Chicago Bulls were sown by two old people, fell before the Miami Heat and bid farewell to NBA 2022-23
Despite starting the season with great ambitions, the Chicago Bulls were unable to make it to the Playoffs after losing in the second play-in on Saturday (April 15).
Even more bitter when they failed by the brilliance of two stars on the Miami Heat side, Jimmy Butler and Max Strus, both are young talents born, raised and developed right in Chicago.
Butler is even an ex-Chicago Bulls, having played for this team from 2011 to 2017 (including 3 consecutive All-Star years from 2015-2017).
Max Strus scored 31 points, including 12 in a row to open the match between Heat and Bulls today (4-4 3PT within 5 minutes). All game, Struss hit 7-12 3PT and added 6 rebounds and 1 steal.
Previously, Strus was "pushed out" by the Chicago Bulls when his two-way contract ended at the end of the 2019-20 season. After a period of self-improvement, the pitcher born in 1996 was able to claim. his value against his old team.
“It has to be admitted that winning against them (Chicago Bulls) feels better than other games. No animosity with them," Max shared after the match.
With Jimmy Butler, he excelled as usual with an all-around crafting performance. The 33-year-old star scored 31 points (11-24 FG, 9-10 FT) with 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals.
Butler's score accounted for nearly 30% of the team's total points on the day where defense was key to the Miami Heat's victory. Aside from Max Strus' seven 3-pointers, no Heat player had more than one successful 3-pointer.
In return, they forced the stars of the Chicago Bulls into many difficult finishing situations. Zach LaVine today had only 15 points in 41 minutes of play, missed 15 times with 6-21 FG.
DeMar DeRozan played better with 26 points, 9-19 FG and 9 assists but this effort was not enough, especially at the end of the fourth round.
The whole Chicago team only scored exactly 1 point in the last 3 minutes 47 seconds. From a 90-87 lead, they received a 15-1 run from the opponent and lost in the end with a score of 91-102.
This result put an end to the Chicago Bulls' 2022-23 season. This is the 6th Playoffs slip in 8 years of the windy city team.
Meanwhile, the Miami Heat from No. 1 in the East last year fell to the play-in group this season. At least they were able to survive the nerve-wracking play-in series to return to the Playoffs as the 8th seed.
At the Eastern Playoffs, the Miami Heat (8) will face the Milwaukee Bucks (1), the top team in the regional rankings in round 1. The winner of this series will face the winner of the series between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the New York Knicks.
Game 1 between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Miami Heat will take place at 5:30 a.m. Monday, April 17.
