Chicago basketball report: Energy remains as Bulls’ streak ends — while Sky are sidelined from Caitlin Clark sweepstakes

The Chicago Bulls aren’t streaking anymore, but four wins helped to buoy hope in a season that felt lost from opening day.

The Chicago Sky are stuck on the sidelines for yet another WNBA draft as the Indiana Fever seemed to clinch the lottery ticket to land Iowa star Caitlin Clark this weekend.

And the Illinois men’s basketball team is climbing in the NCAA ranks after back-to-back matchups against ranked opponents.

Every Wednesday throughout the season, Tribune writers will provide an update on what happened — and what’s ahead — for the Bulls, Sky and local basketball.

Bulls win streak comes to an end, but energy shift remains

The Bulls ended their four-game winning streak with an overtime loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday. But even the loss reflected an improved version of this Bulls team as the offense finds its footing in the wake of Zach LaVine’s injury.

[ [Don't miss] ‘Anything with Michael Jordan in it is a hell of a compliment.’ DeMar DeRozan joins rare air in Chicago Bulls history. ]

Over the past five games, the Bulls have averaged 27.8 assists on 45 makes (61.8%) per game while shooting 42.7% from 3-point range (third-best in the league). They’re hitting the offensive boards harder than any other team, averaging a league-high 17.8 offensive rebounds across those five games. The offensive pace is up, the defense is improving and the future seems a little brighter with young players like Coby White and Patrick Williams stepping up with increased consistency.

There’s still a lot of work to be done to overcome the dismal 6-14 start to the season. Even after four consecutive wins, the Bulls are still fourth-to-last in the Eastern Conference and six games under .500. They face a road trip against two playoff-contending opponents this week, including consecutive matchups against the Miami Heat.

But if the Bulls continue to emphasize ball movement, push the ball in transition and shore up their defense, they should be on track to work their way out of the cellar of the East standings.

Illinois men’s basketball holds on to Top 25 ranking despite Tennessee loss

Despite going 1-2 against ranked competition to start the season, No. 16 Illinois leaped up the NCAA rankings this week after a loss to Tennessee and a win over Florida Atlantic.

The Illini started the week by taking down Florida Atlantic, which was ranked No. 11 heading into last Tuesday’s matchup. Marcus Domask and Terrence Shannon Jr. tallied 33 points each in career-high scoring performances to complete a 98-89 win in the Jimmy V Classic.

The team couldn’t repeat the feat on the road against Tennessee on Saturday. Illinois led by six in the second half but gave up a 10-point swing to allow the Volunteers to regain control of the game. Despite holding a significant size advantage over Tennessee, Illinois lost the game on the boards where they were outrebounded 42-32.

Illinois won’t face ranked competition again until the new year, when they face a gauntlet of matchups against No. 25 Northwestern on Jan. 2 and No. 3 Purdue on Jan. 5.

Indiana Fever win Caitlin Clark sweepstakes as Sky watch from sidelines

For the second year in a row, the Indiana Fever won the sweepstakes on a generational player.

The Fever received the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft lottery on Sunday. This all but guarantees blockbuster star Caitlin Clark will be headed to Indiana if she chooses to declare for the draft this spring.

That’s not a done deal just yet. Clark retains one more year of COVID-19 eligibility, which means she could choose to run it back with Iowa again. But after shattering almost every possible record in NCAA basketball, it seems Clark could be poised to turn to the WNBA this spring — which would mean teaming up with forward Aliyah Boston, who dominated as Rookie of the Year last season after the Fever selected her with the 2023 No. 1 pick.

Sunday’s draft lottery was a crucial moment for both the Fever and the WNBA. But for yet another year, the Sky were left watching from the sidelines.

WNBA lottery determination is decided by a team’s record over two years, which means the Sky were always precluded from a top pick in 2024 due to their franchise record-setting season in 2022. But barring any trades, the Sky won’t have a single first-round pick this year after trading away two 2024 picks as part of a deal to land Marina Mabrey last year.

The Sky sent the No. 5 pick to the Dallas Wings, the No. 17 pick to the New York Liberty and the No. 29 pick to the Phoenix Mercury as part of the four-team trade to acquire Mabrey. They received the No. 13 pick from the Mercury. This pick — which is the first of the second round — is currently their only selection in the draft.

Number of the week: 12

Coby White broke a Bulls record last week. Now, he’s seeing how long he can extend it.

Last Wednesday, White broke a record previously set by Lauri Markkanen for the most consecutive games with three or more 3-pointers. Markkanen set the record at nine games during a hot streak in January 2018 with a career-high eight 3-pointers in a double-overtime win against the New York Knicks.

White broke the same record with eight 3-pointers of his own in a win over the New Orleans Pelicans. Since then, his hot hand hasn’t cooled off. After going 5-for-10 in Tuesday’s loss to the Denver Nuggets, White has extended the franchise record streak to 12 consecutive games.

That hot shooting has also propelled White to the top of the league in 3-point volume, where he is third overall in made 3-pointers (79) this season. White only trails Stephen Curry and Luka Dončić in total shots made from behind the arc.

[ [Don't miss] Chicago Bulls announce the creation of a Ring of Honor and will celebrate the inaugural 13-person class in January ]

Week ahead: Bulls

• Wednesday: Off
• Thursday: @ Miami Heat, 6:30 p.m. CT, NBC Sports Chicago
• Friday: Off
• Saturday: @ Miami Heat, 7 p.m. CT, NBC Sports Chicago
• Sunday: Off
• Monday: @ Philadelphia 76ers, 6 p.m. CT, NBC Sports Chicago
• Tuesday: Off

What we’re reading this morning

• Bulls reportedly scour potential landing spots for Zach LaVine while weighing options for DeMar DeRozan, Alex Caruso
• From Gilmore to Jordan to Winter, meet the 13 people in the Chicago Bulls’ inaugural Ring of Honor class
• ‘Anything with Michael Jordan in it is a hell of a compliment.’ DeMar DeRozan joins rare air in Chicago Bulls history.
• Nick Martinelli’s career-high 22 leads Northwestern men’s basketball past Detroit Mercy 91-59
• Should Alex Caruso earn NBA All-Star consideration? His Bulls teammates say yes. ‘He’s everything.’
• College basketball poll: Arizona keeps its hold on the top spot, while Northwestern makes its debut at No. 25
• Jeremiah Oden’s 22 points lead DePaul past Louisville, ending the Blue Demons’ 5-game skid
• The Bulls suddenly are playing with pace. How did that happen? Can they keep it up when Zach LaVine returns?
• Zach LaVine says his 3-4 extra weeks of recovery are unrelated to a potential trade from the Chicago Bulls: ‘I’m committed here’

Quotable

“My goal is to get a double-double every night. I’m a double-double machine and I’ve been that since my freshman year.” — LSU junior Aneesah Morrow, who recorded 53 double-doubles in 53 career games at DePaul the last two seasons before transferring to Baton Rouge. Morrow had 27 points and 10 rebounds in an 83-53 win over UL Lafayette on Sunday for her fifth double-double with the Tigers.