Yes, it’s way too early to make sweeping Bulls declarations, even if they collected a 105-99 victory over what should be one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference in Boston.
Will that stop us from pointing out a few things from Thursday’s season opener that will (probably) hold true the rest of the season? Nope.
The circus is in town full time.
Dwyane Wade made a twisting layup while falling to the floor. Nikola Mirotic wowed the crowd with a spinning drive and bucket. Rajon Rondo nearly banked one home after faking a behind-the-back pass. Wade later showed the stutter step that has made him one of the best to play the game. Jimmy Butler converted a layup while landing on his backside. Even if the Bulls have trouble finishing games, the entertainment value will be there every game.
The Bulls are going to get open shots …
The Bulls’ ability to break down opponents off the dribble and their willingness to share the ball, two things at which Wade and Rondo excel, will be one of the team’s calling cards, as will its collective quickness.
… and now they just have to make them.
Thursday’s game would have been well out of reach in the first half had the Bulls connected more often with no one guarding them. Shooting 39 percent from the field won’t get it done most nights. Butler and Wade in particular were meh, shooting a combined 13-for-35. Rondo was worse, an abysmal 1-for-9.
Everyone will be asked to contribute.
Twice in the first half, Wade tried lob passes to Cristiano Felicio. The same Cristiano Felicio who averaged just over 10 minutes in 31 games last season. The second alley-oop attempt worked, and the Bulls can live with those plays working half the time. More important, coach Fred Hoiberg was able to go 10 deep on his bench.
Jimmy Butler hasn’t lost his edge.
Known as one of the league’s most tenacious defenders, he got into a scuffle with the Celtics’ Jae Crowder in the first half that led to matching technical fouls. The fact that one of the team’s marquee players is also one of its toughest will go a long way in the locker room.
“That’s someting to show that the guys are out there fighting for each other,” Hoiberg said. “… The fact that nothing escalated is good. The fact that those guys are out there to play for each other and have each others’ back, that’s huge right now.”
They might be better at shooting 3s than we thought.
“For some guys that [supposedly] can’t shoot, I feel like we shot the ball pretty well tonight,” Butler said in a postgame on-court interview.
He was right as far as 3-pointers were concerned. Rondo, Wade and Butler were a combined 7-of-8 from 3-point land in the first half, and the team was 11-for-25 in that category overall on Thursday. Not too shabby.
The exclamation point: Wade’s step-back triple with 26.3 seconds left to give the Bulls breathing room at 104-99. Let’s hope that’s not the last time he breaks the opposing team’s back.
“They stripped [Butler] and [the ball] rolled right to me; it was kind of like the perfect storm,” Wade said. “I was just trying to get in my rhythm … get my legs into it. When I released it, I ain’t gonna say I knew it was going in because anything can happen, but I felt good about the shot and there was a lot of emotion, almost like an out-of-body experience after that.”
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