A year ago around this time nobody gave a penny for the Warriors, but they ended up winning the ring. We cannot forget about that, but we must also take into account that if one plays with fire, it is very possible that one will end up burned.. And that if you repeat the same script, the ending does not always have to be the same. And that’s how things are: a very tough defeat for the Warriors in Chicago, third in the last four games and a 21-22 record, with a clear and palpable risk of being left out even of the play-in in a Western Conference that, let’s remember, has a lower level than on other occasions and is subject to constant changes. Fickle, prone to move any team back and forth with any kind of streak, positive or negative. It does not penalize at all, but it accumulates a huge number of franchises. And, within all that, the Warriors are one more. Which is not exactly a great comment if we take into account that we are talking about the current champion.
The loss against the Bulls has been incontestable: the Warriors scored 42 points in the second period and they went ahead at halftime (59-62), but they absolutely fell apart in defense in the final period, with 40 goals received and a bird that ended up sinking them permanently and that gave the locals peace of mind to close the game comfortably. The victory has a lot of merit for the Chicago franchise, which is with very important casualties (Lonzo Ball, DeMar DeRozan, Javonte Green) and was facing a Warriors who already have almost all their available troops, especially with that dynamic trio of Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and, of course, Stephen Curry..
The big three It was not exactly good, although it was not particularly accompanied either. 8+4+7 from Draymond, unable to contain, just like Kevon Looney, to a stellar Nikola Vucevic (43 points and 13 rebounds) and 20+10+4 from a too erratic Curry in shooting (8 of 15, but 3 of 10 in triples) and with a rather questionable shot selection. The only one that is saved is a Klay with 26 points, with 4 rebounds and 4 assists, in addition to 8 of 15 in triples. Neither Jordan Poole’s 15 points nor Anthony Lamb’s 14 served to turn the situation around for a team that, to round off the embarrassing performance, he lost up to 23 balls, an absolutely disastrous figure that ended up condemning them completely. There are situations against which you cannot fight.
For the Bulls, a team with a very low ceiling, victory is a real joy and can fill a roster with confidence in need of it. In tenth place in the Eastern Conference, they continue to try to overcome and fill the enormous deficiencies they have (especially in defense, where they miss the aforementioned Lonzo Ball, who hasn’t played all season) to fight, at least, to get into the play-in. At the moment, they leave good feelings with the victory against some Warriors that in the last four games they have only rescued the victory of the packed Alamodome. Time passes and the sensations do not improve for the reigning champion. That already last year, we insisted, he passed the exam studying on the last day. But that doesn’t always work. There it is.