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On Thanksgiving Eve, the Bulls welcome the Sioux Falls Skyforce. Lots of promising prospects on display. Chicago Bulls lottery pick Noah Essengue, recently assigned to the squad will be the focus. A G-League favorite and dunking legend Mac McClung has joined the Bulls, for his third stint. On the other side Miami Heat first round pick and former Illini Kasparas Jakucionis will be starring.
Noa off to a hot start with 10 points midway through the first quarter. Jakucionis heated up towards the end of the quarter and giving the Force a a 34-31 lead heading into the second quarter.
Force has well-rounded squad, outside of Jakucionis, they don’t have any big names, but they have lots of grinders, who play hard. They are keeping this game close and not letting the Bulls to build a lead.
Force leads 66-64 at the half. Tight game, Essengue looked good in the first, but was quiet in the second quarter. Opposite for his draft counterpart, Jakucionis. Lachlan Olbrich has been quiet in the first half, he’s been excellent for Windy City this season.
Skyforce comes out strong to start the third. A a bit of a scuffle and some jawing between Jakucionis and McClung. The Force has been playing a physical game, seems like it’s irking some of the Bulls players, especially after a hard foul on Essengue who was driving to basket and slammed into the padding under the basket.
The third quarter was owned by the Force who took a double digit lead, but the Bulls managed to rally enough to cut it back into single digits. The Skyforce starting big, Vladislav Goldin, is a player. He’s big, can shoot and bang down low. He’s had an impressive game.
Just as the Bulls tried to pull back into the game, the Force would force them behind (no pun intended). McClung is tough and fiesty, and much more than just a dunker, even though he’s literally the best in the world at it. Olbrich seemingly stays quiet and then out of nowhere you look at the scoreboard and he’s leading the team in scoring.
Windy City made a very late run to make it look close on the scoreboard, but they weren’t going to catch the Force on this night. Solid effort, as usual, for Billy D’s guys, but it’s a loss in the standings, 129-122 is the final.
TAKEAWAYS:
Somehow, someway Lachlan Olbrich ended up with the quietest triple-double I’ve seen, with 26 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Impressive stuff. If he keeps it up, he will find himself moving up to the Chicago Bulls roster.
Noa Essengue has been tremendous since being assigned to Windy City. Once again he lead the team in scoring with 27 points and 10 rebounds. He’s active on offense and defense. Noa is tremendously lanky and wiry, undoubtedly athletic. He needs time to develop, and this is the right spot for him to do so.
Up Next:
Windy City hosts the Cleveland Charge on Black Friday, November 28.
