CHICAGO (670 The Score) – In a rarely seen occurrence, the Bulls held a players-only meeting late Wednesday literally minutes after the buzzer sounded on their season opener.
That’s how frustrated the Bulls were by a 124-104 loss to the Thunder at the United Center, where Chicago shot poorly and was dominated for much of the final three quarters. Afterward, coach Billy Donovan arrived at his postgame interview about seven or eight minutes later than usual because his players had needed extra time to themselves to sort out the ugly loss. Upon popping into the locker room postgame, Donovan saw his players engaged in strong conversation about what went wrong and gave them space.
“It was actually very constructive,” center Nikola Vucevic said. “I think it was really good for us that we had those. I think it was needed. It was just regular discussions of what needs to be done. A lot of guys said a lot of good things, things that needed to be said. I think we can really use this to learn and change some things that we need to change. There wasn’t anything crazy, no fighting, none of that. It was really constructive, and it’s maybe one of the first times since I’ve been here that it was like this. And it was needed.”
It was needed because the Bulls’ performance was “unacceptable,” as star guard Zach LaVine put it.
“It wasn’t a great showing from us,” LaVine said. “We didn’t shoot the ball well. I don’t feel like we played with enough heart, and that’s on us. It’s a terrible way to come out to start the season.”
The Bulls’ frustration was readily evident on the court earlier in the game. Late in the third quarter, Donovan and Vucevic exchanged words on the sideline shortly after Vucevic exited the game with the Bulls trailing by six. Vucevic was irked mainly because the Bulls’ offense was getting too stagnant, he said.
“It wasn’t so much just my touches,” said Vucevic, who had 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting. “I think stuff that we were running could’ve maybe been better for us in the moment. Some of it was touches, but not necessarily for me to score and things like that.”
Both Donovan and Vucevic downplayed the spat, with Vucevic also admitting he was probably more aggressive than he should’ve been in sharing his mind.
“I got all the respect in the world for Vooch,” Donovan said. “He felt a certain way, and I kind of said what I felt. He’s probably not wrong for feeling the way that he did, but how do you channel that in a way that galvanizes the group and lifts them up? In the moment, maybe I could’ve handled it better with him, and maybe he could’ve handled it better with me. It wasn’t anything disrespectful or anything else. I think he was just kind of frustrated with the way we were playing. And you know what? I didn’t blame him. I felt probably in line with him. But there’s got to be a way that we can together solve those issues and those problems.”
Despite the 20-point loss, the Bulls played had a few structural positives in how they played. The Bulls crashed the glass well with 13 offensive rebounds, an area of emphasis for them. Donovan liked how they attacked the paint, notably in the first half. They attempted 42 3-pointers after ranking last in the NBA with 28.9 attempts from deep last season. The problem Wednesday was they made just 12 of them, with LaVine going 2-of-9 from deep and point guard Coby White going 2-of-7.
On the other end, the Bulls had no answer for Thunder star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who had 31 points on 12-of-18 shooting while adding 10 assists.
True to form for a team that stressed how continuity and chemistry were going to help them improve after a 40-42 season in 2022-’23, the Bulls all spun the direct communication regarding their disappointment on opening night as a positive.
“We needed to have some of the conversations that we had, and it could be really good for us,” Vucevic said.
“It’s things that just needed to be address so we can change it. It’s all stuff related to the court – the way we need to play and the way we need to execute some stuff, things like that, our approach."
Donovan echoed the sentiment.
“Listen, if that’s going on in Game 1, I think in some ways it’s really, really good because I think people are now stepping up saying, ‘Hey, there’s certain things that we’ve got to be better,’” Donovan said. “It’s got to be in practice, it’s got to be in shootarounds, it’s got to be all the way through.
“I will say the one thing I think was good with some of the heated conversations and confrontation is that would’ve never happened last year – ever. Like, there would’ve been a quiet group. So the confrontation piece is a sign that it’s important to them and that they know there’s things that we’ve got to do better.”
Cody Westerlund is an editor for 670TheScore.com and covers the Bulls. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund.