The past few weeks have been a bit of a struggle for the Chicago Bulls, but they got back on track in an important way on Wednesday night with a 129-116 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans. It turns out to be a historic victory, both on a team and individual level.
The Bulls shot 25 of 47 from outside the arc and set a franchise record for three-pointers. In the process, Zach LaVine and Coby White combined to etch their names in the record books by becoming the first pair of teammates to each hit at least eight tries in a game. LaVine finished with nine tries and a season-high 46 points, while White made eight shots from downtown on his way to 30 points of his own.
It was perhaps no surprise that the Bulls’ brilliant shooting performance came against the Pelicans, allowing the most three-point attempts (41.3) and 3-point (15.3) per game in the league. But the Pelicans who give up a lot of 3s do not tell the whole story. Let’s take a closer look to see how LaVine and White made history.
Errors outside the ball
Unless your job is to analyze basketball, you probably do not pay too much attention to what goes on from the ball, but this is where countless possessions are determined every game. The Pelicans figured it out all too well, as simple mistakes and poor communication led to a number of open appearances for the LaVine and White.
Here is an example of late in the first term. The Bulls perform a dribble act on the left side of the floor, while LaVine sits in the corner of the weak side. Eventually the ball finds its way to Thaddeus Young at the top of the key, after which LaVine changes places with Denzel Valentine and jumps up to the wing.
There’s not even a screen here, but Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart do not communicate properly. Ball wants a switch and shows Hart to take LaVine, but Hart is not on the same page, resulting in a wide open try.
Later on for the first time, the Bulls walk to the top with Young showing for Tomas Satoransky. While Satoransky starts driving, Patrick Williams sets up a field screen for LaVine, who jumps from the corner to the wing. The Pelicans do not navigate properly.
Zion Williamson is caught by showing too much help to the ball and unable to recover for the shooter, and Hart has no chance of getting around the screen in time. As a result, it’s another open try for LaVine.
Paint touch
A very simple truth about basketball is that if you can get the ball in the paint, good things will happen. The Bulls proved it again on Wednesday night, especially in the second half. Their ability to get the ball inside collapsed the Pelicans’ defense, which in turn led to open shots on the perimeter.
Basketball seems as simple as everything works that way.
Impressive individual shot
Obviously, your opponent has a huge influence on game development, but making history achievements is not just gifted. LaVine and White both made some very difficult shots over the course of the game.
Offensive rebounds
Despite all their mistakes, the Pelicans are a tremendous rebounding team and they go into No. 3 in the league, according to rebound rates and offensive rebounds. That did not change Wednesday night, as the Bulls could only pick up seven attacking plates.
The problem for New Orleans was that Chicago let them count. Those seven setbacks turned into 16 second-half points, a number of which came on LaVine and White on the 3rd. It’s very difficult to fit in these situations, and these cuts are excellent examples of why bouncing is so important.
Sometimes teams are going to have tough nights on the defensive end, and sometimes the players just feel it from the three-point series. Wednesday night, both of these things happened in the same game, and so LaVine and White made history at the Pelicans’ expense.