Feb. 07--The Bulls dropped to 27-23 following their road loss to the Timberwolves on Saturday. Here are three observations.
The Bulls keep blowing late leads
In each of their last three losses, the Bulls led late and failed to finish. Against the Timberwolves, defense and rebounding were the main culprits.
Sure, the Bulls missed their final seven field-goal attempts but most of those shots were good looks. Missed shots will happen. Allowing Andrew Wiggins to exploit matchups and score six straight points in a 12-0 run needs to be prevented. And allowing 14 offensive rebounds in a 45-31 rebounding disadvantage is unacceptable.
The defense has really left the page
Remember when the Bulls closed out games early in the season with big defensive stops? Think Jimmy Butler on Paul George or Pau Gasol thwarting LeBron James.
Those days are long gone.
The Bulls are failing to get stops at critical times, allowing Minnesota to shoot 51.7 percent and close with that 12-0 run. That's five straight games in which the Bulls have allowed both over 100 points and over 44 percent shooting. They won't win many games like that.
Mike Dunleavy looks ready for more minutes
In his season debut, Dunleavy scored five points in just over 14 minutes. With only two games before the All-Star break, Dunleavy likely will stay near a minutes limit of 15 per game. But it's clear Dunleavy, who underwent offseason back surgery, has put the work in to play more.
Look for the veteran forward to be playing upwards of 20 minutes a night after the break.
"It's going to be a progression but I think it will come sooner rather than later," Dunleavy said. "I put a lot of work in. I feel pretty good about it. I think I'll be good."
