Bulls’ fatal flaw that will doom them in 2024 NBA Play-In Tournament

Going up against a team led by Trae Young and Bogdan Bogdanovic means there will be a plethora of there-point conversions on the night. Luckily, Vit Krejci will not be suiting up for this contest because Atlanta decided not to convert his two-way contract to a regular NBA one, even though Krejci torched the Bulls with six threes in their last matchup.

Over the past ten games, Chicago has been one of the cellar dwellers in outside shooting, so they must figure out a way to limit the long bombs of Atlanta. Since the Hawks are not known to excel on the defensive end, the Bulls must utilize DeRozan and White as aggressive point-of-attack initiators to continuously put pressure on the Hawks’ perimeter defense.

Since the Hawks’ perimeter defense is not one of their strong suits, their key players will need to exhaust more energy and effort, which can affect their efficiency on the offensive side. Even Dejounte Murray or De’Andre Hunter can rack up successive conversions from rainbow country, so Chicago must consider the capabilities of the rotational guys of Atlanta.

LaVine’s absence is a huge reason why their outside shooting has been mediocre, so someone like Dosunmu or Alex Caruso must be scorching hot in this crucial tilt against the Hawks. The long-range conversions will also open up the driving lane for DeRozan and White, along with the interior opportunities for Nikola Vucevic.

In this day and age, the three-point shooting discrepancy is usually an enormous factor in dictating the outcome of the game. If the Bulls do continue misfiring against the Hawks, it will derail the confidence of their main guys, which will in turn lead to long rebounds and semi-transition chances for their opponent. It is a domino effect that Chicago must avoid because it will wrap up their season in a hurry.

Patrolling the boards and building a massive cushion in the two-point conversions are two essential categories the Bulls must dominate in this winner-take-all NBA Play-In Tournament battle. These two aspects have been their glaring strength, so even if the Hawks can build an advantage on the three-point shooting, the Bulls can rectify their weaknesses in other ways.

This is a 50-50 tilt, so the Bulls must rely on their strengths and hope to advance to the next stage of the Play-In Tournament.