This season has been a true running of the Bulls
Given the current state of Chicago sports, the Bulls' victory over Miami on Wednesday counts as a big deal.
It went a long way toward clinching home court in next week's 9 vs. 10 play-in game. By any sort of NBA-wide measure, that's small potatoes, so no point getting carried away.
But the Bulls did take care of business 119-111 at the United Center, and they are 13-5 in their last 18 games. Josh Giddey continued to shine, producing his seventh triple-double of the season, finishing with 28 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists.
Giddey joined LeBron James and Nikola Jokic as the only players in the NBA this season with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists.
While the Bulls have a chance to make the real playoffs next week, the question remains, is this team actually good? Or at least a couple steps or pieces away from climbing the standings?
The trio of Giddey, Coby White and rookie Matas Buzelis is certainly interesting. Now the Bulls need to add at least some measure of defense, rim protection and physicality somehow.
But the season-long practice of playing at an extremely fast pace not only fits the skills of these players, it also seems to be working. The Bulls are routinely running teams to exhaustion.
“I think that's probably where we hang our hat,” Giddey said after the game. “We're probably the best-conditioned team in the league, and that starts way before training camp. The offseason, the way we played pickup. We played scrimmages with a short shot clock, so it forced us to get up and down.
“I think it's starting to show now where we get to late in the third, fourth quarter, teams are starting to get tired, hands on their knees and we're feeling good about ourselves.”
In today's load management NBA, it seems like playing at a full sprint might be detrimental to players' health. On the other hand, Golden State won four titles playing that way, so it can be sustainable.
“It went good,” White said. “We kind of conditioned ourselves for it before the season. A lot of us are kind of used to it, knock on wood. I feel solid. I think a lot of guys feel solid. We have a lot of durable guys on this team.”
White was ice cold in the first half, but delivered one of those mature games. He picked his spots, hit big shots in the fourth quarter and ultimately salvaged an 18-point night.
The current supporting cast also fits this style. Kevin Huerter scored 22 points on 4-of-9 shooting from 3-point range and looked like the equal of Miami all-star Tyler Herro, who hit some late 3s to finish with 30 points.
The game's most interesting sequence happened in the final minute. Trailing by 5, Herro stripped the ball from White, but instead of going in for an uncontested layup, Herro tried to be the hero, pulled up and missed a 3-pointer with no one between him and the basket. The Bulls got the rebound and on the other end, Buzelis showed his confidence by burying a corner 3-pointer to essentially clinch the game.
“That was pretty (gutsy),” Huerter said of Herro's shot. “If he makes it, it looks great. Luckily for us, it missed. I think that was a 5-point game, so any bucket cuts it to one possession. I don't know if I would have taken it.”
The Bulls finish the regular season with games against Washington (home) and Philadelphia (away). By winning one of those, they'll clinch home court and face Miami again next Wednesday in the 9 vs. 10 game.
There's an outside chance the Bulls could climb to the No. 8 seed, but the Bulls would have to win out while Atlanta loses two of its last three.