The Chicago Bulls can’t cease shedding — typically in historic style. The sample is dire sufficient that Artūras Karnišovas acknowledged the disastrous begin to the season for the Bulls this week.
With the In-Season Tournament firmly within the rearview mirror and a shedding streak stretching out, the place are the Bulls headed subsequent?
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.
Bulls return residence on a five-game shedding streak
This is a brand new low for the Bulls, who fell to 5-14 on the finish of a four-game street journey capped by a demoralizing 27-point blowout by the Celtics in Boston on Tuesday.
The Bulls have a solitary win on the street to this point this season. They had been eradicated from the In-Season Tournament earlier than they even performed their final two video games of the group stage. And they sank to the third-lowest rung within the Eastern Conference as they continued their shedding streak.
This is the worst begin for the reason that 2018-29 season.
“I’m a big believer that you are what your record says you are,” Donovan stated earlier than Tuesday’s sport. “I’m not going to sit here and say, ‘Well, you know, a couple tough losses and we could be .500.’ No. This is what we are. So how do we get better and how do we improve? What are the issues we have to address?”
DeMar DeRozan praises USC star JuJu Watkins
DeMar DeRozan knew JuJu Watkins was going to be a star lengthy earlier than she placed on a University of Southern California jersey for the primary time.
A local of Los Angeles, Watkins landed on DeRozan’s radar early in her profession as one of many prime highschool prospects within the nation. So he was already a fan earlier than she dedicated to USC because the No. 1 recruit within the 2023 class.
Watkins lived as much as the hype in her first 5 video games as a Trojan. She dropped 32 factors in her debut and tied Lisa Leslie’s file for many 30-point video games (3) by a freshman inside the first two weeks of the season.
“I’ve known her for a while so I’m not surprised at all,” DeRozan stated. “Not at all. It’s amazing to see what she represents, what she comes from, to be able to stay home and bring (USC) women’s basketball back to the high level that it’s at. It’s amazing to see what she’s doing with that, what the whole program is doing. I’m not surprised but I’m definitely happy.”
DeRozan voiced enthusiasm for this system’s success underneath coach Lindsey Gottlieb — and hopes his daughters could make the workforce sooner or later.
Number of week: 25
The Bulls allowed the Brooklyn Nets to make 25 pictures from behind the 3-point arc in Sunday’s loss — probably the most in franchise historical past.
The 3-point onslaught didn’t start till the second quarter, however as soon as the Nets heated up there was no means for the Bulls to douse the fireplace. The Nets completed 25-for-53 from 3-point vary, fueling greater than 60% of their scoring behind the arc.
The Nets had been clearly aided by a robust capturing night time — a 47.2% clip is excessive even for the third-most-accurate 3-point capturing workforce within the league. But a key supply of that manufacturing was a scarcity of perimeter stress from the Bulls, which allowed the Nets to proceed taking open pictures all through the sport.
Week forward: Bulls
- Wednesday: Off
- Thursday: Home vs. Milwaukee Bucks, 7 p.m., NBCSCH+
- Friday: Off
- Saturday: Home vs. New Orleans Pelicans, 7 p.m., NBC Sports Chicago
- Sunday: Off
- Monday: Off
- Tuesday: Off
What we’re studying this morning
This week in Chicago basketball historical past
Dec. 3, 2018: Bulls hearth coach Fred Hoiberg
In December 2007, following a blowout loss to the Rockets, John Paxson fired Scott Skiles and promoted Jim Boylan to interim head coach.
Eleven years later, following a blowout loss to the Rockets, Paxson fired Fred Hoiberg and promoted Jim Boylen — who as soon as labored with Boylan at Michigan State — to move coach.
During the season, Jimmy Butler known as out Hoiberg to educate tougher and maintain gamers accountable, and the Bulls missed the playoffs because the tough circumstances that landed on Hoiberg’s plate had been an excessive amount of to beat.
Hoiberg, who compiled a 115-155 file with one first-round playoff exit, arrived on the workforce’s follow facility ready to run the 11 a.m. follow. Despite figuring out he’d be underneath the microscope and feeling some latest isolation from administration, he was caught off guard by the firing, working underneath the impression he’d no less than get time to work with a comparatively wholesome roster.
The former Iowa State coach returned to the school ranks with Nebraska in 2019. The Cornhuskers went 16-16 in 2022-2023 for his or her first non-losing season since 2018-19 regardless of 4 rotation gamers lacking time due to accidents. They had been twelfth within the Big Ten at September 11 after they gained six of their closing eight regular-season video games. Nebraska has began this season 7-0.
Quotable
“We see what everyone is seeing and are just as frustrated. We’re disappointed, but I’m not running from it. It’s my responsibility.” — Bulls government vp of basketball operations Artūras Karnišovas addressing the state of the workforce after a 5-13 begin
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Source: www.bostonherald.com