Steve Kerr's Warriors own the Chicago Bulls yet again
No Klay? No Dray? No problem as Dubs punish the #1 seed in the East
Why does Steve Kerr keep doing the Chicago Bulls like this? The Golden State Warriors’ coach won three championships in Chicago and even got his own episode in Michael Jordan’s legendary documentary “The Last Dance”:
So why does he insist on humiliating his former team every chance he gets?
Last night’s 138-96 destruction of the Bulls came on the second night of a road back-to-back against the #1 team in the Eastern Conference. Yes, even though it didn’t seem like it last night, Chicago has the best record in the East.
Sure, da Bulls were missing Zach Lavine who exited after hurting his knee in the first quarter. But then again the Warriors were missing Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and their 2020 #2 draft pick James Wiseman. Plus, the Warriors had already destroyed the Bulls earlier this season when Lavine was healthy.
And they were one night removed from getting chokeslammed into oblivion by the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks. They weren’t supposed to come in and crucify Chicago like that. But for some reason Kerr’s Dubs keep running the Bulls outta the gym.
Last night’s win gives Kerr an 14-2 record over his old squad, winning the last 10 straight.
Eleven of those wins were by double-digits.
The Warriors have scored 130+ points four times in those matchups, including last night.
One of the reasons Kerr’s Bulls were so dominant was their ball hawking defense. Jordan and Scottie Pippen swarming their matchups and jumping passing lanes with smarts and athleticism could bring an offense to a screeching halt.
How apropos that last night Otto Porter Jr. and Andre Iguodala channeled some of that on the floor with the Bulls’ logo, with OPJ tallying five steals and Iguodala swiping four of his own.
Here’s Iguodala expertly navigating a thicket of bodies to blow up a Lonzo Ball pocket pass to the rolling big man:
And here’s OPJ defly destroying any chance of center Nikola Vucevic getting busy with a heady pokeaway:
About five minutes had elapsed between those strips and the Bulls had only mustered two points in that time as the Warriors ballooned their lead from 12 to 24. #goodnightchicago
This was a much needed palette cleanser for Dub Nation after suffering annoying losses to Memphis and Milwaukee on the road. There’s something about these wins over Chicago that always seems to get the Dubs right.
Remember when Klay was mired in one of the worst shooting slumps of his career and then broke the record for most 3PT makes in a game in the United Center?
Or when Russell Westbrook’s Thunder had finally got a W over the KD Dubs and GSW needed a bounce back win, so they ripped Chicago apart 143-94. This was the game Curry outscored the Bulls by himself in the second quarter, 26-21.
This next nugget of a game came during the 73-win season, a game after the Warriors had destroyed their rival Cavaliers in Cleveland. The Bulls were dark horse contenders that season with an elite defense and the powerful combo of Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler. Golden State proved they were the class of the league in a stunning 125-94 blowout.
And now the Warriors have another memorable performance at Chicago’s expense; maybe we could call this one the Jonathan Kuminga game?
No wonder Curry thinks the Hamptons 5-era Warriors could beat Jordan’s Bulls; all Unanimous knows is winning whenever he sees those red jerseys.
Damn, Steph has a long way to go before he can beat Harden’s new 3 pt record: https://twitter.com/statmuse/status/1482527286007975936?s=21
Even without playing in another game, Moses Moody just became the G League's scoring leader this season at 33.3 PPG. (The guy in first place only scored 17 tonight, so Mood jumped ahead.)