The Chicago Bulls did some housekeeping on Tuesday evening.
Talen Horton-Tucker’s contract has now been fully guaranteed for the 2024-25 season, Bulls PR confirmed to Will Gottlieb of CHGO. The guard joined the Bulls on a training camp deal before snatching Onuralp Bitim’s roster spot. He will make a little over $2.0 million this season and remains on a one-year deal. All 15 contracts on the Bulls’ roster are now locked in and fully guaranteed.
getting a little history lesson before Bulls shootaround this morning pic.twitter.com/WWXb0oPbWc
— Julia Poe (@byjuliapoe) January 8, 2025 Coming into the season, a matchup with the Indiana Pacers felt daunting. They were fresh off an Eastern Conference Finals appearance with one of the most high-upside young rosters in the league. This seemed like a season where they could come in with something to prove. Alas, Rick Carlisle’s crew sits only 1.5 games ahead of the Chicago Bulls and 8th in the Eastern Conference. While I’m sure many people would still happily have their team switch spots with this franchise – I know I’m one of them – their ascent has hit a speed bump. Indiana currently holds just the 17th net rating in the league. The Pacers’ struggles as a team have, unsurprisingly, come alongside struggles for their best player. Tyrese Haliburton is averaging only 18.7 points and 8.8 assists per game, which is worse than each of his past two seasons. Also known as one of the most efficient scorers at his position, Haliburton has shot a career-low from the field and three-point line over his 37 games so far. Now, with that said, there is no question he is starting to figure things out. The Pacers are 9-3 in their last 12 games thanks largely to Haliburton looking A LOT more like his former self. We also shouldn’t forget that he looked more than comfortable against the Bulls’ backcourt in their first meeting this season, dropping 23 points and 8 assists on 9-17 shooting. All of this is to say that the Pacers will go as far as Haliburton takes them. If the Bulls can’t slow down his dynamic playmaking tonight, they will have a tough time. Of course, Indiana likes to play fast. They may not be Top 2 in PACE like they were last year, but they still rank inside the league’s Top 10 and averaged roughly 17.0 fastbreak points per game, per NBA Stats. With that said, this isn’t going to be some sort of shot-chucking affair like we’ve seen against some of the other uptempo teams. The Pacers still prioritize attacking the paint, and they won this department 56-42 the last time they faced the Bulls. How will Billy Donovan plan to protect the rim this time around? TJ McConnell also terrifies me … and I can’t believe I’m saying that. He just always seems to play extra hard against the Chicago Bulls, and the fiery guard scored 17 points on 8-14 shooting from the field last time around! McConnell was a key part of their success around the rim, as well as wreaked havoc on Zach LaVine and Coby White down the stretch. Considering the Bulls have been leaning heavily on both of those guards in their recent games, I don’t love this matchup for them. They might need someone else to step up offensively.Going for our third win in a row.⏰: 6:00 pm CT ?: t.co/dLgvAjeEdl ?: @670TheScore pic.twitter.com/3FUJVrAxae
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) January 8, 2025 Some Bulls fans continue to inform me that the front office isn’t going to tank and that I need to simply “get over it.” But … why? I’m supposed to accept the Play-In Tournament product that they’re giving us season after season? Look, I can accept wanting some more uplifting content. I’m trying to push myself to take things game-by-game and highlight the positives. However, I’m not going to stop calling out the organization for its complacency and lack of overall direction. What is the point if you’re not trying to build a championship-level product? Shoutout to Sam Vecenie for trying to set the record straight on Zach LaVine. I salute you, sir!LaVine makes 43M/yr, is probably worth something in the 35-38M range. It's a slight overpay. Beal makes about 50M/yr, is worth ~25-30M. Beal has 3/161M left. His deal is ~80M underwater. LaVine has 3/138M. His is ~15M underwater. A 2031 first is not worth a ~60M difference
— Sam Vecenie (@Sam_Vecenie) January 7, 2025 Speaking of which, I wrote more about Zach LaVine’s absurd shotmaking yesterday. How does no one want this guy!? Um, Do You Realize How Amazing Zach LaVine Has Been? Why do I feel like this describes every front office in Chicago sports?The Bears: “We know we have to be better and our performance isn’t good enough”Also the Bears: “We’re not changing how we operate internally”This is why I always say that it starts at the TOP.
— Silvy (@WaddleandSilvy) January 7, 2025 SO YOU’RE SAYING THERE IS A CHANCE!? twitter.com/YahooSports/status/1877015680433680467 George McCaskey took ownership of the Chicago Bears’ failures this week, but what does that really mean in the grand scheme of things? The Chicago Bulls aren’t the only ones with big trade deadline questions. Tab has more on what the Blackhawks could look to do this winter.ELSEWHERE AT BN: Check Out BN Fantasy | Subscribe to The BN Newsletter
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