Clutch is not a term that characterizes the Bulls, and that’s no surprise.
They lack a late-game assassin.
For the Lakers, the game plan calls for isolating LeBron James in the closing minutes. On the Timberwolves, Anthony Edwards is the finisher. Nikola Jokic always is trusted to get the Nuggets to the promised land.
So who is that guy for the Bulls?
“We don’t have that,” coach Billy Donovan said. “I don’t think we can play like that.”
The loss to the Clippers on Wednesday was the most recent example since the team traded its leading scorer, Zach LaVine, before the deadline.
The Bulls are 2-3 in clutch games since LaVine’s departure. Against the Clippers, they closed the deficit to three with less than three minutes to play before the Clippers’ closer, James Harden, did his thing.
He had 30 points, and his seven in the fourth quarter were nothing special except that they came exactly when they were needed — in the last three minutes.
The question for Bulls management and Donovan is: Can they turn somebody already in-house into that type of player?
“Coby [White] — throughout his career, whether it was through DeMar [DeRozan] or [LaVine] or even [Nikola Vucevic] — has made big shots in big moments,” Donovan said. “I can refer back to a time where Patrick [Williams has] made big threes when maybe DeMar’s gotten trapped, and it’s gotten sprayed out, and Patrick’s left shooting the basketball.
‘‘I think at times a lot of these guys have made shots in the moment. What is different for them is now they’re the engine.”
Donovan believes being in close late-game situations will help White, Ayo Dosunmu and Josh Giddey develop that knack. Friday’s win against the Raptors validated Donovan’s theory. But being the closer is not strictly about making the shot.
“That was the thing that was really good with DeMar,” Donovan said. “He really had a good balance of understanding, ‘OK, a double-team is coming, I have the ball in my hands. I have to get off of it.’ I don’t necessarily go into it like, this is the guy. DeMar was great. It was pretty clear-cut.
‘‘But with some of these guys that are getting into these situations, putting them in there to see how they can respond and see how they can learn and grow is important.”
Shut Vooch down?
Vucevic missed his third consecutive game Friday with a strained right calf. Before his injury, a decrease in production had become an issue.
The LaVine trade brought in Zach Collins, who provides much-needed depth in the frontcourt for the Bulls, who have control of the last play-in spot with 23 games left in the regular season.
Donovan said any consideration of sitting Vucevic down for a stretch in favor of getting a better look at the Bulls’ other options in the frontcourt is “above my head.”
“The other thing I look at, too, is the player,” Donovan said. “Vooch has been a guy throughout his career that has prided himself on being available and prides himself on playing at a pretty high level. There are a lot of things above my head that would have to take place to do that. At this point, we’ve never had a conversation about that.”