The Chicago Bulls’ four-game road trip got off to a bad start when they lost 116-102 to the hot-starting Oklahoma City Thunder. Two things can be inferred from the Bulls’ 11th defeat:
The fifth game in a row that the Bulls start slowly
When it comes to the beginning of games, the Bulls just can’t seem to get out of their way. They struggled to get going and trailed by 12 points after the first quarter. Before Nikola Vucevic put the Bulls on the board with a basket at the 9:51 mark, Chicago missed their first six opportunities.
The Bulls shot 4-of-23 from the field to close out the first quarter. With just 24.7 points in the first quarter, the team actually has the lowest first-quarter scoring average in the entire NBA. Despite Coby White’s increased intensity from three-point range in the second quarter, the Bulls were unable to surpass the 40-point threshold. In four of the previous five games, Chicago has now scored fewer than 40 points in the first half.
SGA does exist.
Think again if you believed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s All-Star performance from the previous season was an anomaly. SGA has elevated his game to an entirely new level this season. In addition to leading the league in steals, he’s averaging career-highs in rebounding (6.2), field goal percentage (53.5%), and free-throw accuracy (92.8%). Moreover, he is scoring 29.6 points per game on average.
SGA had an incredible night against the Bulls, scoring 40 points, dishing out 12 assists, and even grabbing three blocks. Out of his eighteen attempts, he missed just one field goal and made eleven field goals.