Chicago Bulls at Sacramento Kings: 3 takeaways from a close road victory
Feb 6, 2017; Sacramento, CA, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Dwyane Wade (3) gestures toward his team mates after defeating the Sacramento Kings 112-107 at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
After a tough loss in overtime in their last game against the Houston Rockets, the Chicago Bulls bounced back against the Sacramento Kings, winning 112-107.
The Chicago Bulls are back to the .500 mark!
After a couple of days with more losses than wins, the Bulls successfully dismantled the Sacramento Kings with swarming defense and good ball movement, putting them back at .500 with a 112-107 win.
Unfortunately, being 26-26 isn’t really anything special. In fact, you could even argue that being .500 is worse than .200 (especially if you’re a Milwaukee Bucks fan from the mid-2000s).
But hey, the Bulls got a win, and we’re happy. It’s even cooler that it happened a) after the Kings just beat the Golden State Warriors, and b) Without Chicago’s best player, Jimmy Butler.
Maybe this is a sign that the Bulls can live without Jimmy Butl… okay, I’ll stop for now.
Michael Carter-Williams got the start at small forward again last night, solidifying one of the worst starting fives ever in terms of ability to shoot 3-pointers (Jerian Grant, Dwyane Wade, MCW, Taj Gibson and Robin Lopez).
And yet, Carter-Williams managed to ball out again, and the starting five brought out a defensive intensity that limited the Kings to its lowest points scored in the first quarter (11) since 2012.
Here are three big takeaways from the Bulls win in Sacramento.
Jan 15, 2017; Memphis, TN, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Michael Carter-Williams (7) reacts during the second half against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum. Chicago Bulls defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 108-104. Mandatory Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports
Michael Carter-Williams: best at SF?
Monday night marked the second consecutive game where Michael Carter-Williams was officially listed at the small forward position.
It also was the second straight game of excellence from MCW, which sparks the question, should he be playing at the point guard position?
Carter-Williams dropped 21 points, six rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block against the Kings. Two nights before that, he had 23 points, nine rebounds and six assists against the Houston Rockets while guarding James Harden on the defensive end. In both games, he shot over 60 percent from the field.
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Simply put, MCW is at his best when the ball isn’t always in his hands. Against both Houston and Sacramento, the Bulls continually changed who was bringing the ball up the court; sometimes it was Wade, other times it was Grant, and occasionally MCW as well.
By not handling the ball every time up the floor like we’re used to seeing, MCW was able to get into rhythm by playing off the ball. In the first quarter, he had a few nice cuts that led to easy baskets. Then, once he got hot, he was ready to just bully his man into the paint and either finish or kick the ball to an open shooter.
The last two games have made it clear that MCW has found his confidence. He’s already a strong defender, but lately he has made an impact on the offensive end as well. Perhaps the flashes of greatness from his rookie year can return, just with MCW not necessarily at the point guard position.
Feb 6, 2017; Sacramento, CA, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Dwyane Wade (3) takes a shot over Sacramento Kings guard Arron Afflalo (40) during the second quarter at Golden 1 Center. The Chicago Bulls defeated the Sacramento Kings 112-107. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
The “Clutch Gene” never left Dwyane Wade
The Bulls nearly gave up their huge lead on Monday night.
The key word? Nearly.
Things were looking bleak towards the end of the fourth quarter, as the Kings had the momentum and were on a big run. With the previously quiet crowd now screaming and hollering, the game suddenly felt like the Kings were going to win.
Instead, thanks to some late-game heroics by Dwyane Wade, the Bulls survived.
They don't make them more clutch than @DwyaneWade. pic.twitter.com/MPpujdiQJJ
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) February 7, 2017
There’s no question that Wade’s performance has dipped as a Bull compared to previous years, and that’s not too much of a surprise because of his age. That being said, the one thing that hasn’t changed all year has been his ability to hit clutch shots in every game’s winding moments.
In the final few minutes, Chicago relied upon Carter-Williams and Wade to win them the game. And although MCW was hot and did have a few nice buckets, the fourth quarter belonged to The Flash.
Matt Barnes, who was defending Wade in the fourth, played excellent defense. Unfortunately for him, Wade’s offense was just unstoppable.
Feb 6, 2017; Sacramento, CA, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Jerian Grant (2) controls the ball against Sacramento Kings guard Malachi Richardson (5) during the second quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
The Bulls kept playing through the post
The final takeaway from Monday night’s game involves the crazy amount of time the Bulls played through the post.
It’s not necessarily surprising, as the starting lineup of Grant, Wade, Carter-Williams, Gibson and Lopez is a group full of non-shooters, but it still was quite interesting to watch Chicago’s offense throughout the game.
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The strategy appeared to involve setting an off-ball screen for either Wade or Carter-Williams, and then tossing them the ball once they got a little bit of space in the post. From there, the players would either try and back their man down, dribble out of the post and take it back to the top of the key, or kick the ball out before it found someone else down low.
Although the game plan probably isn’t the best idea for all future games (and won’t be the plan once Jimmy Butler is back in the lineup), it worked against Sacramento. Carter-Williams kept spinning past the smaller Darren Collison or Ty Lawson, Wade was putting the moves on Matt Barnes and Ben McLemore, and Taj Gibson was playing tough like usual on the block.
Watching the Bulls in this game almost felt like you were watching old school basketball (minus all the crazy threes by Nikola Mirotic, of course).
And if the Bulls starting lineup doesn’t shake up during the All-Star break, you can continue to expect this style of play from Chicago
(Poor Fred Hoiberg.)
