allchgo.com

Bulls 119, Cavaliers 112: Do Josh Giddey’s stats tell the whole story?

Limited Hat Drop

Join the Ultimate Chicago Bulls Community — As Low As $3/mo*!

Will Gottlieb Avatar

Bulls' Josh Giddey

After dispatching the Cleveland Cavaliers in their preseason opener on Tuesday, the Chicago Bulls hosted the Cavs for round two.

With Nikola Vucevic (rest), Kevin Huerter (groin) and Julian Phillips (knee) joining Coby White on the injury list, Tre Jones and Zach Collins stepped into the starting lineup.

Josh Giddey led the way for the Bulls with 14 points, seven rebounds and six assists while Jones filled up the box score as well, going for 10 points, five rebounds and seven assists.

Matas Buzelis wasn’t as explosive as the previous game, but still managed to score 11 points on 3-of-7 shooting.

Bulls now move to 2-0 in the preseason with a 119-112 win.

Next up: Bulls host the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday evening.

Don't like ads?

Tune into the CHGO Bulls Live Post-Game Show:

The Bulls played a tribute video for recently traded Lonzo Ball in his return to the United Center, giving way to relitigate the Ball-for-Isaac Okoro trade.

Ball hasn’t looked great in either of the first two preseason games, shooting just 1-of-3 from the field on Thursday after going 0-of-4 on Tuesday.. He’s still finding his footing after missing the final 22 games of the season with a wrist injury. Ball fits next to anyone, and represents a luxury the Cavs can afford to wait on as they load up for a deep postseason run.

Okoro has struggled with his efficiency, going 3-for-11 against the Cavs on Thursday. But his defensive presence is impossible to ignore — maybe even to a fault, considering he had five fouls in 25 minutes.

Diving on loose balls, picking off a pair of passes and providing physicality at the point of attack help, as does his off-ball movement and willingness to shoot on the other end. But his general offensive potency is a question he’ll need to answer on a nightly basis. — Will Gottlieb

Okay, might as well rip this band-aid now. No better time than two games into the preseason, right? The Giddey eye test is still an absolute nightmare through this Bulls fan’s lens. Tonight’s Giddey minutes felt exactly like most of last season: “What the hell…Wow!…What the hell was that…Okay, nice play…What on earth…”

Don't like ads?

I know that White’s absence needs to be kept in mind when evaluating these preseason minutes. But White or not, Giddey still makes a head-scratching play/decision for every good play he makes. Driving without a plan, and lacking the necessary athleticism to improvise his way into a quality shot or clean pass. Sure, he hit a cool-looking buzzer beater. He also took and missed some terrible shots.

There’s plenty of room for Giddey to improve, and I think that can happen. But tonight’s eye test was a big ol’ “yikes”, especially for the guy being asked to run Billy Donovan’s fast-paced-and-let’s-win-the-possession-battle offense.

Cue the Giddey Committee calling me a hater. Fine by me. I see what I see. We’ll see what we see against the Bucks on Sunday. — Matt Peck

Let me pause from drinking my delicious, ice-cold RC Cola to jot this down…

The 1st quarter was eerily similar to last game. The Bulls had 7 turnovers, struggled from the field and got it together when the bench came in. Jones played well. His pointguardsmanship was on full display.

Giddey was not great in the 1st but recovered to fill the stat sheet. His ball security wasn’t good and that cannot be a thing that continues. One thing is for sure – he’s got the buzzer-beater thing down to a science.

Don't like ads?

Lee Patrick (Patrick Williams) really has looked better these past two games. He’s been active on both ends of the floor and hasn’t looked lost or uncomfortable. I really liked what I saw from Dalen Terry as well, especially as a facilitator.

Jevon Carter’s new nickname is Mr. Stay Ready. — Big Dave

Get Chicago's Best Sports Content In Your Inbox!Become a smarter Chicago sports fan with the latest game recaps, analysis and exclusive content from CHGO’s writers and podcasters!