Boards or Bust

I came of age as a hoops’ fan just when Wilt Chamberlain was giving way to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, neither of whom the Bulls could match. But they found a way to win consistently with the likes of Tom Boerwinkle and Clifford Ray in the middle. Oh, to have that duo working their magic on Madison Street again. The thing about Boerwinkle and Ray is you knew what they could give you, a package deal of rebounds and assists to go with the occasional basket. And with Nikola Vucevic, outside of big games against mediocre opposition? As last night showed, yet again, not much of anything. This does not bode well for the postseason. Last night, the Bulls faced off against the visiting Grizzlies, a team they’re battling with over first place in the Eastern Conference. Give up 46 points to rookie guard Ja Morant, and it gets hard to win. Get outrebounded 61-41, and it gets close to impossible. Allow the opponent to snatch nineteen offensive boards to your six, and you end up losing 116-110. Memphis center Steven “Big Kiwi” Adams (born in New Zealand, naturally) snagged 21 rebounds, eight on the offensive side. Vucevic? Eleven rebounds, zero offensive. Adams is averaging 7.1 points on the season to Vucevic’s 17.9, but no matter; Adams outscored his counterpart, 12-11. You’re not going to win playoff games with a center who can’t secure rebounds on either end of the court and fails to put up big scoring numbers when it counts. But I have a feeling Bulls’ fans of a certain age already know that.