Five Takeaways from NBA Sunday: Bulls players admit lack of discipline

By Kurt HelinFeb 1, 2016, 8:08 AM EST

I know you didn’t get to watch a lot of NBA on Sunday because you were preparing for the biggest football game of the year — the Pro Bowl. Actually, the NHL All-Star Game was the story of the day. That said, NBA machine kept right on rolling, so here’s what you need to know from around the Association Sunday.

1) Pau Gasol, Jimmy Butler both Bulls lack discipline. After a couple of days off in Los Angeles, the Chicago Bulls came out against the Clippers Sunday on national television and… looked like they enjoyed those couple of days off in Los Angeles. The Bulls were an unfocused defensive unit against a Clippers squad that without Blake Griffin spreads the floor better and provides real challenges. The Bulls weren’t up to it. Pau Gasol nailed why:

“We’re not disciplined,” Gasol said. “Yep. We’re not. That’s it. It’s true. It’s a fact.”

Jimmy Butler echoed those thoughts, via Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago.com.

“We’re not doing what we’re supposed to be doing. Loose ball, you gotta get that, rebound, you gotta get that,” Jimmy Butler said. “We lack discipline in a lot of key areas, which is why games turn out the way they do at times.”

This is a team that had discipline screamed into them by former coach Tom Thibodeau, but the Bulls missed some shots Sunday then seemed to sulk on defense afterwards — they and had a defensive rating of 124 (points allowed per 100 possessions). The Bulls didn’t defend the arc well — Los Angeles shot 17-of-32 from deep — nor did they have an answer for the athleticism of DeAndre Jordan inside. It was the kind of day for the Bulls that even when they went to hack-a-Jordan he hit some free throws.

The Clippers continue to roll without Blake Griffin. The Bulls continue to be a pretty good team that is not going to scare an elite team. Chicago lacks the discipline to do that.

2) Suns fire coach Jeff Hornacek. Well, this should solve all their problems. Suns management has made a series of mistakes the past couple years. They thought when they won 48 games in 2014 they could shortcut the rebuilding process. They brought in Isaiah Thomas, then when that didn’t work sold low on him and sent out one of the most valuable trade chips around (the Lakers pick this season or next, top three protected) so they could get Brandon Knight (who has battled injuries). They brought in Tyson Chandler, who has been injured and looked old. They traded Marcus Morris in an attempt to clear cap space and impress LaMarcus Aldridge, and in the process angered Markeiff Morris, who has tried to push his way out of town and has played terribly. Add on to that injuries that nobody could control, like the current one to Eric Bledsoe, and you have a 14-35 team.

So how did the Suns deal with all those issues? Fire the coach, of course. Jeff Hornacek is out and either Corey Gaines or Earl Watson will take over in the interim. Long term, rumors have the Suns chasing Luke Walton and Mike D’Antoni. We’ll see. But until the front office picks a viable direction in building a team, then sticks with it for multiple years, it’s not going to matter who coaches this team.

3) Lakers get booed on home court after franchise record 10th straight loss. Remember how the Lakers fans thought last season was going to be the bottoming out in the rebuilding process? Nope. The Lakers went scoreless the final 3:50 of the third quarter in a loss to visiting Charlotte Sunday, and as the misses and misques kept piling up, the Laker fans let the team know how hard this is to watch — the boos got louder and louder. The fans want to buy into hope for the future, but the Clippers need to show them some. Charlotte won 101-82, the 10th straight loss for the Lakers at Staples Center, another new franchise record. The Lakers can’t defend, lack shooters, and lack confidence. It’s not pretty. But sure, Kevin Durant is going to come this summer, because this team looks so appealing.

4) Klay Thompson, Draymond Green keep Warriors right on rolling. Stephen Curry is human. The man was 5-of-17 shooting for 13 points on Sunday. Curry struggled against the Knicks. Not that it mattered — Klay Thompson scored 34 points and Draymond Green had a triple-double (his ninth of the season), and the Warriors won again. That’s 44-4 on the season, if you’re still scoring at home.

5) Aaron Gordon put back dunk. One of the upsets of the day Sunday was Orlando knocking off Boston 119-114. The Magic had lost 12 of 13, but played one of their better games in a while Sunday. The big star was Aaron Gordon, who tied his career high with 19 points, and he added 14 rebounds. Plus, he did this as a kind of dagger late.

LeBron scores 19 off bench in return, Bulls spoil party with 118-108 win

Associated PressMar 26, 2023, 9:28 PM EDT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James scored 19 points off the bench in his return from a monthlong injury absence, but Zach LaVine scored 32 points to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 118-108 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.

DeMar DeRozan added 17 points for the Bulls, who easily overcame James’ return for their seventh win in nine games. LaVine hit 11 of his first 14 shots to lead an offensive effort that snapped the Lakers’ three-game winning streak despite the return of the NBA’s career scoring leader.

James sat out 13 games with right foot soreness, missing four weeks during the Lakers’ run at a playoff berth. The team provided few updates on his recovery, and his return came with little advance warning.

“I felt confident in the workouts that I had this week,” James said. “And the day after the workouts, when I woke up, stepped out down off the bed, I could possibly play today. And after my workout early before the game today, I knew I could play.”

For only the second time in his 20-year, 1,958-game NBA career, James wasn’t a starter. He came in as a reserve midway through the first quarter, doing his standard pregame chalk toss while receiving a standing ovation from Lakers fans. James got a field goal in every quarter, and he finished with eight rebounds, three assists and five turnovers in 30 minutes.

“You could see him getting his rhythm, his timing, his finishes, all of that,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “He’s a savvy veteran, one of the greatest ever to do it, so it’s not going to take all that much.”

Chicago largely controlled play despite James’ return, streaking to a 20-point lead in the second quarter. Los Angeles briefly got the lead down to single digits down the stretch, but got no closer.

“There are going to be swings, and that was the encouraging part,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said. “I’m seeing a response back competitively.”

Patrick Beverley had 10 points and five assists in his first game against the Lakers since they traded him last month. Beverley has been outspoken about his desire to hurt the Lakers’ playoff hopes during this home-and-home series between the teams, but Davis and the other Lakers just smiled at his provocative talk.

When Beverley made a little hook shot with 1:12 left to boost Chicago’s lead back to double digits, Beverley slapped the floor and made the dismissive “too small” gesture sometimes used by NBA players to taunt their opponents, in this case James.

“I was just playing basketball,” Beverley said. “Obviously it’s good to see some old teammates, old coaching staff.”

Troy Brown Jr. and Malik Beasley scored 18 points apiece, but Anthony Davis managed just 15 points and nine rebounds as the Lakers (37-38) failed to get above .500 for the first time since Jan. 9, 2022.

The Lakers were without D’Angelo Russell, who missed his second straight game with a right hip injury. Los Angeles went 8-5 in James’ absence, but his return will force an adjustment of the chemistry built by his teammates in his absence.

“We came out a little flat, turned the ball over early, just weren’t aggressive enough, physical enough,” Ham said.

The Bulls largely controlled Davis even after Nikola Vucevic was ejected in the second quarter with two quick technical fouls when he argued what appeared to be a good call against him. Donovan jokingly wondered how Vucevic could be ejected when he was arguing in his native Serbian.

“Obviously it was a bad decision by me to react the way I did,” Vucevic said. “My mistake. I’m just glad my teammates came through for us. I obviously overreacted, for sure.”

Watch Dončić pick up 16th technical, will result in one-game suspension

By Kurt HelinMar 26, 2023, 5:01 PM EDT

Luka Dončić barks at the referees more than any player in the league, and with that he does not get the benefit of the doubt when he’s flirting with the edge of a technical foul.

That caught up with Dončić on Sunday, when he didn’t get a call on a leaning baseline jumper, said something to the nearby official, and racked up his 16th technical this season. That will mean an automatic one-game suspension unless it is rescinded (which is unlikely in this case).

Luka Dončić got his 16th technical foul of the season, resulting in a one-game suspension. pic.twitter.com/K3X0Np47dA

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) March 26, 2023

Dončić likely will have to sit out Monday when the Mavericks play the Pacers on the second game of a back-to-back.

This suspension comes on the heels of Dončić being fined $35,000 — but not being given a technical foul at the time — for making a money gesture towards a referee in frustration after another recent Mavericks loss.

Dončić went on to have 40 points Sunday but the Mavericks lost again — their second time in a row to the tanking Hornets, their fourth in a row overall and they have now dropped 7-of-9. That has dropped them out of even the play-in to 11th in the West. The Mavericks need to rack up wins over the season’s final two weeks to even make the postseason.

And they must get that next win Monday without Dončić in the lineup.

UPDATE: LeBron “active,” will make return to court Sunday vs. Bulls

By Kurt HelinMar 26, 2023, 12:54 PM EDT

Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images

UPDATE: LeBron James has officially been upgraded to active and will make his return to the team on Sunday against the Chicago Bulls.

King Day 👑 pic.twitter.com/dQdYpmPzxB

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) March 26, 2023

—————————————————-

A couple of days ago, reports said LeBron James hoped to return and play the final few games before the season ended and he said there was no timeline for his return.

In less than 24 hours the Lakers have moved LeBron from “out” last game to “doubtful” and now — as of Sunday morning — questionable for the Lakers game against the Bulls. While nothing is confirmed, these are the steps a team takes before a player returns from injury. LeBron is going to test his foot pregame and make a decision.

LeBron James is expected to test his foot pregame to see if he can make his return today, source says. https://t.co/BK4HTPfu8N

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 26, 2023

LeBron had been pushing to return from a foot tendon injury that had sidelined him for 13 games. The Lakers have gone 8-5 in those games behind the second-best defense in the league over that stretch. What has struggled during those games has been the offense (23rd in the league) and LeBron instantly fixes that. He has averaged 29.5 points, 8.4 rebounds and 6.9 assists per game this season and the Laker offense has been six points per 100 possessions better when he has been on the court.

The Lakers currently sit tied for the No.7/8 seeds in the West, with an outside shot at climbing into the top six (they are 1.5 games back of the Lakers and Clippers who are tied for sixth, but if those teams go 4-3 the rest of the way the Lakers need to go 6-2 over their last eight just to tie them). The Lakers are also one game ahead of the 11-seed Dallas Mavericks and missing out on the playoffs entirely.

The Lakers need wins the rest of the way to secure a playoff spot, and some time to build chemistry heading into the playoffs. Having LeBron James helps with all of that.

Nets thrash Heat, move back up to No.6 seed in East

Associated PressMar 26, 2023, 9:30 AM EDT

Megan Briggs/Getty Images

MIAMI (AP) — All the Brooklyn Nets needed, coach Jacque Vaughn insisted, was one win.

They got it, and made it look easy.

Mikal Bridges scored 27 points, and the Nets opened the third quarter on a 31-6 run on the way to rolling past Miami 129-100 on Saturday night and leapfrogging the Heat back into the No. 6 spot in the Eastern Conference.

Mikal Bridges dropped 27 points and 7 assists as the Nets picked up the win in Miami 🔥 pic.twitter.com/3pNaj7wAGW

— NBA (@NBA) March 26, 2023

Cam Johnson added 23 points and Spencer Dinwiddie scored 15 for the Nets (40-34), who snapped a five-game slide. They’re only a half-game up on Miami (40-35) in the race for the sixth and final guaranteed playoff berth, but swept the Heat 3-0 this season and would also own a head-to-head tiebreaker.

“We had the mindset coming in that this was a playoff game,” Johnson said.

Max Strus scored 23 for the Heat, all of them in the first half. Tyler Herro scored 23, Jimmy Butler had 18 and Bam Adebayo finished with 16 for the Heat. Miami was outscored 64-31 after halftime.

“We have not been defending at a world-class level, the way we’re capable of … and the second half just became an avalanche,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

Strus came off the bench and made his first nine shots, one of them putting Miami up 51-37 midway through the second quarter. Over the next 14 minutes, the Nets outscored Miami 54-24 – completely turning the game around, eventually leading by 32 and, for now, putting Brooklyn in position to escape the play-in tournament that’ll decide the final two East playoff berths.

“You see how this March Madness is and you’re one and you’re done,” Vaughn said. “And that’s part of it. I have not discussed any of the standings with this group. Really, we have gone day to day and tried to get a win.”

The Heat could have moved 1 1/2 games up on Brooklyn for sixth with a win.

“There has been nothing easy about this season and that doesn’t necessarily mean that has to be a negative thing,” Spoelstra said. “You have to embrace the struggle. You have to figure out ways to stay together … but we just got categorically outplayed tonight.”

It was Brooklyn’s second trip to Miami this season. The first was Jan. 8 – which ended up being the last time Kevin Durant played for the Nets, and the last time Durant and Kyrie Irving played together. Durant left that game with a knee injury, then got traded to Phoenix, and Irving has since been dealt to Dallas, as well.

The Nets were 27-13 after that night, second in the East, just a game behind Boston for the best record in the NBA. They’re 13-21 since, yet still have the Heat looking up at them in the standings – which Vaughn insists he hasn’t discussed with his team.

“You need the momentum, the confidence, the reassurance that you can get it done,” Vaughn said. “So, haven’t tried to complicate it more than that.”

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