Chicago Bulls vs. Atlanta Hawks: The Failed Redemption Takeaways

Atlanta is really firing on all cyclinders right now between the Hawks hot play of late, Migos blessing the culture, the Falcons heading to the Super Bowl and Donald Glover’s Atlanta receiving the Best Comedy Series award at the Golden Globes. Oh, and the Atlanta Hawks beating the Chicago Bulls again.

The Atlanta Hawks are hot, and the Chicago Bulls are not.

Once again, the Bulls to the Hawks on Wednesday night, falling to 7-6 in January and to eighth in the Eastern Conference. The Hawks are now 10-3 in January and back in the thick of the playoff picture after a span from the end of November and through December.

When these teams met last Friday, the game looked something like the St. Valentines Day Massacre until Chicago’s bench made it respectable late in the fourth quarter.

This game was just as disappointing, albeit in a different fashion. The Bulls used a 20-point first half performance from Dwyane Wade to take an eight-point lead into halftime.

Things fell apart in the second half, as they tend to for Chicago. The Hawks closed the game on a 19-4 run (and that last basket by the Bulls was a gift) to win it, 119-114.

The Bulls wasted phenomenal games from Wade and Jimmy Butler, who combined for 77 of the Bulls’ 114 points.

In brighter news, Rajon Rondo has officially taken his first free throw since Dec. 16th and made his first one since Dec. 6th! Don’t get too excited though, he only went 1-for-2 at the line.

*Wipes flowing tears away* “That’s my point guard.”

Now, let’s get to the takeaways for Chicago’s failed redemption game.

Dec 23, 2016; Charlotte, NC, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Dwyane Wade (3) stands on the court prior to the game against the Charlotte Hornets at Spectrum Center. The Hornets defeated the Bulls 103-91. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

Dwyane Wade was cooking

Dwyane Wade abused Kent Bazemore in the first half. Wade reached 21,000 career points off a steal and dunk in the first quarter, and put his bevy of moves on display to get to 20 points for the half.

Wade went to work, using his back-to-the-basket game effectively. He got Bazemore to bite on a pump fake for an and-one, simply overpowered “The Bazegod” in the paint, and lost Bazemore sprinting to the left corner off a nice screen from Cristiano Felicio.

When Wade gets going, it really is something to watch. It’s nice to see it in this shade of red. Wade looked surprisingly springy in the game, not showing the signs of fatigue one would expect on the second night of a back-to-back set. He shot an efficient 14-for-24 for the game and converted on 5-of-8 free throws.

Falling apart at the end hurts even more considering Wade played heavy minutes in two straight games; something the Bulls try to avoid doing. Wade added 11 points and two assists in the fourth quarter, but was nowhere to be seen for the last two minutes.

After the game, Wade made it clear he was upset with his team’s performance, but we’ll save that for later.

Dec 26, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls forward Nikola Mirotic (44) shoots over Indiana Pacers forward Thaddeus Young (21) during the first half at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Bulls Kryptonite: 3-pointers

The Chicago Bulls’ kryptonite reared its ugly head yet again.

As I’m sure you’ve heard, the Bulls are last in the league in 3-pointers made and attempted per game, along with being last in 3-point percentage.

It might be time to apologize to your eyes for the torture they endure watching Chicago lay brick after brick. Wednesday night was another rough one, as the Bulls shot 8-for-27 from behind the arc. I’ll save you the calculator trip, that’s 27 percent.

Butler and Doug McDermott combined to shoot 6-for-13 from the 3-point line, but Nikola Mirotic struggled for the second night in a row.

The Threekolaaaaaa‘s were not falling as he shot 1-for-5 from behind the line, which I suppose is an upgrade from his 0-for-3 performance last night? There might be no one that better represents Chicago’s frustrating season than Mirotic, with his peaks and valleys.

However, Chicago’s poor shooting from deep is to be expected. What cannot happen is allowing Atlanta to hit their 3-pointers at a 17-of-30, a 57 percent clip. For reference, the Hawks rank 22nd in 3-point percentage at 35 percent, and only average nine made 3s a game.

Atlanta converted on 4-of-5 3s in the fourth quarter, making three of those within a one-minute spurt that saw the Bull lead cut from 10 to one.

Dec 5, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Dwyane Wade (3) and forward Jimmy Butler (21) celebrate after the second quarter of the game against the Portland Trail Blazers at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Caylor Arnold-USA TODAY Sports

Wade and Butler are unhappy

After the game ended, Wade and Butler sounded off on a perceived lack of care from their teammates.

It is a little interesting to hear this coming from Wade, someone with a bit of a reputation for hanging behind plays when he doesn’t calls. That trend has continued this year, and at times, he looks disinterested with the concept of playing defense.

But it didn’t stop there.

Down the stretch in the fourth quarter, there were a couple questionable 3-point attempts from Mirotic and Taj Gibson. Gibson took a corner three with four minutes left and missed, the Hawks scored on the next possession to tighten the game to six. Mirotic took an ill-advised shot that was a brick from the jump with 25 seconds left.

Butler may come off prickly but he’s right. If he had been struggling and Mirotic had been hot during the game, Mirotic taking that shot may make sense. But Jimmy G. Buckets lit up Atlanta to the tune of 40 points on 13-of-22 shooting. Not only has Jimmy Buckets been living in the clutch lately, he had the hot hand.

If you’re the best player, have the hot hand, and average the fourth most points during crunch time (of players with at least 10 games played), you expect the ball.

Gibson is shooting 1-of-8 from 3-point land for the season and Mirotic is still hovering around the 30-percent mark.

To Wade and Butler the message is clear: the leader of the team takes the big shots.

Apparently it got lost in translation on the way down the line, like a game of telephone.

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