Young Bulls pave the way in blowout win over 76ers

Bill Streicher - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese - Senior Writer - 10 hours ago

PHILADELPHIA - It's time to embrace the tank, or at least that's what the Chicago Bulls (23-35) thought they were doing at the Wells Fargo Arena on Monday. Prior to their game against the Philadelphia Sixers (20-37), the Bulls elected to pull both Coby White and Nikola Vucevic from the starting lineup in what was a clear indication that the team was ready to tank for the best pick possible.

Vucevic was more of a precautionary move as he was dealing with a sore quad, while White was simply removed from the starting lineup for just the second time all season. In place of both were newcomers Zach Collins and Kevin Huerter, who both had an opportunity to show what they could do. Not only did they do that, but sometimes all it takes for a team to get back on track is a lineup switch, as the Bulls took it to the Sixers 142-110.

This was one of those games where the Bulls practically led from start to finish as the Sixers led for a total of 14 seconds in this one. That lead came in the first quarter until the Bulls ripped off a 13-4 run to take a 21-12 lead. They would never look back from that point on as the Bulls opened up a 39-30 lead after one-quarter of play in a great offensive showing.

Their offense paved the way throughout the first half as they dropped 36 more points in the second quarter for their highest first-half output of the season and led 75-58 after one half of play. With the offense playing at the level it did throughout the game, it took a lot of the pressure off the defense as the Bulls came out of the locker room to outscore the Sixers 40-18 in the third quarter, which was all this team needed for the dub.

As has been the case since the Zach Lavine trade, Josh Giddey has been the leader for the Bulls, and he has stepped up his game since the start of January. Giddey was at it again as he led the Bulls with 25 points, adding 16 rebounds and dishing out six assists. That type of production will make Giddey one of the more highly coveted players on the market this offseason as he is starting to run up his contractual value.

While Giddey certainly deserves a lot of the attention, the new guys stole the show as Collins and Huerter combined for 43 points in their first start with the Bulls. Huerter has always been known as a terrific shooter, and after a rough start to his Bulls career, he is finally starting to find his groove.

Huerter knocked down seven of his 11 triples as the Bulls had 18 triples in the game as he finished with 23 points. Collins also did his part filling in for Vucevic by adding 19 points and five boards as he also was off to a rough go since joining the Bulls. When you talk about young players for the Bulls to get excited about, Matas Buzelis continues to come to mind as he has turned the corner during the second half of his rookie season.

Since joining the starting lineup, Buzelis has shown a little bit of everything as he finished with 17 points and five assists to keep his strong run of games going. Although White was out of the starting lineup, it wouldn't stop him from having a great showing off the bench, as he added 15 points and six assists in 28 minutes. You also had Dalen Terry put up a career-best 17 points off the bench as he took over for Lonzo Ball, who left the game with a laceration to his face.

Like the Bulls, the Sixers have firmly embraced the Tank mode, and by not playing Joel Embiid, it further proves that point. As questionable as it was to have him out of the lineup, Embiid has been dealing with knee pain recently and went to see a doctor about what can be done. Even with him out of the lineup, the Sixers still have the connection between Paul George and Tyrese Maxey, as both of them are capable of leading this team.

George had a decent game to lead the Sixers with 19 points, but Maxey struggled to have his typical game against the Bulls and finished with 13. With Embiid out of the lineup, it gave others a chance to step up, with Kelly Oubre Jr being one of those guys. Primarily the sixth man off the bench for Philadelphia, Oubre has proven his worth when given a chance to start, finishing with 19 points and eight rebounds.

Despite the starting lineup struggling to maintain consistent numbers, the Sixers benefited from a relatively strong bench performance, as Ricky Council IV and David Roddy each had 12 points to lead the second unit. Andre Drummond returned to the United Center to drop 10 points and eight boards off the bench as the Sixers bench was nearly responsible for 50 total points in the losing effort.