The Chicago Bulls started the game still sizzling from Wednesday night. Alex Caruso, Ayo Dosunmu, and DeMar DeRozan each hit a 3 within the first 3 minutes of the game. The Bulls’ offense looked like they were ready for the challenge that was the Miami Heat’s 5th-ranked defense. But looks can be deceiving.
Miami started to ramp up the pressure, and the Bulls couldn’t have been more unprepared. Before we know it rookie Jamie Jacquez was 3-3 from the field for 8 points, and the Heat were on their way to a ridiculous 19-0 run. Yes, you read that right. Miami took a 25-11 lead after Chicago’s early hot shooting. They were consistently sending two on DeMar DeRozan, and no other Bulls player could find a way to help him out.
The Heat were up 34-17 by the end of the first quarter one game💝 after th♕e Bulls scored a season-high 40 points in the second quarter. It served as a painful reminder of how inconsistent this team has been all season long. Play great one night, and look like a shell of your former self the next.
To the Bulls’ credit, they weren’t about to give up after the first quarter. They managed to turn Miami over seven times in the second quarter and were able to slowly but surely chip away at the lead. They won the frame by 7 points and were lucky to enter halftime down only 47-37. Both teams were shooting below 40.0 percent from the field at this point, and it felt like anyone’s game.
If the Bulls could start hitting shots from downtown, a playoff series was within reach. But that was ultimately too much to ask. The Miami Heat kept their foot on the gas and looked like the more consistent and complete team. Their third quarter looked a lot like their first, and things really felt over with Bam Adebayo drained a wide-open 3-pointer to make it 70-58. It was only the big man’s 24th career make from downtown.
Vucevic was getting embarrassed defensively, the Heat were outrunning Chicago in transition, and the Bulls looked completely out of sync on the offensive end. When they tried to go small, they were immediately punis🌠hed. When they needed to grab a crucial rebound, the Heat were right there. Anything and everything was going wrong, and it all set up an extremely fitting end to a frustrating season.
The Bulls lost 112-91 and ended the night shooting 38.0 percent from the field. The box score may not show that Miami’s 21st offense was on fire, but it sure looked like it against this lowly Bulls team. And that says a whole other thing about where this team currently stands.
I hate to say it, but I’m happy they lost. The last thing Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Everlsey need is another excuse. A trip to the postseason could have been spun into progress, but back-to-back Play-In Tournament losses and sub-.500 seasons make that nearly impossible.
Anyway, I’m exhausted. Not only has this been one of the most frustrating teams to watch night in and night out, but it’s been an immensely hard team to cover. My job is to produce as much fun and engaging content as possible, and I’ve never had a tougher time doing that than with this ridiculously mediocre team.
That’s precisely why I can’t wait for the offseason. The hope of what free agency, draft, and offseason trades can bring is better than the reality we lived in over the last seven months. Anyway, thanks again for sticking with me for another year. I know this hasn’t been easy, but at least we got to complain about it together.
Check out the full box score .
