DELAYBARO NOTES (2/16)
• Notes from last night’s slate of games
• Strong OT win for Chicago - Entering last night’s battle w/ Indiana, Chicago had a league-high 12 games decided by a margin of 5 points or less, with a 3-9 record overall. 4th quarter execution has plagued the young Bulls so far this season but last night was a nice feather under the cap for Billy Donovan’s bunch - despite being a bit shorthanded (played without Lauri Markkanen & Otto Porter Jr.), Chicago had 7 players reach double digits & received timely contributions from Garrett Temple, Thaddeus Young, Denzel Valentine & (future All-Star) Zach LaVine - the latter of which knocked down a very difficult triple to take the lead late in regulation.
Stringing together consistent performances is the onus - Chicago’s proven the ability to at least hang w/ nearly any team in the league. More consistent, late-game execution is the recipe for a return to the playoffs in 2021.
• Has Ben Simmons turned the corner as a scorer? • Last night, Simmons produced perhaps the best quarter of his career: 19! pts & 5 dimes v. the hottest team in the league (Utah). Simmons possesses talent to overwhelm opponents but was it a sort of mentality shift that made the difference last night? Utah opened things up by having 2x DPOY Rudy Gobert check Simmons, a move that Simmons later stated felt “disrespectful.” And though Philly came up short without Joel Embiid, Simmons responded w/ the highest scoring output of his career. Coincidence or not, it set of standard of what we should expect from him in the near future.
BEN SIMMONS
career-high 42!! pts, 12 dimes & 9 boards! @ UTA
• 4 for 40 • Four players crossed the 40-point mark yesterday: Simmons, Kyrie Irving, Julius Randle & Jordan Clarkson. Simmons, as aforementioned, is stepping up without Embiid & Kyrie’s settling in as BKN’s shooting guard, while James Harden mans the point.
A pair of former Lakers deserve shine - Randle & Clarkson are both much improved and are in ideal spots to sustain success. After dropping a career-high 44! pts & 7! triples last night, Randle finds himself in the running for the “midseason classic” (easy All-Star imo) & has helped lead NYK to the #6 seed in the East. His internal growth under Coach Tom Thibodeau has resulted in great production & most importantly, victories.
Clarkson, on the other hand, is somewhat flying under the radar as the league’s top Sixth Man on the best team in the league. Since acquiring Clarkson a couple seasons ago, it’s been a near hand in glove fit for Coach Quin Snyder, who’s allowed his high scoring guard free reign in the second unit.
Clarkson’s always been able to score but his current situation allows for excellent support & confidence from his teammates - he’s produced accordingly w/ career-highs across the board while maintaining nice efficiency (46!% FG & 39! 3FG).