A Seleção de Arremessos dos Bulls Ainda é uma Bagunça, Mesmo Contra os Spurs

Another Wasted Offensive Night for Chicago

Look, the Bulls beat the Spurs 128-114 last night. Good for them. A win is a win, especially when you're scrapping for play-in positioning like Chicago is. DeMar DeRozan dropped 33 points on 14-of-22 shooting, Zach LaVine had 21, and Nikola Vucevic added 20. Those are decent numbers, but honestly, watching the game, it felt like they were actively trying to make things harder for themselves, even against a struggling Spurs squad that’s now lost 11 of their last 12.

Here's the thing: San Antonio ranks dead last in the league in defensive rating, giving up 121.2 points per 100 possessions. They play at the fastest pace in the NBA. This was a prime opportunity for Chicago to feast on efficient looks, to really pad those shooting percentages and build some rhythm. Instead, we got the usual mixed bag of hero ball and contested mid-range jumpers.

The Mid-Range Addiction Persists

DeRozan’s mid-range game is beautiful, an art form really, but it's not the path to optimal team offense. He took 13 shots from between 10 feet and the three-point line, connecting on 9 of them. That’s 69%, which is phenomenal for DeMar. But as a team, the Bulls launched 26 shots from that inefficient zone. The league average for that range is closer to 42%. They shot 50% from there against the Spurs, which is great for one night, but it’s not sustainable, and it’s definitely not maximizing their possessions.

Think about it. The Bulls shot 37.8% from three, making 14 of 37 attempts. They only had 19 shots at the rim – just 19! – converting 13 of them (68.4%). Against the Spurs’ sieve-like defense, a team like the Celtics or the Nuggets would have been driving into the paint and kicking out for open threes all night. Chicago settled. That’s the problem. They settled for good shots when great shots were available.

Vucevic, for example, took 14 shots. Four of them were threes, and six were from the mid-range. He got to the rim only four times. For a big man, that's just not enough high-percentage looks. He should be leveraging his size in the paint more frequently, especially when going against a young, undersized Spurs frontcourt.

What About Ball Movement and Shot Quality?

The Bulls did dish out 30 assists, which is a good number. Patrick Williams had a solid game, hitting 3 of his 4 threes and even getting to the line five times. That’s the kind of efficient scoring they need more of. But too often, the ball would stick, leading to a late-clock isolation where someone like Coby White or Ayo Dosunmu would heave a contested shot. Dosunmu, for instance, shot 4-of-10, with several difficult looks. His efficiency needs to climb for him to be a reliable scoring option.

My hot take? This team will never be a true contender until they commit to a more modern, efficient offensive philosophy. They can beat bad teams like the Spurs by leaning on individual brilliance, but come playoff time against elite defenses, those mid-range bail-outs dry up. They need more rim pressure, more corner threes, and fewer contested twos. It's simple math.

Prediction: The Bulls will finish outside the top six in the East, and their reliance on inefficient scoring will be a major reason why, despite individual heroics.