The Blackhawks aren’t shooting as much as they could or should.

That’s plain for anyone to see. It’s plain for the Hawks themselves to see. It has been talked about on and off inside the locker room, at practice and during video-review sessions for several months.

For some reason, however, the Hawks haven’t been able to translate that observation and instruction into action.

”A lot of times this year, we’ve . . . [had] a lot of good shot opportunities where we try to get even a better shot,” forward Philipp Kurashev said Friday. ”But sometimes you’ve just got to get it on net. You never know if it’ll go in, or maybe there’s going to be a rebound for someone. That’s how we have to do it. We have to be more simple, just putting pucks to the net and trying to get to those little areas where the loose pucks are going to be.”

A third-period power play Tuesday against the Devils nearly offered proof. The Hawks had passed the puck around the perimeter of the offensive zone for a while without taking a shot. Patrick Kane eventually decided he had had enough and ripped a wrist shot from up high.

The shot had a low goal probability and didn’t end up even registering as a shot on goal because Devils defenseman Jonas Seigenthaler blocked it in the crease. But coach Luke Richardson liked what he saw and would like to see a lot more of it.

On closer review, the rebound off Seigenthaler barely bounced over Kurashev’s stick. Had he been able to one-time the puck, it would’ve had a high goal probability. Coincidentally, while watching the Lightning-Predators game Thursday on TV, Richardson saw a similar play unfold in which Lightning forward Corey Perry corraled the rebound and scored.

Richardson also recently showed the Hawks a clip from their loss last Sunday to the Islanders in which the line of Kurashev, Max Domi and Taylor Raddysh brought a steady shooting mentality — at least for a 50-second shift.

”We were skating, so we were the ones retrieving the puck, keeping it in the zone, and then we’d get another chance,” Richardson said. ”It’s not just [about] getting shots on net. It creates more ‘O’-zone time and secondary chances. [We’re] repeating that and showing them that theory does work . . . [so] hopefully they keep that in their minds.”

The Hawks’ season statistics are rather pathetic. During five-on-five play, they’ve taken 924 shots to their opponents’ 1,333. That 40.9% ratio ranks last in the NHL, well below the 31st-place Coyotes at 42.2%. They’ve taken more shots than their opponents in only three of their 26 games. They’re also last in shots-on-goal ratio (40.9%) and scoring-chance ratio (39.7%) and third-to-last in expected-goals ratio (40.5%).

There’s no doubt that imbalanced possession time is contributing to those ugly numbers. The Hawks simply don’t have the puck in the offensive zone nearly as much as their opponents do.

But it seems they have the puck more than 40.9% of the time, even if it’s well below 50%. If they were more aggressive with shooting opportunities, they might close the gap a bit.

Perhaps it’s just a matter of decisiveness. Richardson and Kurashev mentioned a need to ”pull the trigger a little quicker” — before opposing defensemen move their sticks or bodies into the open lanes, that is.

”A lot of times, we are making good plays and [are] just maybe one step too late,” Kurashev said.

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Every NBA team has a few schedule losses in a season.

Whether it’s the back end of a back-to-back or a long flight with an early tip time, there’s just those instances where the schedule stares down at an organization and says, “It’s not happening tonight.”

All the ingredients were in place for Dallas to experience one of those on Saturday.

A late 9 p.m. tip in a home loss to Milwaukee on ESPN Friday, a 4 a.m. arrival into Chicago, and on top of it no Luka Doncic (quad strain) available?

The Bulls, however, had something different in mind. Forget handing the visiting team a schedule loss. This was a full schedule 144-115 beat down.

“We wish this was baseball at spring training so we could have a split squad and send half the squad up to Chicago,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “They got to look at this because this isn’t right. I understand TV comes first. They pay the bills. But we could have played [the Bucks] at 7, 7:30.

“We got a doubleheader. Somebody thought it was a great idea. So that’s why we’re playing it.”

“Playing it” was a bit strong.

They showed up, but the actual playing part seemed to never make it out of baggage claim.

Credit the Bulls (11-14) for that, and credit them for taking care of business right away, rather than sleepwalking into the opening quarter like the starting group had done far too often this season.

If the game plan was to run the lethargic Mavs right from the tip, Billy Donovan’s bunch got that message loud and clear.

After a Dwight Powell alley oop dunk to start the game, the Bulls quickly made it feel like a varsity vs JV scrimmage, thanks to Zach LaVine. Patrick Williams and Nikola Vucevic each hit threes to start the Bulls scoring, but LaVine then made his presence felt, scoring 11 of the next 22 points, allowing the home team to jump out to a 28-10 lead.

The offense was just getting started.

When the first quarter ended, the Bulls lead was 40-30, and they were just getting warmed up.

Veterans DeMar DeRozan and Andre Drummond then got it going, leading the second unit out to an even bigger margin.

By the time the two teams headed off to the halftime locker rooms, the Bulls held a 29-point lead, and the Mavs could start warming up the bus.

“I think it was important that we just focused on us,” Williams said. “We wanted to come out how we needed to come out.”

Not only was the 82 points the most the franchise had scored in a first half since they put up 81 in an April 14, 2007 game in Milwaukee, but it was a new record for the most points the franchise had ever scored in a first half. The most points the Bulls ever scored in a half was still 86.

And this latest display was well distributed.

DeRozan had 17 points, Nikola Vucevic 16, LaVine 13 and Patrick Williams 12. Even more impressive, the 29-of-44 shooting (65.9%) also came on 21 assists.

A basketball clinic not seen by this core, and done on both ends.

“Clearly they had a tough game against Milwaukee and then a tough time getting here,” Donovan said of the win. “For us, I thought we generated good shots, moved the ball … I think there’s always things you can take from these games.”

When the final horn sounded and the smoke cleared, seven Bulls finished in double figures, led by DeRozan’s 28, and the team hit a season-high in three-pointers with 19, as well as a season-high in assists with 35.

Dallas sending a split-squad might have been a good idea after all.

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Answering the Bears’ biggest questions during the bye week:

What do the Bears need to see from Justin Fields in the last four games?

Take another step forward, especially in the passing game, against the Eagles and/or Bills — two top-10 defenses. And develop a better connection with Chase Claypool. If establishing Fields-Claypool chemistry in 2022 doesn’t matter, the Bears should not have traded a potential top-35 draft pick for him. They just should have waited and drafted a receiver at that spot.

Is Matt Eberflus doing a good job?

I feel the same way about Matt Eberflus as I do about Justin Fields — like the potential, seems to have laid a foundation for future success, but still need to see a lot more to be convinced he’ll take the Bears where previous coaches have not. Even with circumstances considered — rookies, trades, etc. — his defense has under-achieved.

What should the Bears do with a top-three draft pick?

The dream scenario would be to trade with a team desperate for a quarterback, still get a top 10 pick and acquire a 2023 first-round pick that ends up in the top-5. The 4-8 Panthers, currently with the No. 6 pick, could fill that bill.

As for need, Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter, according to draft analysts, looks like the best chance for a three-technique with the potential to have a Tommie Harris-like impact on Eberflus’ defense.

I’ll be watching this player the rest of the year …

Left tackle Braxton Jones. By the eye test he has done well as a rookie starter. But at a premium position, Jones can’t just be good for a fifth-round draft pick. He has to actually be good — a consistent Pro Bowl level player — to be a foundation piece. That could be a big decision for Ryan Poles in the offseason.

Which surprise player has earned a 2023 starting job?

Rookie linebacker Jack Sanborn. As much as many of us were clamoring for the Bears to sign Roquan Smith, Sanborn seems like a more cost-efficient replacement in the context of Eberflus’ defense.

Sanborn has 54 tackles in 287 snaps in his five starts — more than Smith had in his final five games with the Bear (47 in 311 snaps). It’s a small sample-size for sure. But tackling is not an impact that generally fluctuates. And it still leaves room for the Bears to draft a player for the Shaquille Leonard play-making linebacker role in Eberflus’ defense.

What has been the biggest disappointment of the season?

The Bears’ defense not only has just 16 sacks (32nd and last in the NFL), but a league-low 34 quarterback hits — every other team has 48 or more. And they have just three takeaways in their last six games. Even with four rookie starters and a house-cleaning, more was expected of Eberflus’ defense.

How many games will the Bears win the rest of the way?

Maybe two, if the 10-2 Vikings are coasting in Week 18.

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Riverside-Brookfield and St. Ignatius are facing off now.

Still to come is Hyde Park vs. Homewood-Flossmoor and Curie vs. Mount Carmel

Lemont 60, Lane 51: Matas and Rokas Castillo absolutely dominated the game. Rokas led the way with 22 points and seven rebounds and Matas added 17 points and six boards. Undefeated Lemont led 54-31 after three quarters and the Champions tightened things up a bit in the fourth quarter but the outcome was never in doubt.

Lane sophomore big Dalton Scantlebury, who opened some eyes with his play last weekend at the Chicago Elite Classic, finished with 18 points and eight rebounds. Junior Shaheed Solebo added 16 points.

St. Laurence 58, Farragut 44: Solid game from the Vikings’ young group. St. Laurence started five sophomores: Jacob Rice, Zerrick Jones, Caleb Lindsey, Emmanuel Mosley and Khalil Jones.

Rice scored 15 and Jones 13. St. Laurence is certainly worth keeping an eye on this season, they’ve been competitive against a tough schedule so far. Freshman Latrell Kelly led the Admirals with 14.

Lincoln-Way East 63, Westinghouse 51: That’s a three-game sweep for suburban teams vs. Red-North/West teams at the Team Rose Shootout. Powerful senior George Bellevue led the way with 24 points and 14 rebound and Tylon Tolliver added 17.

Saturday’s other top games

Hinsdale Central 69, Oak Lawn 64: The Red Devils are always a challenge and I liked the way this group played when I saw them at the Riverside-Brookfield summer shootout. Ben Oosterbaan scored 22 points and Emerson Eck added 17.

Simeon 52, Cornado, CA 46: The Wolverines pick up a big win in Arizona. Sam Lewis had 16 points and seven rebounds and Miles Rubin added 10 points and eight rebounds. Uncommitted senior Jalen Griffith finished with 12 points and four assists.

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A Far South Side man who was apparently enraged by a television news story allegedly opened fire on several family members and neighbors outside his home earlier this week, hitting one man before he was shot by a Chicago police officer, according to prosecutors.

Kevin Singleton, 52, was charged with six counts of attempted first-degree murder, aggravated discharge of a firearm and aggravated battery over the encounter that started Wednesday evening, prosecutors said during a bail hearing on Saturday.

Singleton was at the home in the 100 block of West 126th Place when he got upset over the TV news story, called police and then hung up, according to Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney Lisa Sterba. He became further agitated when a dispatcher called him back, Sterba said.

Singleton’s mother, who was in the home at the time, called the man’s daughter for help dealing with Singleton, prosecutors said.

As Singleton’s daughter walked up to the home, he allegedly pointed a handgun at her and told her to “get away,” Sterba said. He then fired three shots as she walked back to a vehicle with her boyfriend inside, hitting three passenger-side windows, Sterba said.

After that, Singleton allegedly went back inside and then re-emerged with a shotgun that he fired at the house next door, Sterba said.

That neighbor called her son, who showed up with two friends whom Singleton also fired at, Sterba said. One was hit in the armpit and buttocks.

That man, 47, was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. He was expected to survive but remained intubated Saturday, prosecutors said.

Police officers eventually arrived and Singleton tried to fire at them, but his gun apparently malfunctioned, prosecutors said.

As Singleton chased another person on the block, an officer shot him in the finger, prosecutors said. He was hospitalized in good condition and allegedly later acknowledged firing the shotgun.

Singleton didn’t appear in court Saturday, and was instead recovering at the University of Chicago Medical Center, according to police.

His bail was set at $5 million, with his next court date scheduled for Dec. 16.

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