CHICAGO (670 The Score) – As they near the halfway point of a season in which they’ve mildly outperformed the low expectations that most outsiders had for them, the Bulls suffered a 119-113 loss to the lowly Pelicans on Tuesday evening at the United Center.
The setback dropped the Bulls to 18-22, which is the same record they had at the 40-game mark of last season and just one game off their 19-21 pace at the same point in the 2022-’23 campaign. If the Bulls beat the Hawks on Wednesday evening, they’ll sit with a 19-22 record at the halfway point for a third straight season.
Of course, it isn’t the kind of consistency the organization should strive for, and the result of Tuesday symbolized concerns that extend well beyond a single tally in the standings. While executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas has time and again failed to clearly state the goals and direction of the franchise, one of the meaningful ambitions of this season was to see the Bulls’ young talent take a step forward.
That isn’t happening with any consistency. In the loss to the Pelicans (9-32), 23-year-old power forward Patrick Williams scored eight points on 3-of-7 shooting and posted a game-worst -19 in the plus/minus category. He amassed that figure while playing just 20 minutes, well below his 27.0 average, and none of the final 6:30.
Coach Billy Donovan explained that Williams sat late mainly for matchup reasons as he prioritized playmaking with a four-guard lineup, but his poor performance is the common thread that informed the decision. Williams is shooting 37.7% overall and remains a woefully poor rebounder, and his five-year, $90-milllion contract is already an albatross halfway through the first season. He has been so bad at dunking that he literally looked at his hands in mock disbelief after successfully finishing a slam Tuesday.
The player who should be soaking up more of Williams’ minutes is 20-year-old rookie forward Matas Buzelis, who had a solid second-quarter stint before going 0-of-3 from the field and failing to make a difference in a short stint of 3:11 in the second half. The reason the mistake-prone Buzelis doesn’t play more is because Donovan is paid to win games, and the Bulls front office has left his playing rotations completely up to him. Buzelis has flashed promise at times but hasn’t played enough yet for anyone to know if he'll actually be any good, as he’s logging just shy of 13 minutes a game.
Another puzzling plot in the Bulls’ loss was 22-year-old guard Josh Giddey’s performance, which was strong for fantasy basketball purposes but left much to be desired as it related to winning. Giddey nearly had a triple-double with seven points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists, but he also shot 2-of-12, committed two turnovers and was -8 in plus/minus. Giddey has compiled his share of counting statistics but failed to be a consistent force in his first season in Chicago after the Bulls acquired him from the Thunder in exchange for defensive wizard Alex Caruso over the summer.
“I guess 2-of-12 is not good,” Giddey said. “I’ve got to work on that. I don’t think I forced any shots. I thought the shots I took were the right ones. Some nights you just have nights like that where they don’t fall. You can’t let that impact the rest of your game, whether it’s offensive rebounding, defense, whatever that is. I tried to just stay locked in. Obviously, it’s frustrating. Nobody wants to miss that many shots and go 2-for-12 on any night. But I’ve got to find other ways impact the game, and that’s something I’ve tried to get better at.”
Even sixth-year guard Coby White’s 22-point night felt a tad hollow, as he started 2-of-7 from the field and was 1-of-8 on 3-pointers for the game. White’s field-goal percentage, 3-point percentage, rebounding percentage and assist percentage are all down just a bit this season, while his turnover percentage is up from last season.
Another youngster the Bulls hoped to see blossom nearly had a completely empty stat line Tuesday, as 22-year-old wing Dalen Terry logged six minutes, one steal, one foul and otherwise all zeros. He continues to be a non-threat as a shooter, with a 33.3% clip from 3-point range for the season. Fellow wing Julian Phillips, who's 21, went scoreless in 14 minutes as well.
Amid the theme of youngsters struggling and stagnating, one constant remains. The Bulls are a middling team, just below .500, as they always seem to be. This time around, that’s in thanks to star guard Zach LaVine and center Nikola Vucevic having terrific seasons, but it doesn’t provide much hope when taking a glimpse at the big picture amid a natural checkpoint of another aimless season.
Cody Westerlund is an editor for 670TheScore.com and covers the Bulls. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund.