Last was a tale of two different kinds of games. We had a couple of big comebacks from the Bulls and Pelicans. There were also a bunch of blowouts. We’re going to cover both kinds of games, since even one of the runaways had some things of note.
Here’s what I saw on Tuesday!
Philadelphia 76ers - 111 at Chicago Bulls - 113
If you thought that at any point in the season the Bulls and Sixers would be playing with first place on the line in the Eastern Conference, go buy a lottery ticket. Like, this instant. Then come back and finish reading the Game Notes.
Chicago and Philadelphia have been two of the best early-season surprises in the league. And they delivered a pretty great game. The 76ers built a big lead before the Bulls waged a furious comeback. Good to see two teams that were down last season getting after it.
With Coby White still sidelined, Josh Giddey is keying everything for the Bulls. He’s been really good this season. Giddey has been hitting jumpers, and he’s also been really good at the rim too. The Bulls point guard is at a career-high in both attempts and efficiency around the basket. Patient setups like this to get to the downhill layup he wants are commonplace now for Giddey:
Chicago is letting Isaac Okoro do a bit more than just spotting up in the corner. It’s not a lot more, but it is translating into Okoro playing with confidence. That leads to strong, overpowering drives like this in transition:
It’s another hot start to the season for Nikola Vucevic. We thought that would end in a trade last year, but it didn’t. If the Bulls keep winning at a steady clip, it won’t end in a trade hit year either.
This wasn’t the best game for Joel Embiid down the stretch. He looked tired, which is a problem, given Embiid only played 25 minutes.
On the plus side, the Sixers guard group continues to play well. VJ Edgecombe couldn’t get shots to fall but contributed in other ways. And this stacked backcourt got deeper with the return of Jared McCain too.
Shoutout to Kelly Oubre Jr. too. He’s been excellent to open this season. Oubre has really picked things up on defense. This is a great effort to get the block out the closeout:
Charlotte Hornets - 112 at New Orleans Pelicans - 116
The Pelicans needed something to go their way. They spent most of the night training against the Hornets before a big fourth quarter resulted in a much-needed win.
Derik Queen played the entire fourth quarter and put up 12 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals in the final period. Queen is really skilled with his faceup game. Eventually, this shot will extend out to the arc. For now, this one-dribble pullup with the defender way back is a good look for Queen:
It wasn’t the best game for Jeremiah Fears, and the Pels turned to Jose Alvarado to bring the game home. But Fears had a few moments. This is where Fears’ speed shows up. Tre Mann is trying to set to anticipate the screen, but Fears doesn’t wait. He’s immediately off to the rim for the explosive finish:
Karlo Matkovic has contributed when he’s gotten minutes before. Hopefully he stays in the rotation this time around. K.J. Simpson does a good job of initially poking the ball free in this mismatch. When he recovered it, Matkovic wasn’t messing around and went in for the loud finish:
The Hornets are the “fun bad team” this year. They won’t be the “fun good team” until they start taking care of the ball a little better. 19 turnovers are a lot. Some of that was the result of LaMelo Ball being out, but Charlotte is often careless with the ball.
Charlotte continues to get a lot out of their 2025 draft class. Ryan Kalkbrenner is productive every night. Sion James is the team’s best perimeter defender by a mile. And Kon Knueppel is setting in as a primary option.
Knueppel does a nice job working in space as the roll-man off screens. He’s also getting better at using screens to set himself up too. This is a good job of going quickly off the catch to get the layup here:
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