Before the game against the Bucks, the Bulls were in a very low profile, having lost to the Grizzlies, Heat and Hawks in a three-game losing streak, and once again raised doubts about their inability to beat the strong teams. Their opponent in this campaign is the defending champion Bucks, who are currently ranked third in the East, so whether they can beat the strong teams to end the losing streak in this campaign is of great significance to them.
In the first quarter of the game, Portis took the lead to help the Bucks establish a lead, but soon the Bulls blossomed more, and the two sides ended the quarter in a draw. In the second quarter, the Bucks blossomed inside and outside, pulling the point difference to double digits in one fell swoop, while the Bulls still caught up at the end of the quarter, trailing only four points into the second half. The Bucks made consecutive mistakes late in the third quarter, while the Bulls took the opportunity to play a 9-0 run to end the quarter with an 88-81 lead. In the final quarter, the Bucks equalized in the first half, and after the two teams alternated leads into a white-hot one, the Bucks finally came out to beat the Bulls 118-112.
After losing this game, the Bulls have suffered four straight losses, and with this four-game losing streak, they have also fallen to fourth place in the East. Judging from the whole game of this campaign, the reasons why they lost again cannot be separated from the following points. First, although the Bulls' two core players, DeRozan and Ravin, scored 29 and 30 points respectively in this campaign, their offensive efficiency was not high, and the former lost his previous focus on the shooting, shooting only 11 goals in 30 shots, and only scored 5 points on 2-of-9 shooting in the crucial final quarter. Although the latter scored 30 points in this campaign, only 3 of 10 three-pointers were shot, which led to the team's loss to some extent.
Second, when faced with the Bucks' tall lineup of Portis and Antetokounmpo, the Bulls' interior line became weaker. Antetokounmpo alone grabbed 16 rebounds, porttis also had eight rebounds, and only two offensive points had 18 points. For the Bulls, the two starting interior players Vucevic and Thompson only grabbed 12 rebounds together, and the team's second offensive score was only 10 points. With a final point difference of only 6 points, the second offense score became one of the key factors that determined the game.
Finally, it has to be said that in terms of penalties, the Bulls are indeed on the unfavorable side. The Bucks got a full 33 free throw attempts, including 19 at the free throw line by Antetokounmpo alone. They also hit 22 free throws in the whole game, which laid a big foundation for the team's final victory. For the Bulls, they only got 11 free throws in this game, even less than Antetokounmpo alone, and they ended up scoring 8 points through free throws, which had a great impact on the Bulls' morale and game mentality.
According to statistics, after this game, when the Bulls faced a team with a winning percentage of more than 60% in the league this season, their record was only 2 wins and 14 losses, which is not a good signal for a team that is aiming for the championship this season. After all, when they enter the playoffs, they will all face strong teams, which is a big test for their championship. In the offseason, the Bulls, who had not made the playoffs for many years, began to recruit, and successively got Ball and DeRozan, thus forming a "poor man's version" of the Big Four.
With the team quickly completing the chemistry run-in this season, the Bulls instantly became the strongest team in the East, and for a long time, their record was high in the top three in the East. Among them, DeRozan's play is the most important reason, because the main players such as LaVine and Bauer have played a stop and play this season, and the latter is still in a state of absence so far. Therefore, in such a situation, DeRo is in favor of the important reason why the Bulls once ranked first in the East, in many games, DeRozan scored 35+, almost single-handedly leading the team forward.
After the Bulls captain finished first in the East, many fans have high hopes for them this season, believing they will have great hopes of winning the championship. But in their last four games, they have suffered four consecutive defeats, and the team's ranking has fallen to fourth place in the East. In these four games, three of their opponents have a winning percentage of more than 60%, which means that the Bulls' inability to beat the strong teams well from the beginning of the season has not been well resolved so far, which is very unfavorable for their next playoff journey.
On the one hand, with little left in the remaining schedule, the Bulls have more than 60% of their opponents, which is a strong team in the strict sense. If they don't overcome this weakness of the team well and find a way to win as soon as possible, then their ranking will fall further. At present, the Celtics behind them are also getting closer and closer, and if they are not careful, they are likely to be overtaken by the team behind them, resulting in them falling into the second half of the playoffs. Not only will this allow them to face too strong opponents too early in the playoffs, but they will also lose home field advantage.
On the other hand, as we all know, the playoff stage is extremely cruel, as long as the strength of the team that has made the playoffs is not to be underestimated. In the playoffs, the Bulls' inability to beat the strong teams will be infinitely magnified, and under the competitive mechanism of either winning or being eliminated, they must overcome such shortcomings as the current team. When they cross the first round, then the next opponent to meet them will be the top teams like the Heat, Bucks, 76ers, and the Bulls are at a disadvantage in the current game record.
Of course, part of the reason for this is that the Bulls have not played in a full lineup for many times this season, and there are still a number of key players in injury status. The two cores of DeRozan and Lavin must also take part of the responsibility, and if the team wants to beat the strong team, then the performance of the two will become a very critical factor.