Who Should Have Taken The Last Shot For The Bulls?
Last night in the NBA was crazy. We had an offseason overhaul smackdown, the continued success…of the Wizards? Man, things really are getting crazy. And of course, we had to talk
The Detroit Pistons Desperately Need Cade Cunningham
Now, I’m not saying that the Pistons would be anything special with Cade Cunningham. But Cunningham is such a great game manager and would easily be in the running for the best player on the team (sorry Jerami Grant). Cunningham has yet to debut and it’s safe to say the Pistons aren’t thriving without him.
Detroit Pistons Offensive Ranks In 2022
94.0 Offensive Rating (30th)
94.0 points per game (30th)
40.8 FG% (30th)
25.8 3-PT% (30th)
17.0 turnovers (25th)
The Pistons have looked dead offensively. While they have good complementary pieces like Saddiq Bey, Jerami Grant, and Isaiah Stewert, they need Cade to jump-start their offense whenever he returns.
I do think that being cautious with Cade is smart. He’s your franchise cornerstone, so as far as the Pistons are concerned, any time worth waiting will end up being worth it. But when Cade does come back, the Pistons will become a much better team because of it.
Fine. I’ll Talk About The Washington Wizards
For months, I have been asking the Washington Wizards to just bite the bullet and rebuild. They haven’t been contenders with Bradley Beal and they don’t have a direction. This offseason, they loaded up on veterans when it was time to prioritize developing the likes of Deni Avdija, Corey Kispert, and Rui Hachmiura.
I so badly wanted to see this team fail, just because I wanted to be right. But I guess even I can be wrong (shocking I know). The Wizards have started the season 4-1. They beat the brakes off the Hawks last night and have looked impressive against other mid-tier Eastern Conference teams.
Rui Hachimura hasn’t played a game all season due to “personal” reasons. Daniel Gafford is injured. Spencer Dinwiddie didn’t play last night. Montrezl Harrell is having to play major minutes and so is Davis Bertans. And yet, this team is 4-1. How is that even possible?
Has Anything Changed?
This offseason, I made a new NBA stat and called them ‘Unseld’s,’ describing a full-court pass, made famous by the late legend West Unseld. Unseld was a pioneer of the game and was an icon in Washington sports. Decades later, his son, Wes Unseld Jr, is turning the team around.
Or is he? I’m not saying that Unseld isn’t doing a good job, but the Wizards haven’t drastically improved in one category this season. Don’t believe me? Roll out the stats.
2021 Wizards Defense: 112.3 Defensive Rating (20th)
2022 Wizards Defense: 104.7 Defensive Rating (13th)
2021 Wizards Offense: 110.7 Offensive Rating (17th)
2022 Wizards Offense: 108.7 Offensive Rating (8th)
Sure, the defense is better, but their offense is statically worse. No matter what the rankings amongst the league are, the Wizards aren’t exactly blowing me away. It’s certainly blowing me away that they’re 4-1, but is it because they’re playing miles better than they were last year?
No. That might come off as slightly biased, but it’s true. Their roster isn’t that great and unless they make it past the first round (unlikely), I stand by my rebuilding attitude for this franchise.
Deni Avdija has been awful to start this season, Rui Hachimura is MIA, and Corey Kispert hasn’t even played that much. The Wizards are not figuring those things out and instead of playing Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
Delete the franchise.
Free Throws
The new rules implemented this offseason, to take away “non-basketball moves,” have worked like a charm this season. NBA games feel more like NBA games and the fewer free throws the better. There are still some hiccups so far, like some referees downright refusing to call fouls, but other than that, it’s been smooth sailing.
The free throw stats around the NBA reflect as such. In 2022, the free throw numbers look like this;
15.3 FT makes per game
20 FT attempts per game
19.5 Personal Fouls per game
Now, compared to the 2021 season, fouls aren’t really down that much. Last season, there was an average of 19.3 fouls per game. This season, it’s at 19.5, a slight uptick. But I think the caveat to that is that there are a lot fewer shooting fouls being called.
That would explain the free throw numbers. At this pace, the 2022 season would give us the least amount of free throw attempts, ever. I know like 20 free throw attempts per game doesn’t seem like a lot, but it is. And it would be last all-time by a wide margin. The next closest season (2017-18), averaged 21.7 free throw attempts per game.
15.3 free throw makes per game is also on pace to be the least all-time, followed closely by the 1946-47 season, or the first-ever season of NBA basketball. If that doesn’t tell you that these new rules are working, I don’t know what will.
NBA games finally feel like NBA games again. Fewer shooting fouls are being called, the game is more physical, and in turn, more fun. Points per game are down nearly 4 points per game. Referees have their hands-on games less and it’s working like a charm.
Basketball is back.
New York Knicks vs Chicago Bulls
This game was fun, as it should have been. Both the Knicks and Bulls completely overhauled their rosters this offseason. Both teams have seen the results. Entering this game, the Knicks had the 2nd best offense. The Bulls had the 2nd best defense. Did I mention it was Joakim Noah night?
This game didn’t always appear to be good, with the Knicks defense putting an iron fist around Chicago. With just under 3 minutes left, the Knicks led 104-91. Game over, right?
You would be wrong about that. The Bulls somehow rallied back, scoring and getting lucky with some Julius Randle missed free throws. Down one with the ball, the Bulls (somehow) had a chance to win. Aaaaaand, they blew it. Of course.
Chicago Bulls
We have to talk about that last play to win the game because it was truly awful. The play itself wasn’t bad, but the way it played out? Things couldn’t have gotten worse for Billy Donovan, who nearly pulled off a miraculous win to keep the Bulls undefeated on the young season.
It wasn’t a pretty game for the Bulls, who legitimately struggled for the first time this season against a legitimate team. Let’s break down their performance.
The Play
The Bulls’ last chance to win this game was awful. Or should I say, it ended awfully? If you watch the play, it wasn’t that bad.
I don’t think the normal TV angles show this play well enough. Let’s get a 2nd look at this bad boy, FOX style.
That analysis is spot on. A one-thumbed Zach Lavine is still a lethal scorer and he had a chance to get the ball. Most people wanted DeRozan to give the ball to Lavine, no questions asked. But with this 2nd angle, both Evan Fournier and RJ Barrett scrambled to try and stop Lavine from getting to the rim. As you can also see, there was nobody on the paint, so Lavine likely would have gotten a good look.
DeMar DeRozan keeping the ball here was not the problem. Everything else was.
- First, DeRozan seems to be going at half-speed. He had a step on RJ Barrett and instead of attacking the rim, he just of just floated to the right wing, allowing Barrett to get back into the play.
- Why did he pumpfake? If he had shot this normally, there wouldn’t have been a great contest. Mitchell Robinson didn’t want to leave Nikola Vucevic, but that pumpfake really hurt DeRozan and likely forced his eventual air ball.
- Speaking of Vucevic, what is he doing in the corner? That kind of messed up the whole play because DDR didn’t have the whole wing to himself. Again, DeRozan should have been more aggressive, but awful spacing didn’t help him out there.
I think that passing the ball to Zach Lavine would have been the right move, all things considered. Even though DeRozan was excellent in the clutch last year, as soon as he didn’t pass that ball, the Bulls were doomed.
I Love Alex Caruso
The Bulls signed the Bald Eagle to a 4-year contract this offseason. I absolutely loved this signing. Caruso gives the Bulls a great 6th man off the bench, a guy who can shoot, play defense, and get other guys involved. He’s already showing you why they gave him said contract this offseason.
Not only was Caruso just awesome in this game, but he’s also been great all season long;
Alex Caruso In 2022
8.4 points – 3.6 assists – 3.0 steals – 62% TS – 29 minutes
Caruso has been highly productive off the bench this season. He’s scoring efficiently, sharing the ball well, but that defense? That’s what makes him more valuable than a scoring threat like Coby White – he can do it all.
Caruso Takes On The Big Apple
Caruso’s brilliance continued off the bench against the Knicks in this game. He played 33 minutes off the bench, including nearly all of the 4th quarter. His stat line of 10 points, 6 assists, and 2 steals with a +7 plus/minus shows off what he does best. Some scoring, some passing, some defense, and some impact. *Chefs kisses*
I love Alex Caruso if you couldn’t tell.
While that last play left Bulls fans with a bitter taste in their mouth, this was still a promising game. The Bulls trailed by double-digits multiple times in this game and they only lost by one, which is saying something because they were thoroughly outplayed in this game.
The injury to Patrick Williams is definitely going to leave a mark, as they lose some shooting and one of their few lengthy defenders. Guys like Troy Brown Jr, Alex Caruso, and Javonte Green will have to play some more minutes in his place.
New York Knicks
The New York Knicks should have won this game by more than one point. They outplayed the Bulls for most of this game, but they squandered two double-digit leads and were very close to a monumental breakdown. But, DeMar DeRozan missed and that story won’t be told.
Late-Game Mishaps (Again)
The Knicks have been very close to blowing two late leads. In that double-overtime thriller against Boston to start their season, they should have won handily. But they got sloppy down the stretch and that errant Evan Fournier double-team sent the game to overtime.
In this game, it was more of the same thing. The Knicks led by 13 with 2:13 in the 4th quarter. As you already know, DeMar DeRozan had a chance to win this game at the buzzer. So how did that happen?
The Bulls got some free throws to cut into the lead and a DeMar DeRozan and one layup cut the lead to just 6 with 1:10 left in the 4th. Still a comfortable lead, just had to get a stop and eat some clock.
Julius Randle then missed a point-blank layup and that led to a Nikola Vuceivc three-pointer, cutting the lead in half to three. The game was seemingly over just a minute ago and now the Bulls have all the momentum.
The Knicks missed again, with Kemba Walker getting smothered by Alex Caruso. The Bulls called timeout and Zach Lavine promptly dunked, cutting the lead to one with just 8.5 seconds left.
The Knicks nearly turned the ball over when trying to get the ball inbounds, but the Bulls couldn’t fully save it and Julius Randle was headed to the free-throw line. That’s good. He’s an All-Star and your best player. What could go w-
Randle missed both free throws. What the (censored).
We all know how the game ended, the Bulls lost, but man, that was too close for comfort.
I have not been impressed with the Knicks in late-game situations this season. Sure, they won both games we’ve been talking about, but their execution has been poor. From bad inbounds passes, bad defense, and missed free throws, the Knicks have not impressed me (so far) this season.
Superb Defense
(outro)
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