Chicago Bulls: What’s the panic meter at after opening night?
By Luke Askew
The Chicago Bulls came out flat against the Charlotte Hornets in their first game of the 2019-20 season. What’s the panic meter at for this team?
The first game of the 2019-20 NBA season definitely didn’t go as planned for the Chicago Bulls. The Hornets came out with a gameplan that led to them dropping an avalanche of threes on Chicago’s youngsters, and they had no intention of slowing down.
It’s always tough not to overreact after the first game of the season. There’s so much anticipation built up every year (this year more than others), so when your team loses in disappointing fashion, it’s easy to press the panic button.
The Bulls aren’t there yet, though.
Yes, the Hornets are arguably the worst team in the league. Yes, last night wasn’t pretty. And yes, that loss will come back to haunt the Bulls at the end of the season. But it’s also one game. Just like the Bulls will lose some more games this season to teams they should beat, they’ll also beat some teams they have no business competing with (see the win against Philly from last March).
Just because the Bulls don’t need to press the panic button, though, doesn’t mean there aren’t things from the excruciating opening night loss that need to be addressed. The perimeter defense, for example, was atrocious, and if that doesn’t improve soon, better teams and better shooters will feast every game against the Bulls.
Remember when Klay Thompson hit an NBA-record 14 threes against the Bulls last October? There’s plenty more of that in store for the Bulls if they don’t get on top of their 3-point defense.
Check out this Tweet from Mark Strotman:
It’s also important to note, though, that the Hornets just had a stellar night. In most games, PJ Washington, Marvin Williams and Devonte’ Graham aren’t going to go 18-of-25 from 3-point land (yes, you read that correctly).
But still, the closeouts and rotations need to be better. The Bulls simply have to find a way to contest more of those looks. Getting Chandler Hutchison and Shaq Harrison back in the lineup (whenever that happens) should help.
Let’s switch gears and look at the Bulls’ offense.
Against the Hornets, the Bulls attempted 30 shots from behind the arc. That’s not bad. It’s better than their 2018-19 season average of 25.9 per game. But I’d still like to see that number increase a little bit. Tomas Satoransky didn’t attempt a three against the Hornets, and Zach LaVine only attempted four. Zach’s number will likely increase in future games. He was in foul trouble from the get-go and he struggled with his shot all night. Tomas needs to chuck a little more, though. He’s an x-factor for the Bulls’ offense.
Speaking of Zach LaVine, let’s talk about his overall game.
LaVine had a phenomenal preseason. He had some people predicting he’d find his way onto an All-NBA Team. After the first Bulls game of the 2019-20 season that actually counts, though, LaVine stans were left defending their guy with empty attestations.
I’m one of those stans.
Zach’s opening night doesn’t scare me one bit. Foul trouble is known to affect an offensive-minded player’s rhythm, and there’s no reason to believe that last night’s performance is an indication of what’s to come. He’s still set to have an amazing season. Last night was simply an aberration.
So what’s the panic meter at for the Bulls? It’s at zero. This is still a young team trying to find its identity. They’re still on the rise. They still look good.
Still, if Chicago fans need something from the first game to be happy about, Lauri Markkanen’s performance is what they should look at. He scored an efficient 35 points and added 17 rebounds. He was a monster inside. If that’s not enough, though, Coby White proved in his first real NBA appearance that he’s the truth. The future is so bright for that young man.
dark. Next. Player grades from the first loss of 2019-20
There’s no need to panic. Chicago will be just fine.