Welcome to The Rundown! Today we talk about last night’s Bulls/Lakers game, pick our Player of the Night and make our predictions for tonight’s action.
Bulls blow big lead, fall to the Lakers
Nick Billion: The Bulls had the lead against the Lakers and couldn’t hold on to the win. This time, the “they’re young” pitch won’t work, because the Lakers are a younger team as well. This was a game that the Bulls needed to win and should have won. That said, Denzel Valentine had a good night for the Bulls, shooting 50% including 5-7 from 3 point land, grabbed 9 rebounds and had 2 steals.
Craig Brallier: This was a surprisingly fun game to watch, but that may also be because it was the only game on last night, either way I had fun. As a Bulls fan, it’s always tough to watch your team lose, but blowing a 19 point lead is absurd. It doesn’t help when Jerian Grant is dribbling the ball all over the floor in hopes of making some kind of play. I think he took like 17 or so dribbles on that play. With Brook Lopez and Lonzo Ball both having bad nights from the field, they should have been able to close this one out.
KCP takes charge in Lakers comeback
NB: The Lakers go on a late run to pull out the win against the Bulls. They were led by their rookie Kyle Kuzma with 22 points. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope also had a big night with 21 points and 8 rebounds. KCP was a big part in that late run for the Lakers. Lonzo Ball continued to struggle, scoring 8 points off of 23% shooting. Not good, especially against the Bulls. On the bright side, he had 13 assists.
CB: It was a shock to me when the Detroit Pistons opted to let KCP walk, so I’m glad to know he’s out here making big time plays in LA. He was awesome during the second half comeback, and with Lonzo not playing well they need him. Speaking of Lonzo, can you imagine if he were playing on a different team, and having this bad of a shooting streak? I would imagine he would be coming off of the bench, or would have already found himself in the G League. In all honesty, a G League stint could be a saving grace for Lonzo’s shooting woes, but can you imagine the media/LaVar backlash? It sadly wouldn’t be worth it.
Speaking of LaVar…
NB: To no surprise, LaVar Ball says that the Lakers do not know how to coach his son. I don’t see this being the case. Take example last night, Lonzo had 13 shot attempts, so he’s getting looks, just not falling. 8 of those 13 shots were 3 pointers and he only cashed in on two of them. I think Lonzo should focus on better shot selections. I don’t think all the blame can go to Walton and his coaching staff.
CB: This man is insane. He’s currently feuding with the President of the United States, and like the president, he puts the blame on anyone but him and his family. Lonzo just isn’t hitting shots, and that’s not a huge deal. Don’t put the blame on the coaching staff because shots aren’t falling, LaVar. Lonzo just needs to make better choices on when to shoot. 3 pointers? Maybe not eight of them in a night. He’s rebounding well, passing well as expected, he just needs to pick his shots.
Player of the Night
Unanimous: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope – 21 PTS, 8 REB, 3 STL, 4/7 from beyond the arc in win VS Bulls.
Predictions
Wizards-Hornets
NB: Wizards
CB: Hornets
Nets-Cavaliers
NB: Cavs
CB: Cavs
Trailblazers-76ers
NB: Sixers
CB: Sixers
Clippers-Hawks
NB: Hawks
CB: Clippers
Celtics-Heat
NB: Celtics
CB: Celtics
Raptors-Knicks
NB: Raptors
CB: Raptors
Nuggets-Rockets
NB: Rockets
CB: Rockets
Mavericks-Grizzlies
NB: Grizzlies
CB: Mavericks
Magic-Timberwolves
NB: Wolves
CB: Wolves
Spurs-Pelicans
NB: Spurs
CB: Pelicans
Warriors-Thunder
NB: Warriors
CB: Thunder
Bucks-Suns
NB: Bucks
CB: Bucks
Bulls-Jazz
NB: Jazz
CB: Jazz
Lakers-Kings
NB: Lakers
CB: Lakers
That’ll do it for today’s Rundown! With Thanksgiving tomorrow, we will be taking a long weekend, so come back here on Monday for the top stories from around The Association.