all, they won on the boards 47-40. Tiago Splitter isn’t going to be too happy about that, as he’s made crashing the glass a priority for this team in training camp.
• Yes, the Bucks had their 29 turnovers. But no, the Bulls didn’t lock them down from start to finish. Many of these mistakes were self-inflicted wounds. We still saw too many lapses from the Bulls, triggering some quick timeouts by Splitter. There are going to be some instances this year where the team’s wings are just blown by along the perimeter. Buzelis, Wilson, and Essengue are still all learning how to play away from the basket.
• Speaking of the defense, the Bucks still finished the night with a 28-35 performance from the free throw line. Fouling has been an issue for the Bulls all preseason long, and one would have liked to see a much cleaner outing against a depleted Bucks team. At the same time, Tiago Splitter has said that he can live with the fouls for now as long as it means they are ramping up the physicality.
• It wasn’t that Dailyn Swain didn’t work for the Bulls; it’s just that he didn’t see much work at all. After being a mainstay near the top of the rotation, the return of Tre Jones and two-way guard Jaylin Sellers led to him being the odd man out. He didn’t take the floor until late in the second half (same with Patrick Williams). Is this a sign of what’s to come? Not necessarily, but it does feel notable on a night when Splitter said he would play the regulars some more minutes.
• Lastly, Caleb Wilson’s night left something to be desired. He found a better rhythm in the second half to finish with 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists, but you would have liked to see him beat up on this Bucks team a little more. Instead, he was sloppy with the ball in his hands (four turnovers) and shot just 4-10 from the field (1-5 from three-point range). IT would have been nice to see him get downhill a little more in this
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