DETROIT – At 7-foot-2, Luke Kornet usually isn’t sneaking up on anybody.
But there the forgotten big man was on Saturday, tossing his usual DNP [Did Not Play] Coach’s Decision tag to the ground, and coming off the bench for 15 points, six rebounds, two blocks, and a ridiculous plus-20 in the plus/minus category in just over 25 minutes of play.
The same Luke Kornet that was so bad at the start of the season that the front office was advising the coaching staff to stop playing him.
It was soon discovered that the offseason free-agent signing needed sinus surgery to relieve a lot of sleepless nights he was dealing with, but even when he was ready to return he was buried deep on the depth chart.
Like Cristiano Felicio deep.
With Wendell Carter Jr. (right ankle) sidelined for at least the next month, however, and rookie Daniel Gafford still finding his way as a starter, Kornet was dusted off against Detroit and unleashed.
“We got a little jolt, as far as something different, and a lot of times that can help, especially against a team like that,’’ Kornet said.
It not only helped, but it did seem to rattle Detroit’s game plan, like they had not even bothered to read the scouting report on the big man.
In the end, Gafford and Kornet proved to be a nice one-two punch of thunder and lightning.
“[Kornet] was just waiting for his time to come back and show what he can do, and that’s what he did [Saturday],’’ Gafford said. “The rotation we were in [against Detroit] was perfect.’’
But the bigger question now is does it have staying power?
The Bulls rotation hasn’t had much consistency this season, first dealing with losing Otto Porter Jr. with a broken foot early on in November, and now the Carter ankle.
There was a solid, familiar rotation stretch going in December, and coincidentally the Bulls actually played .500 ball that month, but since the calendar flipped to 2020 it’s resembled a fire drill on a nightly basis.
Maybe the duo of Gafford and Kornet can add some positive juice.
“Honestly, the beginning of the season was really disappointing and difficult, going through some stuff, so it was just nice to help the team because that’s what I was brought here to do,’’ Kornet said.
Nice to hear, but there’s still one major problem with this roster: At some point – and sooner than later – the Bulls have to beat teams .500 or better or just start the tanking process.
Three of their next five games are against winning teams, and by the time the game with Milwaukee ends it will be Jan. 20, just weeks out from the trade deadline.
Year 3 of this rebuild has to start proving something more than a 1-15 record against winning teams.
“Our guys were talking about it after the [Pistons] game,’’ coach Jim Boylen said, when asked about needing to win games over meaningful teams. “Got to continue to play that way. The ball moved … it’s on their hearts. I thought we had some guys that looked more comfortable, I liked our [substitution] pattern, and I thought our guys played well.’’
That they did, but they have all season against Detroit. Of the 14 Bulls wins, nine have come from beating Detroit, Atlanta and Memphis. They’re done with all three on the schedule.
“Those better teams are really disciplined and really efficient offensively, so you’ve just got to be really sharp with what you’re doing,’’ Kornet said. “Hopefully this next little period gives us something different, catch teams off guard, and give them a different vibe to what we do offensively. There’s not really an answer to that besides working hard and playing well.’’
Against a ticking clock.
"Big" - Google News
January 13, 2020 at 03:01AM
https://ift.tt/3a3usCu
Bulls hope that their new-look big combo can start racking up the wins - Chicago Sun-Times
"Big" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2OUhyOE
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
No comments:
Post a Comment