“We Were Playing Lifeless Basketball” and Other Bulls Bullets

“The Magic have lost six straight games with five of those losses coming by double-digits. Since the deadline, they have the league’s worst field goal percentage and have averaged the second-fewest points per game. The team has been at least somewhat better on the defensive end but they’ve still had the 6th-worst defensive rating in the league. In other words, there is no reason the Bulls shouldn’t be able to put this game away early with their offense, even if their 3-point percentage has somehow been 4th-worst in the league over the last 10 games.” – Me in our pre-game post before everything went to sh*t.

•   The Chicago Bulls were down by as much as 21 points to the team referenced above. Put all context aside, and that is still a pretty damn embarrassing loss for a team that has made plenty of comments about a playoff push. Now, add all the context back in, and the loss goes from “pretty damn embarrassing” to “waving to the wrong person across the room while naked at work and tripping over a banana peel only to spill coffee all over yourself (but it turns out the coffee was cold, but you screamed anyway because you thought it was going to be hot).” The Bulls sold a good chunk of their immediate future to this Magic franchise in hopes of being a significantly better team. What last night showed is that even with all of the trade deadline moves and snatching away an organization’s All-Star, they’re still one of the worst teams in the NBA.

•   Don’t get me wrong, I’ll gladly admit the Bulls are a better team on paper. That’s just a fact. However, even if a team has all the talent in the world, they still have to do their job. The Bulls haven’t done that. Instead, according to Thaddeus Young, they’ve just shown up for work.

Thad Young on what he told his teammates in 4th quarter: "We were playing lifeless basketball."

He says Bulls rolled out of bed and physically came to work today, but not much more.

— Cody Westerlund (@CodyWesterlund) April 15, 2021

•   I’m not even trying to be dramatic when I say that I can’t fully comprehend this statement from Young. And Zach LaVine said something similar in his postgame press conference when he told reporters: “It doesn’t make a difference who you have on your team, you have to go out there and compete. I don’t think we did that until he 4th today.” Yeah, but … why!? Seriously … why!? The Bulls walked into this matchup with just a 2.0 game lead on the Raptors and Wizards for the final play-in tournament spot. Throw in the fact this is the team Wendell Carter Jr. and two of your first-round picks belong to now, and there should be absolutely no lack of motivation to walk away with a win.

•   If this team has to see themselves practically down and out to play the way they know they’re capable of, then Billy Donovan should just paint the standings across the locker room wall. Speaking of which, this is just as much on the head coach as anyone else. I’m not about to barrel roll off the Donovan bandwagon, but it’s not all on the players to feel a sense of urgency.

•   Like, here, take this quote from LaVine after NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson asked him to explain this team’s lack of drive: “Pssh. I don’t know. We got to be better, and I know it’s redundant. I keep saying the same thing in all these interviews, and I’m trying to keep spirits up in the locker room. But if you don’t go out there and compete, you’re not going to be in a position to win.'” I know it might be frustrating to hear the “I don’t know” piece of that, but I actually don’t blame LaVine. His job isn’t to answer that question. His job is to go out and compete, which is something he continues to do night in and night out. Donovan’s job is to push these guys to play hard and want to perform at a high level. 

LIVE: Zach LaVine after tonight’s game vs. the Magic https://t.co/5JTbf3nNdN

— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) April 15, 2021

•   The truly concerning piece of that LaVine quote is about the locker room. He went on to explain that the guys are frustrated, but they also have to turn that frustration into something on the court. I don’t if that’s just a skill some guys are capable of and others aren’t. What I do know, however, is that I’d much rather have a team full of guys that are capable of it than the alternative, and I’m sure that’s what this front office will look to add this offseason. 

•  We’ve played mental gymnastics with this Bulls team all season long, and the trade deadline suggested that the front office was sick of it. AKME brought in an experienced All-Star who has played some of the most consistent basketball regardless of circumstance over the last several seasons. Daniel Theis was another addition who has built a career off always playing hard. Troy Brown Jr. came to the team with a “something to prove” mentality. I expect the offseason changes to mimic this philosophy. The Bulls desperately need more consistency and a greater edge. 

•   Honestly, one of the most annoying things about this Bulls team is that the basketball itself isn’t as bad as it is uninspired. This is why the bulk of these bullets aren’t about the X’s and O’s but rather the locker room atmosphere. The team still shot 45.9 percent from the 3-point line last night, and they have still dished out the 3rd-most assists per game since the deadline. There are still good things happening, but it just feels like they don’t care enough to make those good things happen on a consistent basis.

•   Anyway, here is a fun non-Bulls palate cleanser: 

https://twitter.com/espn/status/1382543215228686337?s=20