The Chicago Bulls nearly gave away a victory against the Pistons on Wednesday night. Literally.
Chicago got out to a 23-point second-quarter lead, and led by 20-plus partway through the third quarter, but they let the Detroit Pistons crawl all the way back to tie the game late in the fourth quarter, in part because they turned the ball over a whopping 17 times. Those turnovers led to 20 Pistons points, and it could've been worse than that.
Chicago's turnover woes are cause for concern
Detroit missed several shots with those extra opportunities, including one three-point attempt that would've given the Pistons the lead with under one minute to play. Moments later, it looked like the Bulls had committed their 18th turnover when Josh Giddey lost the handle on the ball while dribbling up the sideline. Bulls head coach Billy Donovan challenged the play; however, and video review showed Giddey had been fouled.
Giddey ended up knocking down both of his free throws to give the Bulls some breathing room, in what was arguably the biggest singular momentum shift of the night. It also saved Giddey from notching his seventh turnover of the game. As things stand, his six giveaways have him tied for the league lead with Donte DiVincenzo.
It's the first night of the season, so some sloppiness can be expected and forgiven. For context, the Rockets turned the ball over a staggering 25 times in their overtime loss to the Thunder on Tuesday. The Lakers gave the ball away 20 times, and three more teams had 19 turnovers. Meanwhile, the Utah Jazz finished last season with the worst turnover rate in the NBA with 17.2 per game.
The Bulls can't stand by and hope the issue corrects itself as players shake off the rust, though. This is a team that is not projected to compete in the East. They're without their top scorer in Coby White, and were one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA last year.
Nikola Vucevic may continue to lead the way offensively to help cover up defensive issues, or the Bulls might put together stronger defensive efforts than expected, like they did in the regular season opener. But they already let one huge lead evaporate, and a couple of different bounces could've swung game one in the Pistons' favor instead.
Things won't get easier for the Bulls, either. Up next on their schedule is a date against the Magic in Orlando, who just scored 25 points off of 19 Miami Heat turnovers.