With the Bulls lineup changes, it's no surprise that John Paxson and his management team wouldn't mind picking a few extra losses down the stretch, as long as the team's young talent shows signs of improvement.
The veteran duo did in fact sit tonight, but the Bulls still almost pulled off an 18 point comeback at home against a playoff-bound Philadelphia team. Keyword: almost. After falling behind 25-7 to start the game, it appeared that the Bulls were in for a long night. That was until Bobby Portis went off for a career-high 38 points.
Lavine had 23 points, including 5 three's, and Holiday's replacement in the starting lineup David Nwaba added 21 points and 9 rebounds in 33 minutes. Kris Dunn and Lauri Markkanen both had forgettable nights, combining for just 8 points on 3-19 shooting, but there are going to be off nights for them. it's part of the nature of being a young NBA player. Despite off nights scoring, they both made big plays in the closing minutes that helped extend the Bulls lead, a major sign of maturity.
With a minute left in the game, Lavine put the Bulls up five with this clutch bucket:
But that wasn't enough to hold of the 76ers, thanks to this profoundly dumb turnover by Denzel Valentine.
The 1 point loss was crushing for the players I'm sure, but at the end of the day they put together a competitive performance against a playoff team, thanks to some major performances from key young players. For now, the Bulls will take that result 10 times out of 10.
Loading comments...