Coming off the win against the Charlotte Hornets that snapped a seven-game losing streak, the Bulls were back on the wrong side of the win column, losing 114-104 to the New Orleans Pelicans for the second time this season. The Bulls fall to 10-15 and are 5-15 in their last 20 games, the inverse of how they finished last season.
Coby White came alive in the third quarter, helping the Bulls cut 13-point Pelicans lead down to one by the end of the period. He finished with 20 points on 8-of-18 shooting, but struggled mightily from deep, only 1-of-10.
Josh Giddey continued his all-out assault on the paint. He’s dramatically improved as a driver, with a willingness to lower his shoulder and attack the basket. While it didn’t result in a high assist (five) or free throw attempt (two) total on Sunday, it bodes well for his game moving forward.
After riding the bench for the final 18 minutes of the loss to Charlotte on Friday, Nikola Vucevic was back in to close against New Orleans. He finished with 12 points and nine rebounds on 5-of-16 shooting, making his only two three-pointers in the final futile minutes.
The Bulls shot just 13-of-49 from three on the evening, contributing to their low scoring output, but that’s no excuse, as the Pelicans were even worse, 8-of-33. The Bulls were more active on the offensive glass than the Pelicans, and had fewer turnovers, but also put the Pelicans to the line for eight more attempts.
Up next: The Bulls will face the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday at home and again on Friday in Cleveland.
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With the Bulls incorporating a third big into their rotation, there have been a few interesting byproducts.
First is the offensive rebounding. The Bulls aren’t active enough on the offensive glass to justify the double-big look, especially when it comes at the expense of the transition defense.
“So much of the game now is about answer backs, whether you score, answering back to defense, or whether you get scored against, answering back to offense,” Billy Donovan said. “The other part of that is the transition defense part. We’re 25th the last five games crashing the glass. So where are we? We’re not going to glass. We’re not getting back.”
Second is the power forward rotation as it relates to Matas Buzelis. The Bulls’ prized prospect played just 24 minutes against the Hornets on Friday and 24 again against the Pelicans on Sunday, scoring only nine points on five shots.
Patrick Williams logged 24 minutes against the Pelicans with Donovan largely matching his minutes to Zion Williamson to offer the size and strength to best keep him in front. But with Kevin Huerter, Giddey, Tre Jones, Isaac Okoro and White all logging heavy minutes in the backcourt, the minutes distribution for Buzelis has been lagging behind. For the sake of their future, the Bulls can’t forget about him.
How the hell is Williams playing as many minutes as Buzelis? Sure, Williams knocked down a couple of early threes. Sure, Buzelis got cooked by Williamson a couple of times early. After the early threes? Williams disappeared offensively per usual. And it’s not like Williams is some epic Williamson Stopper. Or Anyone Stopper. One of these players’ development is vitally important to the future of this team. One is not.
Two of your starters – Okoro and Vucevic – combined to shoot 7-of-26 from the field. That’s…impressively bad. Speaking of Vucevic, he entered the 4th quarter around the 7:30 minute mark with the Bulls down 89-83. He got a bucket inside on the first possession after checking in, after missing bunnies all night.
The Vucevic Conundrum is weird, especially after Donovan sat him for the final 1.5 quarters on Friday.
Where do we go from here?
Bears. Packers. Hook it to my VEINS.
Man, the UC was empty tonight and rightfully so. The Bulls really struggled, especially from three.
Thank God for White. He was huge for the team in that third when the Pelicans went on a slump.
Bears.
Congrats to Giddey for getting his 200th assist.
The defense is still atrocious. Jeremiah Fears really put on a show for his homecoming.
Each night, Buzelis is now doing something that continues to give you hope for the future. That dunk will replay in my head.
WILLIAMS SHOULD NOT HAVE AS MANY, CLOSE TO, OR MORE MINUTES THAN BUZELIS.
Kevin Huerter helped for sure. The Bulls really missed him while he was out, but he can only do so much.
Bear The F Down.
— Big Dave
