Since last Friday, the Bulls got blown out by the Philadelphia 76ers at home, and they beat the
Milwaukee and the Cleveland Cavaliers in easy wins. It would be an understatement to say there has been a huge change over the last week. The biggest change from the loss to the 76ers to the victory over the Bucks was the performance of Nikola Mirotic and All-Star Jimmy Butler.
Butler did not look like an All-Star against Philadelphia as he only scored seven points. He did have 11 assists, which is good for him, but is not good enough to carry the Bulls to a win. However, it was clear that Butler was just having a bad game as he came back on Sunday to score 20 points and get 14 assists against Milwaukee. He also scored 25 points against Cleveland, which was definitely an improvement. He needs to continue to be consistent for the rest of the season, in order for the Bulls to build up a winning streak.
Another factor that will determine whether or not the Bulls can win games and make the playoffs will be the consistency of Mirotic. In the devastating loss to the 76ers, he scored 15 points, which is good for him, but he could have done more to carry the team to a win. Also, he has been inconsistent throughout the entire season, so it was very unlikely for him to have another game like that. However, he surprised everyone by scoring 28 points against both Milwaukee and Cleveland. He has never had three great games in a row this season. He is playing at a high level currently, just like he was during his rookie season. One of his motives for playing at a high level may be to get a big contract from the Bulls during this off season. He will be will be restricted free agent this off season, so he may be playing like an All-Star so he can get a huge contract. It does not really matter what his motivation is, as long as he continues to play like this throughout the rest of the season.
The Bulls have seven games left in the season and if they want to make the playoffs, they are going to have to win most of them. After the Bucks game, the Bulls had several days off before their game against the Cavaliers. The Cavs games game marked the beginning of their playoff run. The Bulls were losing at halftime, but managed to cut Cleveland's lead and gain a lead of their own for a 99-93 victory at home. Along with Butler and Mirotic' s contributions, big man Robin Lopez scored 10 points, and Denzel Valentine scored 12. Rajon Rondo finished the night with 15 assists. and although he may not be the best scorer, he can make incredible passes and rack up assists.
The Bulls have a relatively easy schedule for the remainder of the regular season and that is both good and bad. It is good because they can easily beat these teams and build up a winning streak to knock the Indiana Pacers out of the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference. However, the Bulls have lost to awful teams and beat great teams, throughout the season, which is very strange. The Bulls need to change their tune and put in the effort to sweep these teams. They are ninth in the East and only one game behind both the Miami Heat and the Pacers. If Mirotic continues to put up great numbers each game and Butler remains consistent, the Bulls could grab the seventh or eighth spot in the east and make it to the postseason. We'll just have to wait and see if they can end their season on a high note.
That's all for this week!
This is a good article but I think that this team is all Jimmy Butler. I understand that Wade has returned home but he's injured right now. Butler's been the face of this team after D. ROSE left.
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