CHICAGO (670 The Score) -- It took mere seconds postgame to understand how downtrodden Bulls center Wendell Carter Jr. was about his performance in Chicago’s 101-90 loss to Miami at the United Center on Friday night.
Asked an initial question in his postgame media session, Carter lightly mumbled through a short first response, which was nearly inaudible. He soon shed his mask to speak more clearly on the Zoom connection, but his attitude remained much the same – Carter is sorely disappointed in himself.
“I just got to play better,” Carter said when asked to assess where his game is right now. “I don’t really know what else to say to that question. I just got to be more aggressive, play better. That’s about it.”
Against a Heat team missing star center Bam Adebayo due to a knee injury, Carter was largely ineffective. He had just four points on 1-of-5 shooting while adding nine rebounds in 22 minutes. It was an opportunity for Carter to establish himself and the Bulls to take advantage down low, but neither he nor they could do so. The Heat outscored the Bulls in the paint by a 46-36 margin, and Chicago shot just 35.8% on 2-pointers.
Carter’s struggles Friday continued a recent trend for him, as he’s averaging just 5.8 points on 32.3% shooting in 22.4 minutes in his past five games. Asked why he’s struggling to finish near the rim, Carter responded, “I don’t even know, honestly.”
“These last couple games have really frustrated the s*** out of me, just because I don't look at my numbers, but the day after the game, it’s like, ‘Damn, that's all I did for my team tonight?’” Carter said. “But like I said before, I've got to be able to move on to the next game and just try to improve on it, try not to get too down on the previous games.”
From the time the Bulls selected him No. 7 overall in the 2018 draft, Carter has been known to be highly critical of himself. It’s a habit that traces back to his competitive desire, his coaches and teammates often say. So Carter’s demeanor late Friday after the Bulls dropped to 16-20 wasn’t a new scene. It was just perhaps the most stark example yet of his frustration.
Carter, 21, knows he needs to do more for his team, notably at the offensive end.
“Just offensively, you know, finishing around the rim, being more aggressive,” said Carter, who missed about a month in late January and early February with a quad injury. “I feel like I’ve regressed in that area of being more aggressive on the offensive end. Just trying to play the right way, do everything that everybody is telling me to do, but at the same time I understand that me being aggressive will be better for my team, so … I just … I just got to play a lot better on the offensive end.
“Being aggressive sometimes is the best option for the team. Just getting my shots up, make or miss, I just have to be more aggressive. And my teammates believe in me, encourage me and tell me to keep playing. Keep playing hard on the offensive end. Keep playing aggressive, but at the same time, I'm just trying to play the right way, trying to do whatever everyone is telling me to do.”
As has often been the case lately, Carter also wasn’t a part of the Bulls’ closing lineup as the Heat pulled away in the fourth quarter. While clearly pained by that trend of watching games late from the bench, Carter turned the focus inward. He made clear that coach Billy Donovan “has no motive” other than to win games, and Carter will do whatever is asked without complaint.
It’s just all wearing on him lately, which is why his Bulls teammates made a point to check on his postgame Friday.
“I think he has confidence,” star guard Zach LaVine said. “We were all talking to him. I think he’s just extremely competitive and he takes what he does not lightly. He knows how important to the team he is for us. We pick him up. I think he’s going to be just fine. He’s a mentally strong dude.”
Cody Westerlund is a sports editor for 670TheScore.com and covers the Bulls. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund.