Bulls Trying to Turn the Tide Amid Losing Streak | By The Horns Podcast

Bulls Trying to Turn the Tide Amid Losing Streak | By The Horns Podcast

What’s up everybody? It’s great to be with you once again for a new edition of the By the Horns podcast. And you know that we are presented by Toyota. Toyota has more all-wheel drive and four-wheel drive vehicles than any other brand. So find yours and shine on Toyota, let’s go places. Cam Smith rocking with my man Casey Johnson Bulls Insider as we come to you on this Tuesday, December 2nd. Casey, oh yeah, snowy December 2nd. So, for everybody in the Chicagoland area or also the Midwest, hopefully you haven’t had too many issues with like trying to shovel outside of your driveway and get yourself to commute to work or drop the kids off to school because I actually had to shovel again, Casey, because we got that that 4 in uh sle of snow that we got last night. So, I’m like, “All right, well, I got one workout in for myself today, and hopefully I don’t have to uh have a third in.” Ready for my hot take since we’re just starting our professional relationship. Longtime listeners and followers know this about me, but you will be surprised. Okay. Chicago winter, greater sign, Chicago summer. Oh, Casey, come on, man. See, I I literally was talking along so well. We were getting along so well. Like Casey mentioned something about himself before we started the pod where I’m like, man, Casey, in my head, I’m I’m like, I’m the same way. Like, we might be twins, but we’re not twins anymore. We’re not twins. We’re distant cousins now. No, not distant, but second cousins. We’re second cousins with that. Come on. Was a hot day. Summertime shy. See you. I like summertime shy. I like wintertime better. I’m that rare weird duck that prefers. Here’s here mult multiple reasons. First of all, I like cold weather. I run hot. I like cold weather. Okay. Second of all, all these fake Chicagoans leave the lakefront to me alone, man. That’s a good point. Let’s go. Anyone can go to the lakefront in the summer. Yeah. Who’s there in the winter? I’m there. Are you there? I Yeah, not really. But, you know, I I I embrace what winter is in Chicago. Like, I’m born and raised in the city. I understand what’s coming and you can never get used to it. You just know that it’s about to happen, right? So, is your what one question for you is your birthday in the winter months? Uh, it’s fall. Fall. Okay. All right. Cuz I was going to say most people that have like a love or affinity for winter weather or cold weather are like have the winter birthdays. Love snow. Love the Christmas season. Let’s go on and on, man. We could bore our listeners to tears. We definitely could, man. But they don’t want to hear that. They want to get the latest on what is going on with this Bulls team. As we uh watched last night in Orlando, we weren’t on the air with CHSN because it was a national broadcast. The Bulls and Magic in Orlando was on Peacock. And another clutch game, another L for this team when it comes to those clutch situations. A team that started so well when it came to clutch games in the NBA. I believe they have the second most after last night in the league when it comes to the final five minutes in the score differential being a difference of five points, but just not able to get over the hump against the Orlando Magic. A short-handed Bulls team. Once again, a number of injuries for this group. Yeah. Uh, by the way, that winter talk was just a distract from the three-game losing streak. It’s weird, man. Think about it. They they had that stretch of the schedule that we pumped up before the last at the last podcast where we, you know, thought they could take advantage of it. They went one and three. Yeah. Um, three-game losing streak since Vu called them out. Yeah. And all winnable games, obviously road games. And and we do have to contextualize the Magic loss because it’s hard to win when you have seven players out. They have seven players out and also a couple of two-way guys like Lachlan Ober and also Emanuel Miller playing playing there’s seven guys out. Yeah, they lose Kevin Herder to a groin situation during the game. Coro’s still been out. Kobe I’m told is getting imaging today. I don’t know what time but while we’re taping this maybe. So that’s obviously a concerning situation. It’s the other calf becau, but still is that an overcompensation situation from the calf injury that kept them out for so long uh from the offseason into into the regular season. It it’s a lot. Um I did think competitively and physicalitywise they progressed in the Orlando game. Yeah. And it is hard to win when you’re missing seven guys. Obviously Magic we have to acknowledge are missing their best player in Paulo Beno or one of their best players because France Vagner might be their best player. Um but yes, they didn’t make the plays down the stretch. There was a couple possessions where um they just gave up too many offensive rebounds down the stretch. Uh there was that one threeshot possession where Bane hit a three. That’s a killer. Um earlier possession where Billy Donan burned an angry timeout when they didn’t rebound a missed free throw, which happened three times. So like two steps forward, one step back or one step forward, two steps back, however you want to look at it. um tough loss and uh they didn’t take advantage of that schedule stretch. Yeah. And we discussed this a little bit about some of the slow starts for this Bulls team to start ball games, right? First quarter, they actually were the opposite of that where they were in control for certain parts of that opening. I thought they were the aggressors. Yeah, they were. They were getting downhill. I mean, even just from what they were doing from three as well, Giddy, I we’re going to talk about those guys and what we saw in Orlando last night. But there were significant stretches of the game last night where the Bulls were in complete control. I mean, they were up 15 in the third. You’re thinking, “All right, here we go. This is a group that maybe has turned the corner a little bit and what we saw previously of them not being able to finish ball games, but still, we knew that we had 12 more minutes to go in that fourth quarter.” And so, I’m sitting watching the game on my couch and I’m like, “All right, this is good, but we still got to finish things out in the fourth quarter.” But as you saw with the offensive rebounds that they gave up, some of the straight line drives, I think a couple of possessions in those final five minutes in clutch time where, not trying to pick on them, but Misellis was the defender on those drives and they just went right at them. Anthony Black was one, Desmond Bane where they just got right to the rim and finished layups. But it’s just that you start to see those things and you’re like, “All right, this is like deja vu again. We’re back at this point.” Yeah, Modis actually had a really nice statline, but to your point, uh, kind of didn’t play his best in the fourth quarter defensively. And then al also had that high-profile technical where you kind of like that he’s sticking up for himself, but you know, Desmond Bane kind of the veteran move baited him into that. Yeah, he definitely baited into him cuz it it wasn’t like, you know, it was a forearm shiver or leaning in with the shoulder. He just he knew that Modis was there. Yeah. And he decided to just give a little nudge as he ran back down court on defense. and they always catch the second guy and Billy was hot, man. They showed a clip one time where Billy was given Modis an earful um for a technical at that time. But, you know, again, it’s like one step forward, two steps back. You look at Modis’s statline, it was very solid and he had a couple nice blocks and overall I thought physically you just felt him more in that game. But to your point in the fourth quarter, um, they didn’t do a great job with ball containment or securing finishing possessions defensively. Yeah, 21.6 rebounds for minus three blocks is this is his fourth game, correct me if I’m wrong, Casey, of three blocks um this season. So, I mean, defensively, something that we touched on on Bulls Postgame Live over the weekend when when it was you, uh, KG and Casey, yourself, excuse me, but just about Mis’s defensive abilities with his length and how he can really contest shots or block shots. So, that was on display again for this Bull team last night. It felt like they had to have some type of a resistance at the rim because we saw a number of times with them on their drives where Orlando Batazi or it was Bane or it was Wendell Carter Jr., former Chicago Bull, that would deter shots. away from the rim just with blocks or just shot shot altering things with their length. Yeah, Carter also had another big offensive rebound late. I mean, they just gave up those two possessions where they didn’t finish the defense. I believe the Magic shot more free throws than the Bulls made um in terms of free throws. So, you know, the fouling has been kind of hit or miss with the Bulls. Not a great effort in Orlando in that regard. Um and you’re right on that. Yes. Well, and that’s what the Magic do. They get to the line a lot. Uh but um yeah, that’s that’s a rough stat. You’re not going to win a lot of games when you give up uh late offensive rebounds and and foul to that to that to that level. Um so it’s weird because I didn’t think it was as bad as the losses uh to New Orleans and Charlotte. Um but you know, it was a competitive loss, but it’s a loss still. Right. Right. And and we know it’s like no more victories at at this level, right? when you think of uh professional sports in general, but you try to take what you see from these losses and try to piece it together and say, like I was saying to myself in the third quarter last night, like, okay, we’re starting to see some things change for this group where they weren’t just relying on three-point shots, which is what we saw over the weekend and during this three-game stretch of of losses. This is before the final last night where they were attacking the rim. Vu was involved. We saw some some great moments from Vu, especially inside of the lane and them feeding the post and Vu being active and scoring the basketball there and you’re like, “All right, this is this is what they need.” Maybe they’re they’re learning from what happened previously to try and put themselves in a position to win, which they did. But then on the defensive end, you just start to see kind of like the chips start to fall away from what that defensive unit brought. Yeah, no doubt. And uh like I said before, the Kobe situation is concerning because you got him back with uh the optimistic news at the start of the week that this would be the last backtoback that he would be restricted in. And now you’ve got a new situation where it’s a different calf. And given how conservative they were the first time, you expect them to be conservative again. Uh even though it’s a different injury, um calf tightness is not something you want to mess with. Um, so you got to probably predict a a imminent future with, you know, Kobe maybe missing some games and I Dumu and Trey Jones role increasing. Yeah. Now Io, we talked about him multiple times on this pod. To me, he’s been one of the most consistent bright spots in this season. He’s just again playing at a really high level in Orlando. His three-point shooting is insane. Um, top three, top five last time I checked. uh made his first three last night, shooting near 50% from three. Wow. And with that and still has the ability to get downhill. So uh you can weather a Kobe absence in the short term, but obviously for the Bulls to be the optimal version of themselves, they want Kobe healthy and at his op optimal uh moving forward. So we’ll see where that goes. Look, I’ve said this on By the Horns. I’ve said this on Bulls Countdown Live. I just the relationship that I have with IO, I I can say this confidently. he would agree with me on this one as well, but he was never known as a shooter in his career. But but with the work that he’s put in this past summer, how he’s really perfected his shot, you can call him that. The numbers speak for themselves, right? I mean, we know that the numbers are there for IO, but also the eye test as well of how he’s making these threes, how he’s making these field goals. It’s not all at the rim. He’s mixing his game up. We’ve seen a couple one dribble, two dribble pull-ups for himself, catch and shoot threes, pull up threes off the dribble as well. So, he’s a guy that has really upgraded his game. I’m not going to say transformed his game, he’s upgraded his game, especially when it comes to shooting. So, him being a threat from the arc just means life is a little easier for Niclouse or Josh Giddy or anyone that’s on that courty guys playing with Io just because he’s a threat at now all three levels. A legitimate threat with how he’s shooting the basketball. And it just speaks volumes to his mental and we talk about his work ethic, right? But it’s the mentality that he has that he brings in night in night out that I’m going to produce. And he had 18 points last night for this Bulls team. Again, shot the leather off the basketball at all three levels. But you have someone that you can rely on. You know that I was going to give you a certain amount of production and really good production going forward, no matter who’s in or who’s out for the team. Yeah. And he’s had a 40% three-point shooting season before, but he was really down last season and knew it and looked inward. And also, he’s not only, and I don’t expect him to shoot, you know, close to 50% all season, but if you keep that number over 40%, you’re above league average by a lot. And that’s obviously a percentage that a lot of people shoot for. Um, and he’s doing it on careerhigh volume. He’s he’s near four attempts a game. The best part about him is he’s just reading the right shots because he still is that downhill threat. Loves to attack the rim. Um, but with that three-point shooting, which he’s shooting without hesitation when he’s open, it just really opens up the floor and not only for himself, but for others. So, um, kudos to IO. He’s to to me been one of the most consistent bright spots. And that’s why if Kobe is sideline again for a short-term situation, uh, obviously that’s not great news in the big picture, but you can weather that storm with the way IO is playing. Again, 18 points, four of six from three for IO, seven assists as well. that going. So that’s the part of his game where we especially I knew that he’s always been that distributor playmaker I should say for his game. But now we got to call him IO the shooter. Now I want to see how he responds to that when we call him that. Maybe you can just kind of pass the message to me the next time you’re in the locker room KC saying you know Cam Smith calls you I the shooter. Right. I got you. See what the response would be. Um, we saw Josh Giddy last night again be a guy that in moments where the Bulls needed a basket or needed a play, it was number three in that Bulls uniform making those plays for this team. I mean, you look at the stat line with what he had. And it’s not just reading the stat line of Josh, just a rebound shy of a double double. Only had a surprisingly uh six assist last night. You know, he’s a guy that averages nine on the year, but with he led the team in scoring at 22 points, but what I’m seeing from Josh is his confidence with his shot, right? And so the connection what I have with Josh in terms of what I saw from or at least not from what I saw but what from my my source saw from Josh in Melbourne in Australia. This is something that you hit on and spoke to Josh about about the number of hours and reps that he put in working on his shot. But this is someone that uh is a trainer for Kendrick Nun former Simeon player that played with Jabari Parker of course with the Miami Heat. He’s now over in Greece being a Greek god out there like he’s like the MVP of the league out there and doing some great things. But they were in Australia for a I believe a kind of like exhibition type game. And they were training at Josh Giddy and Dyson Daniels facility in Melbourne. And what the trainer said is that he would see Giddy day in day out be at the gym basically all day working on his game, working on his shot, catching, shooting different areas, different spots, um catching shoots, dribbling on the break, pulling up. And you can just see that work from Josh. last night was just a great example of how he caught, shot the basketball, understand understood the moment, too. A couple of late shot clock um moments where he knocked down some shots and just was not hesitant on his shot and his decisions and it’s just great to see. Yeah. And his range, I mean, he uh by the way, he only had six assists cuz he was too busy turning the ball over. Yeah, that’s eight turnovers now. And I know I can say that because I know Josh is that’s one of the stat lines he looks at the first. He he he really looks inward when he turns the ball over and he’s been he’s been better in that department uh throughout the season, but last night was a little sloppy. Reckless turnovers. Yeah, for sure. Particularly early. But uh back to the shooting, he had uh two possessions late one. He had a really deep three. His range is really expanded and he’s just shooting it with confidence. You can see him getting his legs, his base underneath him. And then right after he made that one, he took another long one. And he knew right when he released it that he had missed it. And he he fouled his shot. He chased down, got his own offensive rebound. That was a really impressive possession and it led to second chance points for Vu off of Giddy’s assists. So, um, offensively, um, he’s really obviously I mean he’s almost averaging a triple double. This goes without saying. Offensively, he’s really having a great season. Um, as far as the shooting piece, you know, he he said this uh you mentioned Peacock had the game last night. He talked about this with Austin Rivers pregame. He’s said it to to me many times. He really uh is shooting the ball with confidence because it stems from those offseason workouts. He knows if he put the work in in the offseason, it extends into the regular season. He’s also talked to me multiple times about how uh he loved his offseason routine because he did a lot of individual skill work to your point, but then when he wanted to scrimmage, he had Dyson Daniels right there. I mean, it’s like best guy to work out stuff against not only a buddy, but like one of the best defenders in the league. So, um that that was a nice mix, he said, where you got, you know, both individual skill work and then obviously um some challenging defensive uh moments with his buddy Dyson Daniels. So, uh kudos to Josh for putting the work in and um to shoot shoot at this level to sustain that from last season where the second half and I know, you know, Peter Patton’s moved on to a Knicks role. Peter Patton was very instrumental, but the point is Josh has implemented those things and made them part of his own routine, even though obviously Austin Default now heading up the Bulls player development staff is doing a is doing a nice job. Um, but uh yeah, Josh is shooting. It’s like before you when when he wound up to shoot because he does definitely does have a wind up and a little bit. It’s not a it’s not your classic jump shot. He has a little bit of a wind up, but before when he would wind up, you kind of be like, you’re not sure what kind of results coming. Now you’re like, let’s go. Like, yeah, take the shot. He doesn’t miss, it’s going to be close. Or, you know, uh, you know, it’s the right shot and he’s shooting it with confidence. There were moments for me watching Josh last year where he would attempt those shots and I’m like, I don’t know if he’s confident in that shot. But this year it’s a complete difference where to your point you you know not only when a guy’s put in work but also is confident with his shot because the result results show. But when you’re stepping into your shot confidently like the one two and you’re just catching and launching and not thinking about anything else you’re like all right he knows he’s making that shot and I think he attempts that. Not saying that Josh last year questioned his shot, but more so of like with the work that he put in in the offseason and how he’s knocking him down because he was three of six last night from three in Orlando where he and the rest of his teammates are like, “Oh yeah, Josh is shooting that.” If we swing it over to Josh and he has space, he’s going to take that shot. So, it’s something that again moving forward with this team is that you allow floor spacing and you allow another threat from three, which Josh is, to just open up your offense and add another layer to it. Uh yeah, offense isn’t really the problem for this team. Yeah, I was going to get to that. Casey, this is why Casey’s my guy cuz he’s reading my mind with these things because we can talk about about IO shot and he’s IO the shooter now and how Josh has worked on his jump shot and how he’s getting things going for himself from the perimeter and Vu establishing himself inside of the paint in the post area last night in Orlando and and M has had some moments but it’s the defensive end for this Bulls team that continues to be a thorn in their side especially late right because they have these moments where it’s a breakdown. I’m not sure if it’s a um a a tired leg situation. Obviously, they only had seven guys. If that wear and tear is wearing on them, just the style of playing, the physicality that they’re uh trying to uphold night in and night out, but you just see it where it’s an avalanche that happens with opponents where it’s a straight line drive here, quick shot. Next possession, it’s a three or an offensive rebound, it’s a dunk, and now the fans are back into the ball game and the Bulls are chasing again. Yeah. Yeah. And I actually thought they were better one-on-one with ball containment in Orlando um than they cuz I mean there’s only only one place to go with the way we saw it in New Orleans and Charlotte that I mean so I thought in terms of just controlling the ball they were they were better in Orlando. Um but yeah I mean that’s the difference when they started 5 and0 and one they were a top 10 defense. They’re now 22nd 23rd. Um and that’s been a pretty precipitous drop off. Um, and you know, I don’t want to make excuses for them. I do think the in-n-out nature and all the injuries they’ve had has led to some disjointedness at the defensive end because we’ve said multiple times, Cam, they don’t have lock down individual defenders. And, you know, we’ll get into Cororo and Zack Collins in a second, but like they don’t have lock down individual defenders. So, they have to do it with the the team defense being connected. And when you have different rotations, guys you’re not used to playing with, you’re not going to be as connected at that end. That’s just the and I I don’t want to make excuses because a lot of teams go through this and are still better defensively than the Bulls. And I do think they can still play, you know, as we saw in Orlando. I think they can be better than what we’ve seen. But, um, you know, they’ve got to get back to the what we that what we saw in that early stretch where they’re connected defensively, physical defensively, taking charges, finishing defense with, you know, after one shot. Um, rim protection is always going to be an issue with this team. Yeah, Zack Collins return will be welcomed. Um, I’m told he’s going to supposedly get some G-League practices this week with the hope of maybe playing at the back end, whether that’s Friday. Um, and I already forgotten Friday’s opponent. I know it’s Brooklyn. Oh, that’s a great point because they have the Warriors on Sunday. We got two out of three. I got you. I got you, Casey, because I just had the schedule up. Friday’s a possibility. Sun. Well, depending on how he does in the G-League practices. Um, Indiana. Indiana. There you go. So, there’s I knew there was a winnable opportunity, although they just lost in Indiana. Yeah. Um so, uh um the Bulls uh well, their window of opportunity for Zack Collins is late this week if assuming he does well in the GL practice and then Coral has just been kind of a mystery because that was originally termed a short-term absence. Um but, uh obviously getting those two guys will help at the defensive end for sure, but they need to be better collectively. Yeah. And you brought up I forgot the Indiana game, by the way. I’m talking about New Orleans and uh Charlotte. I forgot the Indiana lost. And I’ve been saying I’ve been saying they a three-game losing streak and I believe they’ve lost four straight. They have lost four straight. Yes, they have. They have last night. They four straight. By the horns regrets the error. Please charge it to our heads and not our hearts on by the horns. These games run together. They definitely run together. Yeah, especially when you look at the last two weeks of this Bulls season where it’s just been heart rates going up and down with how they finished games and just the clutch game component of it is it’s been a lot Bulls fans and we know that we’re preaching to the choir right now. So again, let me emphasize four game losing streak since VOC called them pretty soft and they have the Pacers on Friday at the United Center. So there you go um with this. But you you bring up a great point when it comes to just the continuity defensively when you have guys in and out of the rotation. And if you’re not saying that they think this, but if I was in that position, if I’m maybe a Josh Giddy or an Iodumu or maybe even a Trey Jones, that if I’m on the ball and I’m pressuring or I’m trying to steer a ball handler to my help, there’s not a guy in that rotation, the normal rotation defensively, that kind of picks up on your tendencies as a defender that the chemistry isn’t there and they don’t kind of read what you’re trying to do. and you have maybe a situation where you’re thinking he’s going to come over and help to stop the basketball to help you and that doesn’t happen and that happens and leads to a layup or they stunt over and come over too much and creates a double team and that ball gets kicked out for three. So, it’s just like the little things like that that you see and that we’ve seen from this team where guys in and out of the lineup and like Casey said, I’m going to say this again to very be to be very clearly on this. We’re not making excuses for this team, but it’s something that you have to look at when it comes to some of the def defensive in inefficiency. Yeah. And like I said before, rim protection is going to be an issue all season with this team. Zack Collins uh return will help in that regard. Isaac uh is undersized, but will help also just for from his physicality, but the Bulls allow the most shots at the rim in the league. And I don’t see that really changing. I think not to say they’re going to finish 30th, but I think they’re going to be kind of near the bottom all season in that regard. or they’re just an undersized team and they don’t have a elite rim protecting center in in Nicole Vuchovich. So, um they’ve got to do it in different ways, you know, and uh that’s what we saw earlier in the season. Uh and obviously that’s where the slippage has been and that’s why they have a four, not threeame losing streak. All right. And hopefully that four-game losing streak stops on Wednesday when they face off against three straight home games. Let’s get into it. So that’s what we have to because you have the Brooklyn Nets tomorrow as they record this pot on Tuesday, December 2nd, followed up by the Pacers on Friday. And then also they welcome in the Golden State Warriors on Sunday. So three opportunities for this team to really get themselves right, especially against the Brooklyn Nets team that we’ve seen previously in terms of when you think of the Indiana Pacers, the New Orleans Pelicans, Washington Wizards, Charlotte Hornets that are just offensively challenged and just winning challenged right with this. And so you have a great opportunity against a Brooklyn team on the road for the Brooklyn Nets to get yourself a feel-good win. And I think that’s what they need right now. They need a good feelood win. Yeah. And uh it’s weird because last season they were better on the road than home, which you never see this year. They’ve been way better at home than on the road. So three straight home games, you’ve got an opportunity. I feel like we keep saying this team has an opportunity against teams that don’t have a lot of wins. They have not take advantage of that on the road. Can they do it at home? Golden State comes in uh in a back-to-back situation. They’ll have played in Cleveland the night before. So, there is an opportunity. Um, we were talking before we started taping, it is kind of a bummer that it’s unlikely that Steph Curry will play in his lone trip to the United Center. He’s been dealing with a quad situation and he’s going to be re-evaluated later this week. And like I said, with the Warriors having a back-to-back Saturday, Sunday, I mean, I I don’t cover the Warriors, so I don’t know, but it would be unlikely for him to play on Sunday. Uh, a little James Butler, Jimmy Butler will be in the house though on Sunday. They always the third Jimmy on the back of his jersey now. It wasn’t when he played here. Um but no, that’s always still obviously a great opponent to have. But again, these are opportunities and it starts at the defensive end. And you hope that with the ramp up with Zack Collins that we see him at some point during this game. hopefully will be great against the Warriors coming off a back- to-back to bring that physicality in to that ball game against Golden State because what we’ve seen in terms of NBA teams, you know that when they’re on the tail end of a backtoback, the one thing that they really try to control is their defensive effort because they know they know that their legs are kind of basically done and they’re not going to try and beat you offensively. So, they really hone in and try and one make it tough defensively, but then also two make it a little physical for their opponent on the second end of a back-to-back. is that Collins being into the lineup can really help this team especially on the glass too cuz they need that effort on the defensive glass to really get themselves out and run. And so those are the things where you’re hoping with the addition of Zack Collins and whenever Isaac Kakuro comes back into the rotation for this Bulls team that they can add and help to that. Yeah. And uh that’s not an easy backto-back either for the Warriors with Cleveland on Saturday night. Uh that’s a big physical team as well. So again, these are opportunities for the Bulls. Yeah, the AORAL thing’s been troubling because it was originally described as kind of a short-term thing and he’s been out for a bit here and now, you know, Kevin Herder has been starting in his place. If you know, we get an update on his groin situation and he’s out and Kobe is in a situation where he’s out. I mean, I don’t even know who’s starting at that point. Uh, it’d be IO and does he go three guard with Trey Jones? Does he throw Patrick Williams back out there as a starter? Um, Julian Phillips started the second half last night. I was just going to say I was going to ask you about Julian Phillips. Just your thoughts. Well, on Julian also, we we haven’t mentioned Trey and how he looked last night. I thought Trey was phenomenal. Just killing his older brother, by the way. Just killing his older brother. Look, man, Taius does not want any parts of younger brother Trey Jones. I’m speaking for all the younger siblings out there because I’m a younger brother myself. So, shout out to all the younger siblings, man, cuz we’re shining for sure. But, well, but Taius 12 and two, I believe, now lifetime. So, uh, you know, there is that. So, Trey’s winning the individual battle battles, but but not the war when it comes to the win loss. And I’m assuming then in their post game conversation, which Peacock showed last night, Taius was reminding him of that when the Bulls beat him earlier in the year uh on the road. Uh, was that the opener? God, everything second game. Second game of the year. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Home opener. Um, against Detroit. See, I do remember that little uh memory challenge this morning. Again, people, it’s that time of year. Give my man Casey Johnson and myself some grace right now. A lot of stuff going on. Come on now. No, but uh but I I covered that uh road victory in Orlando earlier in the year and Trey had a great game. He he was our walk-off and and we had to wait for him to do a jersey swap with Tus. He was down there forever. So that kind of stands out. And I saw him again chitchatting postgame last night. But Taius is uh definitely got the leg up in the career battle. But no, to your point, Trey uh does that’s two games in a row where to me he’s looked like he did before the injury where he’s just on the attack getting into the uh lane as we’ve talked about many times. A paint touch does not always mean a shot. It means just penetration where you’ve got the defense to collapse and commit defensively to the lane and then maybe you got some spray out options. Right. I thought Trey played at a really high level last night and if Kobe’s out, I mean with him and I that they’re going to have to hold down the fort. Yeah, I had to hold my breath for a quick second when Trey injured his ankle on the one play. I believe it was with Jaylen Suggs, what it was inverted, but just got his ankle rolled up on. I was just like, “Oh, play, please don’t let Trey be added to the injury list.” Yeah. So, he was back, but it finished with 20 points, two of three from three, but just one of those dudes that when you need a play or you need a basket at the rim and scoring inside of the paint, it it’s Trey Jones of that guard group that really does a consistent job of making himself available and getting those buckets. So, he always impresses and I’m not trying to really gas this thing right now, but it’s it’s true when you watch these games with Trey of how just the pace changes, the defensive profile raises with Trey Jones on the court. Yeah. And I mean, we’ve we’ve broken out a lot of positives because we’re seeing the positives and it’s just not translating to victories that I wasn’t in Orlando obviously, but that cuz Peacock had the game, but that was Billy Donovan’s postgame message. Like, I saw a lot of growth and positivity out of this game. Yeah. But it didn’t translate to a victory and that’s the next step. They’ve got to obviously get back to their winning ways. Well, hopefully that starts tomorrow night against the Brooklyn Nets who will come to the United Center. Winners of only four games. Um, a couple of guys that just watching this team here and there. Danny Wolf had a nice little highlight dunk the other night. I’m like, “Wow, Danny Wolf can is putting is getting bodies. What’s going on right now?” But, you know, so it was nasty. Um, so they enter the United Center and hopefully again this is a win, but not only a win, but a feelood. I’m going to throw it out. Just bear with me. Hopefully, it’s a dominant win against a Brooklyn next team. Time to see a walk-off with me. Come on. That’s what we need. That’s what we need. A walk-off interview with Casey Johnson, the Baja High, and looking forward to what’s coming again. The scene goes through the next three home games for themselves. So, it starts hopefully tomorrow night against the Brooklyn Nets. But that will do it for this edition of the Bible podcast. For my man Casey Johnson, I’m Cam Smith. We appreciate you, Bulls Nation, for tapping in with us. We’ll see you soon. [Music]

Cam Smith and K.C. Johnson break down the Bulls’ latest setback in Orlando, extending the losing streak to four. They highlight Ayo Dosunmu’s shooting surge, Josh Giddey’s offseason work paying off with a more confident jumper, and the defensive lapses that keep resurfacing—especially around rim protection. They also look back at Tre Jones’ matchup against his brother and look ahead to what Chicago must tighten up during the upcoming three-game homestand.

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