Dalen Terry offered a spark of optimism for the Chicago Bulls of their first sport of the preseason, however there’s nonetheless a lot to repair as they put together to begin the season with out level guard Lonzo Ball.
The bench unit led a thunderous second-half comeback, however the Bulls fell 129-125 of their preseason opener in opposition to the New Orleans Pelicans Tuesday evening on the United Middle. The opening half of the sport painted a stark image of ongoing flaws the Bulls nonetheless haven’t fastened after the offseason.
Listed below are 4 takeaways from the primary Bulls outing of the season.
1. Dalen Terry makes an impression.
The rookie shortly received over Bulls followers in his preseason debut. Terry got here off the bench within the second half, scoring 11 factors to steer the Bulls to a 23-point comeback to regain the lead with 4 minutes to spare.
The Bulls in the end fumbled the lead, however Terry proved his capability to vary a sport, ending with seven rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Terry sparked the Bulls in transition via his defensive strain, stealing the ball and slamming down a dunk in a full-court breakaway within the fourth quarter to push the Bulls forward by 4 factors.
2. Protection flounders in first outing.
The Bulls protection disintegrated underneath strain, permitting the Pelicans to attain 40 factors within the first quarter and a complete of 70 factors within the first half.
The Pelicans carved via the Bulls’ nonexistent inside protection, scoring 62 factors within the paint regardless of a robust efficiency from Nikola Vučević, who registered 4 blocks.
Zion Williamson overwhelmed the Bulls protection, scoring 13 factors earlier than sitting out many of the second half. The Bulls stay an undersized crew even with the signing of Andre Drummond within the offseason. Because of this, the protection struggled to change within the decide and roll in opposition to Williamson, permitting the middle to wreak havoc across the rim.
“We’ve bought a protracted strategy to go defensively, there’s no query about that,” coach Billy Donovan stated after the loss.
3. Start line guard place stays broad open.
Tuesday’s sport didn’t assist present solutions to the Bulls’ wide-open race for a place to begin guard to substitute Ball firstly of the season.
Poor ball safety plagued the crew all through the sport — the Bulls turned the ball over 26 occasions whereas registering 27 assists, stalling in half-court offense all through the primary half.
Zach LaVine contributed 4 of these turnovers and Goran Dragić offered three extra. Alex Caruso offered essentially the most constant hand mentioning the ball with no turnovers and one help, however nonetheless went 0-for-2 from 3-point vary.
Coby White suffered a left thigh contusion lower than three minutes into his entrance to the sport and remained sidelined for the remainder of the evening regardless of requesting to return within the second half.
Donovan nonetheless hasn’t dedicated to a place to begin guard for the common season and earlier than the sport, he emphasised the fluidity of the function for the Bulls whereas Ball stays sidelined.
“I’m not that wrapped up in who’s beginning or not,” Donovan stated. “The mixture of gamers and the way these guys all gel and mesh and performance collectively can be extra vital with the place we're at that spot.”
4. Jury out on Patrick Williams.
Williams knew the problem when he entered the preseason — show he can compete with the aggression required of an NBA starter.
However Williams remained timid in opposition to the Pelicans, getting outmuscled repeatedly on the rim by Williamson and solely gathering 5 rebounds. The ahead pulled the set off with barely extra confidence than final season, however his ending wasn’t clear sufficient to make an influence.
Williamson completed 2-for-7 capturing, making a lone 3-pointer within the third quarter.
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