Zach LaVine then grabbed the torch coming out of the locker room and scored 15 points on 5-6 shooting. Coby White and Nikola Vucevic jumpstarted things offensively in the paint by combining for 17 points on 7-11 shooting in the second quarter. The energy this second unit pumped into the game translated across the roster, and what was a lackluster slog quickly turned into one of the Bulls’ best efforts of the season.
Once Caruso and his bench mob took over the game, we saw our second version of this team.The Suns are playing with Beal on the ground and still get a wide open corner 3 off this Bulls defense. The fact that head coach Billy Donovan had to – yet again – ask his bench to save them continues to speak volumes about the terrible fit of this “Big 3.” Phoenix converted open look after open look as the Bulls were either late on rotations or stuck in a complete defensive breakdown. But, at the same time, the Bulls were basically playing marco-polo out there. To be clear, I give the Suns credit for their unselfish ball movement that led to an assist on all of their 11 field goals in the first quarter. The first unit got off to their signature ugly start and looked completely disinterested on the defensive end. We saw two very different Chicago Bulls teams on Wednesday night.
