The Chicago Bulls need to set issues straight after an up-and-down first week of the season highlighted by a blowout loss and buzzer-beating win.
The Chicago Sky are trying forward after naming a brand new coach and common supervisor.
Every Wednesday all through the season, Tribune writers will present an replace on what occurred — and what’s forward — for the Bulls, Sky and native basketball.
Chicago Bulls end whirlwind first week at 2-2
The Bulls couldn’t have gotten off to a rockier begin — a blowout loss and a gamers assembly on the primary evening of the season. Players had been livid after taking an “unacceptable” 124-104 beating from the Oklahoma City Thunder at residence. They responded two nights later by scrabbling for an extra time win, punctuated by an 18-point fourth quarter from DeMar DeRozan and a game-winning 3-pointer by Alex Caruso.
But the win didn’t shake off any of the uncertainty dealing with the Bulls. They dropped a 118-102 loss to the Detroit Pistons on Saturday regardless of a career-high 51-point efficiency from Zach LaVine, then grinded out a 112-105 win over the Indiana Pacers on Monday by slowing issues down on the defensive finish.
Things nonetheless aren’t clicking for the Bulls, who had little or no turnover on their roster. Their offensive score is sixth-lowest within the league (104.5) and their protection hasn’t been as smothering because it was final season. The offense has succeeded in taking extra 3-pointers solely to see its accuracy plummet to 29.4%.
“It’s something that we have to figure out,” LaVine stated after the loss in Detroit. “The first three games, we haven’t gotten 100% of it yet. We’re trying to figure out something that isn’t working. We’re gonna going to stick with it though.”
Chicago Sky discover their new coach and common supervisor
The Sky set the stage for a brand new period over the past week as they stuffed the coach and common supervisor positions.
Teresa Weatherspoon launched herself to Chicago final Tuesday in a information convention with Chairman Nadia Rawlinson and star Kahleah Copper. Weatherspoon will probably be a first-time coach within the WNBA after serving as head coach for Louisiana Tech and an assistant coach for the New Orleans Pelicans. The Hall of Famer’s choice as coach was met with speedy enthusiasm from Copper and her teammates, who really feel Weatherspoon’s imaginative and prescient for the Sky matches their identification as gamers.
“From the very first conversation, we connected over energy,” Copper stated. “I’ve never had a coach that could really match my energy and that really hit me.”
On Tuesday, the Sky named Jeff Pagliocca their new common supervisor. This would be the first time the franchise has break up the positions of common supervisor and head coach. Pagliocca labored with the Sky over the past 4 seasons as a participant growth coach and adviser to the top coach. His expertise as a expertise scout and expertise coach will probably be vital for the Sky to accumulate and develop the right personnel to suit with Weatherspoon’s system.
What to know concerning the NBA in-season event
The Bulls play their first recreation of the in-season event Friday in opposition to the Brooklyn Nets. The evening will really feel like every other regular-season recreation — besides the jersey and courts will probably be completely different and the stakes will probably be increased for gamers.
The in-season event is an addition for the NBA designed to lift the curiosity and competitors degree of video games by the primary three months of the season. Teams had been seeded into teams of 5 primarily based on their report within the 2022-23 season. The Bulls are in Eastern Conference Group C with the Nets, Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors and Orlando Magic.
Each staff will play 4 group-stage video games, and the highest staff will advance to a knockout spherical, together with a further wild-card staff from every convention.
The Bulls will play three extra group-stage video games this month.
- Nov. 17 vs. Orlando Magic
- Nov. 24 at Toronto Raptors
- Nov. 28 at Boston Celtics
If they win their group, the Bulls would advance to the quarterfinals, which happen Dec. 4-5. The semifinal and closing video games of the event will probably be hosted at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The league is incentivizing participant efficiency within the event by monetary prizes. Each participant on the championship staff will obtain $500,000; gamers on the second-place staff will obtain $200,000; gamers on the dropping semifinalist groups will obtain $100,000; and gamers on the dropping quarterfinalist groups will obtain $50,000.
Could Skylar Diggins-Smith be a part of the Chicago Sky?
WNBA free company is barely months away, and one participant particularly has grow to be an merchandise of curiosity in Chicago: Skylar Diggins-Smith.
It’s clear Diggins-Smith is not going to return to Phoenix after her relationship with the staff and fellow star Diana Taurasi grew contentious over the past two years. The six-time All-Star took to social media final week and requested followers to submit their pitches for which groups she ought to take a look at as she enters free company in January.
Diggins-Smith can be an asset to any staff however particularly for the Sky, who spent most of final season scrambling for an answer at level guard. The Sky spent most of this 12 months changing Courtney Williams from taking pictures guard to level guard, a difficult transition that didn’t enable high-scoring stars akin to Marina Mabrey and Kahleah Copper to play to their full potential.
The Sky have to make a change at level guard. Could Diggins-Smith be the reply? The secret is making the best pitch to some of the sought-after free brokers this winter.
Weatherspoon brings a brand new degree of recruiting star energy to the Sky entrance workplace — and in addition has a long-standing relationship with Diggins-Smith. Copper additionally embraced the thought in an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times.
“Skylar would be a great fit,” Copper stated. “She would help us get another championship.”
Signing Diggins-Smith may have one other affect on the Sky roster — the way forward for Dana Evans, one other native level guard from Indiana.
Evans has been patiently ready within the wings for 3 seasons, holding down a key position as the primary participant off the bench final season. But if the Sky decide to one more start line guard in free company, Evans may grow to be antsy to discover a new residence the place she has a extra seen path into the beginning lineup.
Number of the week: 51
Zach LaVine scored a profession–excessive 51 factors Saturday in a loss in opposition to the Detroit Pistons. His scoring made up half the Bulls’ offense — which completed with 102 factors — however wasn’t sufficient to carry the staff to a win.
LaVine went 19-for-32 from the sector and had 4 rebounds however didn’t register an help within the recreation. He was the primary participant to attain greater than 50 factors with out an help since 2018, when Klay Thompson completed did so with the Golden State Warriors.
The explosive scoring session got here after a sluggish begin for LaVine, who had a mixed 24 factors on 7-for-30 taking pictures by two video games. LaVine has been coping with again stiffness, which partially affected his play. Despite being listed on the damage report Saturday with again spasms, he selected to play the second recreation of a back-to-back in Detroit.
“Obviously I wasn’t happy with the way I was performing and the way the offense was looking,” LaVine stated. “I came out wanting to be real aggressive. Obviously I got it going. It’s upsetting, you have a performance like that and lose. It sucks.”
Week forward: Bulls
- Wednesday: @ Dallas Mavericks, 7:30 p.m., NBC Sports Chicago
- Thursday: Off
- Friday: vs. Nets, in-season event, 7 p.m., NBC Sports Chicago
- Saturday: @ Denver Nuggets, 8 p.m., NBCSCH+, NBA TV
- Sunday: Off
- Monday: vs. Utah Jazz, 7 p.m., NBC Sports Chicago
- Tuesday: Off
What we’re studying this morning
Quotable
“I am one who has been told many times, ‘No.’ I am one who has (seen) doors closed many times. If you don’t get in the door, you got to get in a window. So I’m coming through the window. They don’t call me Spoon for nothing, I’m here to stir things up.” — Chicago Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon
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Source: www.bostonherald.com