The Chicago Bulls have a third-quarter problem.
They haven’t been good in the third all season, ranking 17th in the league with a minus-2.2 net rating in that quarter. And amid the upheaval of the roster at the trade deadline, the Bulls have completely lost their ability to beat teams out of the break, resulting in a recurring — and deflating — pattern of competing decently in the first half, then falling apart after halftime.
Entering Sunday’s 105-99 loss to the New York Knicks at the United Center, the Bulls had posted a minus-4.9 net rating over the previous 10 games — and a minus-14.5 over the prior eight, the fifth-worst mark in the entire league. And after leading 53-52 at halftime Sunday, they were outscored by six in the third quarter.
It’s hard to win when a team consistently digs itself into a hole heading into the fourth quarter. It didn’t help that the Bulls spent much of Sunday’s loss doing their best impression of the Washington Generals. They threw passes that sailed into the stands or caromed off their teammates and they missed unguarded dunks. They committed 17 turnovers, their sixth straight game with 14 or more.
So it didn’t matter that the Bulls regained the lead with less than four minutes remaining. Or that Josh Giddey drew a foul to cut the Knicks lead to three with 50.9 seconds left. The odds were stacked too high — and the Bulls lost their ninth straight game, a skid that stretches back before the trade deadline.
Here are three takeaways from the loss.
1. Anfernee Simons is sidelined with a wrist injury.
The injury report is growing for the Bulls, who played without Simons in addition to Jaden Ivey (out two weeks with knee soreness) and Zach Collins (sidelined for the season).
Simons injured his wrist in Saturday’s loss to the Detroit Pistons while attempting to navigate through a screen. He underwent initial testing at the arena after the game but was unable to go through the full slate of testing required to assess his injury. He was listed on Sunday’s injury report with a sprained wrist, but coach Billy Donovan said that diagnosis could change after Simons sees a hand specialist this week.
Without Simons, the Bulls backcourt was limited again. Giddey and Tre Jones are playing under 24-minute restrictions as they return from hamstring injuries, which meant the Bulls needed to rely on more minutes from Rob Dillingham.
2. Another big problem.
The Bulls also lost center Jalen Smith in the third quarter because of tightness in his right calf. This is a recurring injury for Smith, who has missed five of the last nine games due to varying levels of discomfort in his calf. He logged 12 points and five rebounds in 18 minutes before being ruled out.
The loss of Smith posed another challenge for the Bulls, who are already short-handed in the frontcourt after the loss of Collins. Donovan attempted to create a larger lineup, starting a double-big look with Guerschon Yabusele to give the Bulls much-needed length. But without Smith, the Bulls simply didn’t have any more length to tap into.
Yabusele and backup center Nick Richards were the only bigs available in the fourth quarter. The pair combined for 20 points and 27 rebounds.
3. An overpowering spotlight.
The most visible absence was the offensive output of Giddey and Matas Buzelis.
The pair struggled to break through the New York defense in an underwhelming scoring performance. Giddey tallied six points and five assists against two turnovers in 23 minutes. Buzelis scored 15 points in 26 minutes on 3-for-9 shooting behind the arc but turned the ball over three times.
The limited minutes played a part. Neither player entered in the fourth quarter until the clock was down to 4:24, hampering both players from finding their rhythm.
Buzelis has particularly struggled to carry the burden of the offense in the wake of major trades made at the deadline, a challenge Donovan has noted as an important growth opportunity for the second-year forward.
“It’s been a lot harder on Matas — and I think in a good way,” Donovan said. “When Coby (White) was here and Ayo (Dosunmu) was here and (Nikola Vučević) was here, even though we got him into the starting lineup, he’s starting to see the best defenders (now) night in and night out. That’s a great opportunity for him to make a jump because he’s starting to learn a lot.”
