The rumor going around the NBA this week was that the Chicago Bulls were back, and there was nothing like a late-night showcase game Friday against the Golden State Warriors on ESPN to prove it.
But Bulls reserve Alex Caruso insisted after Wednesday’s win against the Dallas Mavericks that there were too many games left in the season to start making any bold pronouncements.
“We’re just kind of finding ways to win,” he said. “That’s the sign of a good team, but we have a lot of ways to get better. That’s the most encouraging thing for me.
“Eleven games into the season, I don’t think you can say anyone’s back, especially (a team with) the prestige of the Bulls. They won three championships in a row twice. Being back? That’s a big statement.”
The Bulls on Thursday got the news that Nikola Vucevic would be out for the West Coast trip after testing positive for COVID-19, making it more difficult to make any judgments.
And they wound up starting off the five-game swing with a 119-93 loss to the Warriors, the Bulls’ worst overall performance of the young season.
“We knew it was going to be tough without Vooch,” DeMar DeRozan said. “Best player, best big, best playmaker. We knew it was going to be a challenge, especially going up against the best team in the NBA. They mixed it up, played well. They did what they do.
“It was a great learning experience for us to understand we got our butt whupped. How we going to respond after that?”
It was the Bulls’ ninth consecutive loss to the Warriors and 12th in their last 14 meetings. The last time The Bulls won a game here was on Jan. 27, 2015, when the Warriors still played in Oakland, Calif.
Zach LaVine led the Bulls with 23 points, but DeRozan and Lonzo Ball both struggled, and no one had an answer for the unstoppable Steph Curry, who sank nine 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 40 points.
When Curry hit his ninth 3-pointer while unguarded in garbage time with 4 minutes, 18 seconds left, no one was even in the same area code.
Bulls coach Billy Donovan started Tony Bradley in place of Vucevic, inserted Alize Johnson in the middle of the first quarter with a smaller lineup and gave the 6-foot-8 forward the bulk of the minutes in the middle.
The Bulls were beaten badly on the boards early and were outrebounded 47-38, including 12-7 on the offensive side. Donovan even gave Tyler Cook his first action in the fourth quarter, at which point the outcome was decided.
This was a total team loss, and even as LaVine was the only scoring threat, he also was sloppy with the ball, committing seven of the Bulls’ 20 turnovers.
DeRozan said the Bulls have to figure out collectively how they’ll play without Vucevic.
“It was really our first adversity, and adversity builds a lot of character,” DeRozan said.
Was it the Bulls or the Warriors defense that caused all the turnovers?
“It was us trying to do too much,” DeRozan said. “They were just trying to be aggressive. They gambled a lot, have got great hands. They got that reputation being aggressive when you get in the paint, hitting you. So you’ve got to be strong against a team like this.
“It was on us, but you’ve got to give them credit as well.”
After a day of practice Saturday, the Bulls play back-to-back games in Los Angeles against the red-hot Clippers and Lakers.
Leading 51-45 at the half, the Warriors opened a 24-point lead heading into the final quarter, outscoring the Bulls 35-17 in the third. Donovan said it was “like a slow death” after Curry’s first 3.
Other than LaVine, who hit 7 of 13 attempts through three quarters, the remaining starters were a combined 5-for-28 from the field.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said the game that the Bulls posed a significant challenge to his team, even without Vucevic in the middle.
“They’re one of the best teams in the league to this point, top six in the league in both offense and defense,” Kerr said. “Obviously they’re without Vucevic and that changes some things and we’ll have to adapt to whatever they decide to do. They present a lot of challenges. “
But as it turned out, the Bulls were no challenge at all. With Bradley and Javonte Green in the starting lineup, the Warriors doubled LaVine and dared the rest of the team to beat them.
Donovan was asked beforehand if Ball needed to step up and provide more scoring in Vucevic’s absence. The short answer was “no” and that Ball needed to continue playing the way he had in the first 11 games.
“I wouldn’t want Lonzo to feel the responsibility (like) ‘Hey, I’ve got to score more,’ when it’s not there,” Donovan said. “He needs to be himself, and collectively the five guys out there have to work to generate good offense.”
But Ball wasn’t himself. He attempted only one shot in the first quarter and went 2-for-11, including 1-for-7 from 3-point range, only two nights after hitting seven 3’s against the Mavericks.
DeRozan’s shotdidn’t fall for his second straight game, which left it up to LaVine to carry the load, even while double-teamed. It was just like the old days when LaVine was a one-man show.
“We obviously are going to have to learn how to play without Vooch,” Donovan said. “That’s just the way it is.”
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