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Milwaukee Bucks Game Preview: March 26 vs Chicago Bulls

By Ti Windisch

Dec 31, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) dribbles the ball around Chicago Bulls guard/forward Jimmy Butler (21) during the second half at United Center. The Bucks won 116-96. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 31, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) dribbles the ball around Chicago Bulls guard/forward Jimmy Butler (21) during the second half at United Center. The Bucks won 116-96. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Feb 8, 2017; Oakland, CA, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Rajon Rondo (9) holds onto a rebound in front of forward Cristiano Felicio (6) during action against the Golden State Warriors in the second quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 8, 2017; Oakland, CA, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Rajon Rondo (9) holds onto a rebound in front of forward Cristiano Felicio (6) during action against the Golden State Warriors in the second quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports /

Major Key For Chicago: Keep The Ball Moving

In addition to not being able to shoot, many of these Chicago Bulls have a tendency to dribble the air out of the basketball rather than pass it. The Bulls are 17th among NBA teams in assists per game this season, and some recent games have been horror shows to fans of ball movement.

Chicago tallied 22 assists in their last game against the Philadelphia 76ers. That’s right around what the team has averaged per game on the season. What sticks out, though, is that Bulls not named Jimmy Butler combined for just 11 assists in that game.

Butler had literally half of the team assists, along with 36 points. Talk about carrying a heavy burden on offense! The rest of the Bulls need to work on moving the ball around more and setting up teammates correctly.

The problem is there just aren’t many skilled passers on the Bulls roster. Rondo and Butler are first and second in assists per game, at 6.5 and 5.4, respectively. Next is Wade who is injured, and Michael Carter-Williams who was recently reintroduced to the rotation after mysteriously not playing for weeks. After those four guards, no Bull averages more than 1.7 assists per game.

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