Believe it or not, the Sacramento Kings have become a role model of sorts for the Bulls rebuild.
After rolling the Bulls 129-102 on Sunday, the Kings are 34-35. That’s nothing to plan a parade over, but with 13 games left, it is already the most wins the Kings have had in 11 years. Marvin Bagley III is showing promise as a rookie while De’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield both took steps forward this year to show progress in the team’s young core.
Those three all had productive games against the Bulls, combining for 54 points while each shooting 50 percent (or better) from the floor.
This is the second time the Bulls have been blown out by the Kings this season. Back on Dec. 10, the Kings won 108-89 in the United Center. That was the next game after the Bulls got rolled by the Celtics by 56.
On Sunday, the Bulls only trailed by a point after a quarter, but the second quarter is when things started to get ugly. Sparked by a 14-0 run, the Kings pulled away before halftime.
There are plenty of stats that show how ugly this loss was for the Bulls. For one, the Bulls gave up 80 points in the paint. That's the most points in the paint the Bulls have allowed this season, by a solid margin. They gave up 70 in the paint on three occasions, and two of those were overtime games (including the 4-OT marathon in Atlanta).
They allowed the Kings to shoot 52.4 percent from the floor. The Bulls also had 19 turnovers. That’s tied for the seventh-most turnovers for the Bulls this season. In the December meeting, the Kings forced 27 Bulls turnovers, which is still the most the Bulls have had all season.
The Kings led by as many as 37 points. The Bulls have lost by more than 27 points six times this season, but this is the worst loss in two months.
There's also this play, which isn't exactly a defensive highlight for the Bulls:
Safe to say, this wasn’t a game to remember for the Bulls.
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