Warriors 123, Bulls 91: Feast of the seven consecutive losses

Following their 123-91 loss to the Golden State Warriors, the Chicago Bulls have lost seven straight games, owning the league’s longest losing streak. 

The Bulls had a chance to jump on the Warriors, who were on the second night of a back-to-back, and playing without Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Al Horford. Meanwhile, the Bulls were without Kevin Huerter, Tre Jones, Isaac Okoro and Jalen Smith, along with Noa Essengue, who is out for the year.

The Bulls surged on a 17-1 run across the end of the third and start of the fourth quarter, cutting into what was, to that point, a game-high 24-point lead for Golden State.

Aside from that, the Bulls were non-competitive. Their lack of effort can only be explained by their 95.8 first-half offensive rating. And as soon as the Bulls cut the deficit to single digits, 87-79 with 11:24 to go, the Warriors immediately pushed their lead back to 30 by the 5:55 mark. They rolled over and failed to even score 100 points for the first time all season as the Bulls lost by 32, their second-largest margin of defeat this season.

This is as bleak as things have felt for the Bulls in a long time. According to Basketball Reference, this is the Bulls’ first 7-game losing streak since 2019-20. They have now had 47 losing streaks of seven or more games, with 31 coming since Michael Jordan’s final retirement. This is also the longest losing streak of Billy Donovan’s NBA career.

Up next: The Bulls are off until Friday, when they travel to Charlotte to try to avenge their Black Friday loss to the Hornets.

Tune into the CHGO Bulls postgame live: 

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For a team whose coach has spent his last three media availabilities talking about the importance of getting all the way to the rim instead of pulling up early and settling for bad twos, the Bulls sure take a lot of bad twos. 

Long mid-range shots aren’t the problem — they account for only 3.7 percent of the team’s offense, the lowest number in the league. But shots within the paint are not all created equal. When the Bulls get all the way to the rim or the restricted area, they shoot a high percentage, 60.2 percent coming into the game. Even though their rim finishing is last in the league, it’s still better than the floater range, where they shoot 47.1 percent. 

“We’ve got to be able to get a better job with that, also the decision making in the paint,” Billy Donovan said pre-game. “Because you mentioned the finishing at the rim: some of the block shots, you struggle to finish the rim, and you’re getting shots blocking you turning it over. It’s just like a hard recipe to overcome.”

Oftentimes, Josh Giddey is pulling up early to try to draw contact on his floater, and ends up settling. Nikola Vucevic gets a ton of those looks in the short roll rather than getting all the way to the cup. 

Overall, the Bulls shoot just 18.8 percent of their shots in the short mid-range area, 26th, but for a team whose margins are so slim, they’re leaving points on the table. 

— Will Gottlieb

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That was a hell of a coast-to-coast poster from Matas Buzelis. And that’s the extent of my thoughts on tonight’s Bulls.

This sad Bears fan is very sad. But I’m sad because Da Bears have given life to their fans this season. A team to believe in. Expectations for victories, and the league taking them seriously. After consecutive seasons with the number one overall pick — one used to trade for lots of pieces, the other for a franchise quarterback — they then went out and spent big. Spent big on the coach everyone wanted. Spent big on an offensive line. Spent big to give the young QB the help he needs. And things are coming together. When that’s the case, and you lose to your blood-feud rival in a late-season game with first place in the division on the line…that really f-king hurts. It’s good to hurt, though. That means they’re close.

I can’t remember the last time I felt that hurt as a Bulls fan because everything in the above paragraph cannot at all be applied to the Bulls. Joke franchise.

I won’t take them seriously, or care about their losses, until they do.

— Matt Peck

Sigh. 

Welp, seven losses in a row. It’s not like I didn’t see it coming but I didn’t see it coming against the teams they lost to (saw this L coming though)

Glad the team will get a few games off after tonight because they (we) need it. They really need to figure some things out.

That Buzelis dunk will be on replay for a while. Amazing stuff. The stare down and shit talking after? Chef’s kiss.

Coby White has been a little cold.

Dalen Terry has been a little hot.

Jevon Carter stays ready.

I feel for Giddey sometimes. He’s really out there trying. 

Shout-out to the Bulls fans who get dressed up, fight the traffic and the cold to come watch this trash. Y’all are the real goons of the night. You deserve better. We all do.

— Big Dave