Bulls: Faster pace key to Game 4
The Chicago Bulls need to push the pace.
The Bulls succeed when their pace is frenetic, bordering on frantic. They’re rarely thebiggestorstrongestteam on the court — especially in their first-round playoff series against the Milwaukee Bucks. But when the Bulls speed up to harass opponents on defense and push the open court on offense, they can take advantageoftheirsmall-ballmindset to disrupt a game.
The opposite happened in their jarring, 111-81 loss Friday in Game 3 at the United Center.
“We have to run better,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said. “Our pace is way too slow. We’ve got to space the floor. We’ve got to run and we’ve got to get out. At times we moved way, way too slow.”
After Bobby Portis slotted in for Bucks forward Khris Middleton because of an MCL sprain in his left knee, the Bulls should have entered Game 3 with the upper hand in speed. The Bucks started three players 6-foot-10 or taller, creating a towering presence that shut down the paint. With a smaller lineup of quick guards and adaptable forwards such as Patrick Williams and DeMar DeRozan, the Bulls could have pushed the pace.
But they didn’t. The Bulls scored only five points in transition in Game 3, continuing a trend from Game 2 (six fast-break points) and Game 1 (five points). Bulls guards hesitated when they caught the ball with numbers or space to attack, slowly bringing the ball up against a fully set Bucks half-court defense.
“They’re a terrific defensive team and they’re good in every area they protect,” Donovan said. “They get back in transition and they rebound. But when you have opportunities to get out in transition in open court situations where the floor — even if it’s not uneven, it’s cross matched or different matchups are happening, the side of the floor is overloaded — you’ve got to be able to attack. I didn’t think we played with enough pace.”
Transition ball comes less easily when the opposing team is making shots. The Bucks shot 51.5% from the field and 42% from 3-point range in the first three quarters before putting in bench players to ride out the final 12 minutes.
The lack of fast break offense for the Bulls was further stymied by the Bucks’ improved ball protection, which resulted in only nine turnovers after coughing up a combined 36 in Games 1 and 2.I can do a better job rebounding and pushing, getting the ball in my hands and playing a little bit faster,” guard Zach LaVine said. “But if we don’t get any stops, it’ll be hard to get out in transition.”
Creating pace will need to be a tactical shift catalyzed by guards from the moment the Bulls rebound the ball. But LaVine said the team’s sluggishness also stemmed from an air of defeat after the Bucks took an early 19-point lead. The Bulls looked exhausted by the end of the first quarter and defeated by the end of the first half. But to grind out a series against the Bucks, the Bulls can’t allow a double-digit lead to crush their pace of play.