Resting solid veteran players in the name of “player development” was bound to lead to some really ugly basketball down the homestretch. The game against Brooklyn on Monday night was the manifestation of what we all knew was coming.
With Zach LaVine strategically sitting in the first game of a back-to-back, the Chicago Bulls in an 87-point performance shot 35.5 percent from the field, their lowest shooting percentage of the entire season. They were 15-for-23 from the free-throw line (tenth worst mark of the season) and 6-for-21 from 3-point land (26.1 percent). Their offensive rating in this game was 85.