The Chicago Bulls 115-101 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks was highlighted by their rookie big man Daniel Gafford. Gafford led the team in scoring for the game with 21 points on 10-12 shooting while also tacking on five rebounds and an assist. Unfortunately, his night was undone by the play of the rest of the team and it left more questions on a night that should’ve celebrated this rookie.
The one other silver lining from this game was the 63 points provided in this game from the bench. 21 coming from Gafford, 13 from Coby White and 12 from Arcidiacano. A game that more often than not is won by many teams.
The Bulls misery reaches a record 4-10 and with a trip to Detroit to face Derrick Rose and company time is beginning to run out.
Boylen Finally Played Gafford
This feels like an “I told you so” moment for all Bulls fans when Gafford performed beyond expectation in his Bulls debut. If not for Luke Kornet’s sinus surgery there’s a legitimate question as to whether or not Gafford would have played.
Boylen has refused to play him through the first month of the season despite stating in the past that he’s here to develop the entire roster, not just the main guys.
I’m gonna develop this bench, I’m gonna develop this team. I got 15 guys to develop and I’m gonna play them in those moments.
Jim Boylen after 11/5 loss to Lakers
This game finally started to show more after a slow start to the season for the bench. If Boylen is going to insist on playing end of the bench players at least the production can begin to increase.
Zach and Lauri’s Struggles
The other question remaining following yet another loss for the Bulls is the play of both Zach LaVine and Lauri Markkanen. At the final horn, LaVine had 11 points and for Markkanen he had nine points on 2 of 12 shooting. It begs the question, “What is going on?”
The duo that is presented as the main pieces of the young core and rebuild has yet to take the next step this season and it’s alarming for a team that was expected to be a bubble playoff team. Something has to change or changes will be made.
Here are the highlights from Gafford’s huge night:
