CHICAGO (670 The Score) – The Billy Donovan era in Chicago couldn’t have opened in more ignominious fashion for the Bulls than it did Wednesday evening at a fan-less United Center.
Where to start? The final score read Hawks 124, Bulls 104 – but it was a much uglier sight on a night in which Atlanta led by as many as 40 points. It was a loss that felt like much more of the same for a Bulls organization that overhauled its front office and coaching staff – but also brought back nearly an identical roster after a 22-43 campaign, which is what led to a familiar refrain postgame from center Wendell Carter Jr.
“I feel like tonight, none of us gave it our all, including myself,” Carter said. “And I feel like until we get to the point where we don't have to have conversations about effort and accountability and just what goes into playing basketball -- we're professionals now, that's something we shouldn't have to communicate every day.”
In the locker room postgame, Carter apologized to his teammates for what he viewed as poor effort by himself. His teammates could’ve easily done the same.
The Bulls’ pathetic defensive effort put them in the running for a handful of records of futility. The 42 points the Bulls allowed in the first quarter were the most in franchise history in a season opener and just two shy of the NBA record in a season opener, according to Bulls Radio stat guru Jeff Mangurten. The 83 points the Bulls allowed before halftime were the second-most they’d allowed in the first half of any game in franchise history, trailing only the 92 points they gave up to the Warriors on Klay Thompson’s historic 3-point shooting night on Oct. 29. 2018. Wednesday marked the start of the Bulls' 55th season in the NBA.
The Hawks scored 17 points in the first 3 minutes, 4 seconds. Big man John Collins dunked all over the Bulls’ heads, if he encountered any resistance at all. Bulls shooting guard Zach LaVine – oft-criticized for his defense but who drew praise for his noticeable activity in the preseason – drew the initial defensive assignment on Hawks star point guard Trae Young. It went poorly, with Young scoring eight points and adding a pair of assists in just more than three minutes.
Young finished with 37 points and seven assists while shooting 10-of-12 from the field in 26 minutes. In doing so, he became the first player in NBA history to score 37 points on 12 or fewer field-goal attempts, the Athletic reported.
Bulls point guard Coby White (nine points on 2-of-11 shooting, three turnovers) got lost time and again while defending pick-and-rolls, and Carter (six points, six rebounds) and fellow big man Lauri Markkanen (21 points) provided little help and no rim protection. The Hawks hit the 100-point mark with 5:58 left in the third quarter and shot 53.8% from the field for the game.
“We’ve got to get physically tougher in terms of like on the ball and having some resistance in preventing them from getting downhill and getting to the rim and being able to close back out,” Donovan said. “I thought things opened up too much.
“It was more, we have to help each other. That’s to me what it more was. We can’t just be, ‘OK, I got my guy, I’m going to stay glued over here to my guy.’"
The White-LaVine backcourt combo was essentially played off the floor at one point because of its defensive ineffectiveness. With 2:29 left in the first quarter and the Hawks already sitting on 36 points, Donovan even subbed in guard Adam Mokoka, a native of France who’s on a two-way contract and had missed all four preseason games and nearly every practice while dealing with what Donovan called a passport issue.
Donovan explained that substitution choice in part by commenting that Mokoka “can handle guys one-on-one at times,” which seemed to simultaneously be an acknowledgement that no one else on the floor could.
In the aftermath, Carter and LaVine were both asked if the ugly loss served as a wake-up call for the Bulls, who host the Pacers on Saturday evening. Carter pushed back at that, instead referencing how such problems are still the Bulls’ “reality.” LaVine wasn’t so sure what to call it.
“I guess you could say wake-up call, you got punched, slapped in the face, whatever it is,” LaVine said. “We got to take it in stride. You can’t let it determine your whole season. It’s the first game. We got to come out there, and we got to bounce back. That’s how you got to look at it. We got to stay together.”
Cody Westerlund is a sports editor for 670TheScore.com and covers the Bulls. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund.